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Project Descriptions

Sunstruck! An Integrated Solar Education Experience

July 17, 2013 - July 16, 2015 | Media and Technology, Exhibitions, Informal/Formal Connections
The Michigan Science Center (MiSci) Sunstruck! An Integrated Solar Education Experience project includes an interactive heliostat exhibit, Dassault Systemes Planetarium program for primarily middle school students and the general public emphasizing the sun and its effects on Earth and the solar system, a educational lobby kiosk, and educational materials for classroom use aimed at helping them understand the importance of understanding our nearest star and the ‘space weather’ that it creates. The Michigan Science Center is the lead institution, with the project led by PI Dr. Tonya Matthews, President/CEO and Co-PI Julie Johnson, Director of Education and Outreach, and science advisors representing University of Michigan College of Engineering Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, and in collaboration with the Ford Amateur Astronomy Club, the Detroit Public Schools Science Department and University Prep Science and Math faculty. The project Sunstruck! An Integrated Solar Education Experience will use the latest research and discoveries from IRIS (Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph) and SOD (Solar Dynamics Observatory ) missions to engage the general public in the dynamics of our star, the Sun. The project will help the audience understand the Sun’s importance, it’s direct impact on our lives and the potential hazards such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections that we refer to as ‘space weather’. This project is scheduled to be completed in 2015 with testing of materials and the planetarium show to begin late 2014.

Funders

NASA
Award Number: NNX13AM05G

TEAM MEMBERS

  • Tonya Matthews
    Principal Investigator
    Michigan Science Center
  • 2014 08 19 me
    Co-Principal Investigator
    Michigan Science Center
  • Discipline: Space science
    Audience: Middle School Children (11-13) | General Public | Educators/Teachers | Museum/ISE Professionals
    Environment Type: Media and Technology | Planetarium and Science on a Sphere | Exhibitions | Museum and Science Center Exhibits | Informal/Formal Connections | K-12 Programs

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