Thanks for joining us at the 2019 Extra Learning Opportunities Conference in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania! We hope that the activities and information that we shared will add hands-on astronomy engagement to your programming. Below are the resources and links from our session. As always, feel free to get in touch with us if you have any questions!
Sarah Eyermann
Sara Mitchell
Engaging Students and Their Families Through STEM
Abstract: Parents and families have the greatest influence on children's attitudes toward education and career choices. If students' attitudes toward science, particularly the physical sciences, are not influenced positively by parental or familial attitudes, efforts to improve the quality of content and teaching of these subjects in school may be futile. Research shows that parental involvement increases student achievement outcomes, and family-oriented programs have a direct impact on student performance. Based on this premise, collaborators at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center developed a curriculum for Family Science Nights (FSN) for middle school students and their families. This institute highlights the benefits of FSN and provides resources for afterschool programs to use to engage families. Those who wish to become certified in FSN can do so by completing a culminating project and attending two webinars following the conference.
- All of the activities about stars from this session are from NASA Family Science Night, Session 5. Please contact Sara Mitchell for resources from this program.
- Our slides reference the Global Family Research Project, which you can visit at globalfrp.org
- Presentation Slides
In our session, we highlighted activities from our freely available informal education curriculum support materials.
NASA Family Science Night
The NASA Family Science Night curriculum is a set of 2-hour sessions intended for middle- school-aged children and their families to explore the importance of science and technology in our daily lives by engaging as a family in activities that change their perception and understanding of science. We are currently working on a public website to share the resources for this program, but in the meantime please contact Sara Mitchell.
Afterschool Universe
Afterschool Universe is a curriculum for a hands-on astronomy program targeted at middle school children in out-of-school-time settings. It explores basic astronomy concepts through engaging hands-on activities, and focuses on what's in the universe and how we study it. The Resources section of the website includes various resources for facilitating the Afterschool Universe program with children, including a full PDF of the manual, printable copies of all the handouts, and additional background information.
There are also a total of 12 activity videos online. All of them are linked through the resources section of the website, but they can also be viewed directly from our YouTube channel.
Big Explosions and Strong Gravity
Big Explosions and Strong Gravity is a one-day program where middle-school-aged children participate in a series of activities on spectroscopy, elements in the Universe, supernovae, and black holes. It was originally developed in partnership with the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland, but is freely available on the website for use in any setting.
For more NASA education resources, we recommend the following websites:
- Imagine the Universe!
The Imagine the Universe website explores distant galaxies, massive black holes, brilliant gamma-ray bursts, and the origin of the universe itself for interested astronomers ages 14 and up. The site also shares information about how scientists know what we know, what mysteries remain, and how we might one day find the answers to these questions. The Imagine the Universe Educators' Corner features lesson plans, posters, and educator guides aimed at middle and high school audiences. These standards-aligned materials highlight a variety of topics in astronomy from supernovae, the origin of the elements, galaxies, and black holes. - NASA Goddard's Astrophysics Science Division Education and Outreach Resources
On this page, we've collected a variety of astrophysics educational resources created by the Astrophysics Science Division's education team and its partners. - NASA Space Science Education Consortium (NSSEC)
The NASA Space Science Education Consortium (NSSEC) capitalizes on NASA's rich history of sharing research and technology through compelling and innovative education projects. The NSSEC links exciting science and missions directly to the American public, bringing an menu of products, programs, and tools to space science education. - NSSEC STEM Innovation Lab
The STEM Innovation Lab is a hybrid makerspace where we invite scientists, engineers, and educators to explore and develop new ideas related to the infusion of educational technology into STEM. - NASA Wavelength
NASA Wavelength is your pathway into a digital collection of Earth and space science resources for educators of all levels - from elementary to college, to out-of-school programs. These resources, developed through funding of the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD), have undergone a peer-review process through which educators and scientists ensure the content is accurate and useful in an educational setting.