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Project Descriptions

Ascent to Orbit: An Educator Professional Development Program Investigating STEM Concepts for Space Shuttle Missions and Beyond

June 28, 2012 - June 27, 2015 | Professional Development, Conferences, and Networks
Ascent to Orbit: An Educator Professional Development Program Investigating STEM Concepts for Space Shuttle Missions and Beyond trains upper elementary and middle school teachers to deliver inquiry-based, hands-on activities exploring STEM concepts involved in the evolution of human space exploration. The California Science Center Foundation will engage a total of 100 teachers from the Greater Los Angeles Area, 50 per year for two years. The curriculum will be organized around the Pre-Shuttle Era, Shuttle/International Space Station Era and Future of Human Spaceflight. This coursework will be developed in consultation with Dr. Ken Phillips, the California Science Center's Curator of Aerospace Science to be interdisciplinary and correlate with the newly adopted Next Generation Science Standards. As part of the 16-hour, two-day training session, teachers will view Space Shuttle Endeavour as well as other significant artifacts of human space exploration in the Science Center's singular Air and Space collection, including the Mercury-Redstone 2, Gemini 11 Capsule and Apollo-Soyuz Command Module. The goal is to engage teachers and their students with a core set of STEM concepts that stimulate critical thinking about science and engineering principles. As a result of the professional development, teachers will gain a deeper understanding of core STEM concepts, be motivated to embed STEM and space related concepts into their curriculum, and foster in students an interest in space travel that begins with a trip to see Space Shuttle Endeavour and journeys to the future of human space exploration.

Funders

NASA
Award Number: NNX12AL17G
Funding Amount: 299902

TEAM MEMBERS

  • Jeffrey Rudolph
    Principal Investigator
    California Science Center
  • REVISE logo
    Co-Principal Investigator
    California Science Center
  • Ken Phillips
    Co-Principal Investigator
    California Science Center
  • Discipline: Space science | Technology
    Audience: Elementary School Children (6-10) | Middle School Children (11-13) | Educators/Teachers | Museum/ISE Professionals
    Environment Type: Professional Development, Conferences, and Networks | Professional Development and Workshops

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