Life on the Edge is a traveling exhibition focused on educating children ages 8-14 and their families about how understanding Earth’s extreme environments helps us search for life in space. Created by Sciencenter in Ithaca, NY, the big idea of the exhibition is: “our exploration of extreme environments expands our understanding of life on Earth and the possibilities for life in our solar system and beyond.” Through five unique exhibit sections, the exhibition offers visitors information, activities, and questions focused on scientific exploration and discovery, life in space, and the origins
In 2015, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (Fairchild), located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, entered into partnership with NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) to help advance NASA’s plant research through classroom-based STEM citizen science with a project entitled, Growing Beyond Earth (GBE). The project, initially launched with 3,600 students at 97 middle and high schools primarily in Miami-Dade County, has expanded to include 10,639 students at 210 schools in 26 states and Puerto Rico. GBE is designed to:
a) Increase middle and high school students’ interest and skills in science by
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Catherine RaymondMarion LitzingerYang WenAmy PadolfCarl Lewis
Growing Beyond Earth (GBE) is Fairchild’s NASA-funded classroom science project designed to advance research on growing plants aboard spacecraft. As NASA looks toward a long term human presence beyond Earth orbit, there are specific science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) challenges related to food production. GBE is addressing those challenges by expanding the diversity and quality of edible plants that can be grown in space. On Earth, GBE is also improving technologies for gardening in urban, indoor, and other resource-limited settings.
GBE is unique in its focus on real
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Marion LitzingerCatherine RaymondCarl LewisAmy Padolf
During the school year of 2017-2018, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (Fairchild) implemented the second year of a four-year project entitled: Growing Beyond Earth (GBE). NASA is providing funding support for project implementation as well as an external project evaluation. The evaluation activities conducted this year were focused on understanding project implementation and assessing project outcomes using data collected between September 2017 and May 2018. This report’s findings and accompanying recommendations inform next year’s project implementation and evaluation activities.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Catherine RaymondMarion LitzingerCarl LewisAmy Padolf
The Growing Beyond Earth Project (GBE) is a STEM education program designed to have middle and high school students conduct botany experiments, designed in partnership with NASA researchers at Kennedy Space Center, that support NASA research on growing plants in space. GBE was initiated by Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in collaboration with NASA's Exploration Research and Technology Programs and Miami-Dade County Public School District. Project goals are to: (1) improve STEM instruction in schools by providing authentic research experiments that have real world implications through curricular activities that meet STEM education needs, comprehensive teacher training, summer-long internships and the development of replicable training modules; (2) increase and sustain youth and public engagement in STEM related fields; (3) better serve groups historically underrepresented in STEM fields; and (4) support current and future NASA research by identifying and testing new plant varieties for future growth in space. During the 2016-17 academic year, 131 school classrooms participated in the program. To date, students have tested 91 varieties of edible plants and produced more than 100,000 data points that have been shared with the researchers at KSC.
During the school year of 2016-2017, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (Fairchild) implemented the first year of a four-year project entitled: Growing Beyond Earth (GBE). NASA is providing funding support for project implementation as well as an external project evaluation.
The evaluation activities conducted this year were focused on understanding project implementation and exploring project outcomes using data collected between September 2016 and May 2017. This report’s findings and accompanying recommendations inform next year’s project implementation and evaluation activities.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Catherine RaymondAmy RubinsonCarl LewisMarion LitzingerAmy Padolf
Life on the Edge will be a 1,500-sq-ft traveling exhibition to engage museum guests with space, space exploration, and the search for life beyond our home planet through the lens of Earth's extremophiles. The exhibition will explore life forms in extreme, harsh environments on Earth, and how studying these creatures informs the search for extraterrestrial life and habitable environments within and beyond our solar system. This exhibition will provide open-ended challenges and hands-on activities that utilize NASA research and educational materials to inspire elementary-aged youth ages 5-11 and their families. Based in Ithaca, NY, Sciencenter will focus the tour on small, rural museums, including SpectrUM Discovery Area (Missoula, MT), Flathead Reservation (MT), Science Zone (Casper, WY), and Imagination Place Children's Museum (Gadsden, AL). Schools and other community partners of the host museums will be leveraged in presenting family science nights, field trips, and facilitated science programs. These activities will provide additional opportunities for learners to increase their knowledge of core STEM content and science-process skills related to astronomy and astrobiology. In this institutional engagement project, Sciencenter will partner with (1) Cornell University's Department of Astronomy throughout the 5-year grant period to develop the scientific content and to ensure that content remains current and relevant with up-to-date NASA research, and (2) the University of Montana's SpectrUM Discovery Area, who will serve as the STEM outreach hub for the region, including outreach with youth of the Flathead Reservation. The expected short-term outcomes for youth ages 5-11, after visiting Life on the Edge are (1) 75% of participants will have increased understanding of basic principles of astrobiology and astronomy, along with the breadth of NASA scientific research and missions, and (2) 50% of participants will have increased awareness of career possibilities in STEM, specifically astrobiology, astronomy, and related space sciences.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Michelle KortenaarAlexander HayesLisa KalteneggerHolly TruittAdrienne TestaCharlie Trautmann
STEMtastic: NASA in Our Community is a two-year project designed to educate and inspire teachers, students and life-long learners to embrace NASA STEM content. The project will increase awareness of NASA activities, while educating and inspiring students to train for careers that are critical to future economic growth of the country in general, and NASA’s future missions in particular. The Virginia Air & Space Center (VASC) will partner with the Virginia Space Grant Consortium and Analytical Mechanics Associates, Inc. to accomplish this project. VASC will deliver NASA STEM content through (1) STEMtastic Teacher Institutes and Education Modules: (a) a series of two five-day professional development institutes for educators which will result in the (b) development and dissemination of new education modules for grades 4-9; and (2) STEMtastic Exhibits and Demonstrations: new interactive exhibits to used for live demonstrations at VASC; those demonstrations will also be delivered to traditionally underserved schools in the region. All classroom and teaching materials—educator institutes, education modules, exhibit software and demonstration modules—will be developed using NASA content and shared with other institutions to promote the expansion of knowledge about best practices in providing STEM education in both formal and informal education settings. STEMevals, a robust evaluation plan, will be implemented to assess success in each project area. Adjustments will be made along the pipeline to increase effectiveness in reaching the target audience. The project has the potential to reach countless educators, students and museum visitors throughout the U.S."
