Teacher Workshop: Cool Astronomy with NASA's WISE Mission

Grades: high school and middle school

NASA's latest space telescope is the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). WISE will map the sky in infrared light, searching for dangerous asteroids in our solar system, the nearest and coolest stars, the origins of stellar and planetary systems, and the most luminous galaxies in the universe.

In this full-day workshop educators will experience NASA-developed hands-on, inquiry-based lessons and other educational resources about infrared astronomy and the WISE mission. We will discuss how astronomers use infrared to learn about a variety of phenomena throughout the cosmos. Some of the activities will be from the NASA guide "Active Astronomy." These hands-on activities are designed to complement instruction on the electromagnetic spectrum for middle and high school students. Participants will receive "Active Astronomy" kits to take back to their classrooms.

We will present lessons that make use of real image data from infrared space telescopes and discuss how to involve your students in research projects using WISE data.

We will also take a tour of the invisible universe, focusing on how objects in space look in infrared light. Participants will gain hands-on familiarity with the lessons and content to feel comfortable using them in their own classrooms effectively.

We seek to enhance the teachers' content knowledge as well as model pedagogical methods for improvement of their science teaching in the classroom. Participants will receive copies of the activities presented as well as other NASA educational materials: CD-ROMs, fliers, bookmarks, lithographs, etc.

Schedule and Location:

 Sat, Jan. 23, 2010

 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

 JPL - Pasadena, CA

Directions: 

Presenter - Bryan Mendez

Registration Deadline is Jan. 13, 5 p.m.

 Register Online

 CLICK HERE for more information about WISE and the workshop.