TeacherTECH and the San Diego Astronomy Association Present - SpaceTECH - Star Parties and More: Astronomy Tools and Techniques for the Classroom

Educators teaching grades 4 - 9 are invited to attend a special TeacherTECH Science Series offered in collaboration with the San Diego Air and Space Museum. This exciting workshop is focused on astronomy tools and techniques for the classroom. 

 Thursday, December 2, 2010           4:30pm - 6:30pm

San Diego Supercomputer Center, Synthesis Center 

University of California, San Diego

Workshop Description

The workshop will focus on how the local amateur astronomy community in San Diego, particularly the large San Diego Astronomy Association, can help classroom teachers and what hands-on exercises and instructional material that we use would be useful in the classroom. There will also be references to the professional astronomy community as well. If weather and light conditions permit, we will go outside and actually look through an amateur telescope and large (10X70) binoculars.

Teachers will be asked to bring their laptops.

Topics will include:

• Update on some astronomy news and facts.
• Discussion of amateur telescope types, tradeoffs, costs, and how to use them in a school environment. Hands-on with a telescope in the classroom or outside, (weather permitting).
• Short discussion of SDAA star party support for your school. How to schedule them, preparation, weather factors.
• Hands on-use of an excellent freeware planetarium program, Cartes du Ciel. Walk through features of the program and gain familiarity with constellations and celestial objects. Discuss observability of these objects with amateur telescopes.
• Walk through some hands-on exercises on astronomy that work well with students. These include: moon phases, eclipses, and seasons; detection of extra solar planets and black holes through their orbits, how to demonstrate solar system size and planet spacing on an athletic field.

• Explore science fair projects and discuss what sorts of astronomy projects are achievable. 

All participants will receive a workshop certificate endorsed by the San Diego County Office of Education for professional development credit.

Please join us for an exciting and informative session of hands-on learning presented by

Dr. Kin Searcy, San Diego Astronomy Association.

Registration is free. Space is 
limited. Please contact Ange Mason at 858-534-5064 or amason@ucsd.edu to reserve your space.


Please feel free to forward this announcement on to others who may be interested.

For more information on TeacherTECH, including our summer workshops, please visit http://education.sdsc.edu/teachertech.