Pipeline for Remote Sensing Education and Application (PRSEA), will increase awareness, knowledge and understanding of remote sensing technologies and associated disciplines, and their relevance to NASA, through a combination of activities that build a “pipeline” to STEM and remote sensing careers, for a continuum of audiences from third grade through adulthood. This program will be led by Pacific Science Center. The first objective is to engage 50 teens from groups underrepresented in STEM fields in a four-year career ladder program; participants will increase knowledge and understanding of remote sensing as well as educational pathways that lead to careers in remote sensing fields at NASA and other relevant organizations. The second objective is to serve 2,000 children in grades 3-5, in a remote sensing-based out-of school time outreach program that will increase the participant’s content knowledge of remote sensing concepts and applications and awareness and interest in remote sensing disciplines. PRSEA’s third objective is to engage 180 youth, grades 6-8, in remote sensing-themed summer intensive programs through which youth will increase knowledge of remote sensing concepts and applications and increase awareness and interest in educational and career pathways associated with remote sensing and NASA’s role in this field. The final objective is to engage 10,000 visitors of all ages with a remote sensing-themed Discovery Cart on Pacific Science Center’s exhibit floor. By engaging in cart activities, we anticipate visitors will increase their level of awareness and interest in the topic of remote sensing and NASA’s role in contributing to this field.
Our Instrumented Earth: Understanding Global Systems and Local Impacts through the El Nino Story centers on a new production displayed on Science on a Sphere® (SOS), and informal educational program elements to engage learners in the power and purpose of NASA data-gathering tools. Audiences include over two million visitors to partner institutions, serving both urban and rural constituencies that rank among the most diverse in the nation. The Aquarium has partnered with the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) and NASA Goddard Space Center to implement elements of the program, as well as NASA scientists and experts to develop content. There are two main project goals for Our Instrumented Earth: to create a NASA-informed public by creating an SOS production which highlights space technologies and other instruments monitoring Earth; and to enhance the STEM capacity of underserved teachers, parents, and students through teacher professional development and outreach events. Major project deliverables for Our Instrumented Earth include: a brand new SOS film production, an adapted program for the Magic Planet spherical display platform to serve rural communities, professional development workshop for formal teachers, and NASA Night outreach events at the Aquarium.
The Children’s Museum developed From the Blue Planet to the Red Planet: Exploring Planetary Science to provide opportunities for students in grades 4 through 8, teachers, and families to learn about Mars exploration. The Museum partnered with the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT) on four teacher professional development modules related to aspects of planetary science: soil and plant study, air pressure, robotic exploration, and the comparison of Mars and Earth. Teachers who attended free workshops could bring students to the Museum for classroom and planetarium experiences. The Museum received support from Central Connecticut State University and technical advice from Phoenix Project scientists at JPL. The Museum created a timeline of Mars exploration history with video clips of milestones and an accompanying quiz kiosk. CCAT created virtual Mars drive-through experiences with which visitors could explore the planet. The Travelers ScienceDome Planetarium staff wrote, directed, and animated a full-dome planetarium program about the future study of Mars that was finished in December 2012. For over two years the Museum has sponsored free, monthly Mars Madness programs during which the general public can visit the exhibit, see a Mars-related planetarium program, and test out some of the hands-on activities developed for the school groups. The Museum hoped to reach a diverse audience, especially, those people who might otherwise not afford admission. We have produced four teacher professional development guides with hands-on activities, an exhibit for our facility, a dedicated website, and a planetarium program.
NASA STEM Educational Project for the Goddard Greenbelt and Wallops Visitor Center and the Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) Facility Education Resource Center is a project designed to provide high value STEM education activities. The Goddard Office of Education is fortunate to have three facilities (Greenbelt, WFF and IV&V) that coordinate to produce high impact, sustainable results using NASA’s unique capabilities for their education customers which include visitors, K-16 students, educators and science centers, museums and planetariums. The Greenbelt project elements will take our current Visitor Center in the direction of the Science Education and Exploration Center (SEEC). This project includes utilizing the GeoDome portable planetarium with underserved populations, expanding STEM engagement programs held at the Visitor Center and growing the network of museum partners that implement programs through an experiential workshop held in September 2012. This project also includes support for a summer experience for students and educators for the SEEC held July 2012. The WFF elements of the project include developing educational exhibits and information on NASA’s WFF missions and launches. A presentation on the LADEE orbital moon mission is being developed for the Science on a Sphere. Content is being developed for a kiosk with hands-on exhibits for students that inspire them in STEM fields and based on NASA’s Suborbital and Orbital missions at Wallops Flight Facility. The IV&V elements leverage past NASA and Visitor Center investments, content, and programs. Using the IR camera enables sharing science and engineering information about missions such as the James Webb Space Telescope to a broader audience. IV&V is using the Space Weather kit to train educators and students on space weather forecasting. Having IV&V as a partner allows us to target rural underserved populations with our programs.