April 12 13, 2006

1
E/PO Activities in the HEASARC

• James Lochner
• USRA CPSS
• HEASARC E/PO Lead

2
What We Do

• Publish Imagine the Universe! web site
• Teacher and Student Resources for grades 7-14
• Host StarChild web site (grades K-8)
• Develop curriculum support materials
• Develop and give teacher workshops
• Work with GSFC Education Office, Universe Forum,
  and other Universe E/PO teams

3
Why We Do It

• Our work fulfills a need for resources.
• Higher Ed. and Pipeline goals require qualified
  high school and interested middle school
  students.
• We further our position in the E/PO community as
  a respected member and resource.

4
Who Does It

• Scientist Lead, web programmer, distribution
  assistant, with support from Division E/PO
  specialists, graphic artist, and volunteer
  scientists.
• Educator Ambassador (Sonoma State)
• Cheryl Niemala (WA) trained on our materials and
  gives local/regional workshops.

5
Milestones

• 10 years of Education Presence on Web
• High Energy Astrophysics Learning Center debuted
  April 17, 1996.
• Imagine! site celebrating with retrospective of
  What we know now vs. What we knew then
• Published 9th and 10th editions of Imagine CD
  (with StarChild and APOD)
• Expanded to 2-disc set
• Added features suggested from 2004 Evaluation.
• AstroCappella on 9th edition Groovie Movie on
  10th

6
New Publishing Environment

• In Jan 2005, NASA HQ introduced new requirements
  for publications
• All NASA print materials must pass Communications
  Materials Review panel
• Standards for style, look, and feel
• All Education print materials must pass Education
  Product Review.
• Materials reviewed by educators and scientists.
• Previously this review was voluntary.
• Includes new materials and materials up for
  re-printing.

7
Impact of New Publishing Environment

• We updated Teacher Guides and Posters previously
  submitted to Ed. Product Review
• Guided by Prod. Rev. recommendations
• Hidden Lives of Galaxies
• With assistance from EA Cheryl Niemala.
• What is Your Cosmic Connection with the
  Elements?
• With assistance from Stan Woosley and Rob
  Hoffman.
• 0.15 FTE for each revision

8
Impact of New Publishing Environment

• Legacy Materials
• Anatomy of Black Holes poster requires revision
  in accordance with Ed. Prod. Rev.
• Life Cycles of Stars (1998) never submitted to
  Rev. Chandra published their own Life Cycles
  poster.
• Gamma Ray Bursts (2000) never submitted.
  Teacher Guide in need of updating (but superceded
  by Swift.)
• StarChild materials never submitted, and remain
  under domain of Laura Whitlock (LSU).
• Should Legacy Materials go out of print?

9
Materials in Development

• Cosmic Times
• Trace the understanding of the nature of the
  universe through the 20th century.
• Start in 1919 with confirmation of Einsteins
  theory of gravity (and its implications for the
  nature of the universe).
• Continue through to discovery of Dark Energy, our
  current state of knowledge, and stepping stones
  to future.

10
Teacher Focus Group

• In March 2005, we convened a group of teachers to
  discuss potential use of Beyond Einstein topics
  in classroom.
• They identified Science as Process as a key
  theme inherent in BE science topics.
• They recommended we tell the story of one of the
  science themes as an example of scientific
  methodology.

11
Scientific Themes in Cosmic Times

• Our understanding of the Expansion of the
  Universe
• Nature of Supernovae
• The size and scale of the Universe
• A number of other themes will also appear.
• Role of Women in early astronomy.
• Impact of improved technology.

12
Cosmic Times Posters
Newsletter version for individual student use
13
Collaborative Work

• GSFC Education Office
• High School Intern Program
• Space Day Hands-on Activities
• Universe Education Forum
• Development and presentation of Modeling the
  Universe Short Course.
• Presentation for Year of Physics Museum Network.