Out of this World Teacher Workshop

Space Educators' Weekend

December 2, 2006 9:00 AM – 1:30 PM

Location:

The Houston Museum of Natural Science
One Hermann Circle Drive
Houston, TX 77030

Agenda:

8:30	–	9:00	Registration in the Museum’s Entry Hall
9:00	–	12:00	Space Science Hands-On Workshop (please register for just ONE)
12:00	–	1:00	Networking lunch in the Arnold Space Hall
1:00	–	1:30	It’s About Time showing in the Burke Baker Planetarium

Benefits:

A fun and relaxing day at the Museum with time for Holiday shopping
(20% discount in the Museum gift shops with your workshop badge)
Opportunity to get the latest and greatest space curriculum for your classroom
Four Continuing Education Units (CEUs) upon completion of the experience

Cost:

$10.00 for the entire program.
Please register for only one of these workshops.
Your registration includes lunch and the planetarium show.
Click a workshop title below to purchase.

Available Workshops

Workshop A:

3, 2, 1, Liftoff

Description:

Bring the explosive world of rocketry to your early childhood students! Learn how you can use space to teach across the curriculum with exciting hands-on activities. Together we will learn activities and gain knowledge on how to use the theme of space to integrate the concepts associated with Pre-K and K standards across all content areas. Education Guide with standards information included.

Grades:

pre-K thru 2

Standards Covered:

Language Arts, Science, Math, Social Studies.

Content provider:

Space Center Houston

Workshop B:

What’s Happening Next Summer? STS-118 and beyond

Description:

Design a plant growth chamber or habitat for future missions to Moon or Mars. This session will prepare educators to have their students take part in the national engineering design challenge planned for STS-118, the flight of Educator Astronaut Barbara Morgan. Educators will utilize the engineering design process to assist in the completion of the challenge from problem to solution.

Grades:

K-12

Standards Covered:

National Science Education Standards:
Science as Inquiry

Standards for Technological Literacy:
Standard 8: Students will develop an understanding of the attributes of design;
Standard 9: Students will develop an understanding of engineering design;
Standard 10: Students will develop an understanding of the role of troubleshooting, research and development, invention and innovation, and experimentation in problem solving.

Content provider:

Teaching from Space – NASA Johnson Space Center

Workshop C:

Cracking the Secrets of Mars

Description:

The red planet Mars has inspired wild flights of imagination over the centuries as well as intense scientific interest. Whether fancied to be the source of hostile invaders of Earth, the home of a dying civilization, or a rough-and tumble mining colony of the future, Mars provides fertile ground for science fiction writers, based on seeds planted by centuries of scientific observations. Come explore with us as we crack the secrets of Mars! Education Guide with standards information included.

Grades:

6-8

Standards Covered:

National Science Education Standards:
Math, Science, Geography

Content provider:

Space Center Houston

Workshop D:

Adventures in Time – Cosmic Clocks, Big Bangs and Space Elevators

Description:

Adventures in Time is a program including a planetarium show called It’s About Time (for the big theaters and portable domes), three pieces of kiosk software (for PC and Mac) and a large curriculum guide focusing on all aspects of measuring time on Earth and in the Universe. Participants receive copies of the software: Evolution of the Solar System, Telescope Time Machine, and Cosmic Clock – all with accompanying activities. The workshop also focuses on two “inventions” projected for the 21^st century – the Space Elevator and the Time Telescope. These stir student imaginations about how we might someday go into space without rockets and see the universe change through time – from the Big Bang to a supernova explosion.

Grades:

6-12

Standards Covered:

National Science Education Standards:
Earth’s history, Earth in the solar system, Science as a human endeavor
Origin and evolution of the earth system, Origin and evolution of the Universe
Constancy, Change and Measurement, Evolution and Equilibrium

TEKS: 6.13, 7.13, and 8.13

Content provider:

Astronomy Department, Houston Museum of Natural Science

Workshop E:

Challenger Center Training for Careers on Space Ship Earth

Description:

In this workshop in the Challenger Learning Center, you will learn how we create a simulation that is challenging for elementary through high school students and even adults. This program will show you how to shift from just content gain objectives to the interactive use of scence process skills and how to use mathematics to adjust the skill level of a task. All of the problem-solving is packaged as a “real job” that students must study for and then complete in order to get a space ship to the moon and on to Mars. Finally learn how we establish meaningful career connections between the activities required for maintaining a space craft and the skills necessary to be a crew member of Space Ship Earth in the 21^st century. The workshop includes a trip to the Moon and Mars – filled with challenges and success!

Grades:

5-12

Standards Covered:

National Science Education Standards:
Science as a human endeavor, Nature of scientific knowledge, Earth in the solar system

TEKS:
Standard 3: The student uses critical thinking and scientific problem solving to make informed decisions

Content provider:

Challenger Learning Center, Houston Museum of Natural Science

Workshop F:

Mission Moon

Description:

Samples of the Moon in your classroom? You bet! In this workshop you will become certified to check out lunar and meteorite samples for use in your classroom. Participants will also gain a geological approach to understanding the Moon, studying the impact features (craters, ejecta, and impactors), processes, and use an inquiry approach to making a lunar launcher.

Grades:

5-9

Standards Covered:

National Science Education Standards:
Content Standard B: Motions and Forces
Content Standard D: Earth and Space Science
Content Standard E: Abilities of Technological Design
Content Standard E: Understandings about Science and Technology

TEKS:
Scientific processes:

(1) The student conducts field and laboratory investigations using safe, environmentally appropriate, and ethical practices
(2) The student uses scientific inquiry methods during field and laboratory investigations.
(3) The student uses critical thinking and scientific problem solving to make informed decisions
(4) The student knows how to use a variety of tools and methods to conduct science inquiry

Science concepts:

(6) The student knows that there is a relationship between force and motion
(13) The student knows components of our solar system.

Content provider:

NASA Education – Aerospace Education Services