July 1, 2008
WSGC Newsletter for Educators
The Washington NASA Space Grant Consortium's electronic newsletter for teachers provides curriculum ideas, Internet links and other resources to help you better meet the Washington EALRs and the National Science Education Standards.TABLE OF CONTENTS
-- TEST DRIVE GOOGLE SKY
-- MATH IN SPOKANE (K-5)
-- AVIATION, SPACE AND STEM WORKSHOPS (K-12)
-- PLANTS IN SPACE (K-12)
-- EXPLORING THE PLANETS
-- WSGC NEWSLETTER ONLINE
A special two-day summer workshop is being offered to formal and informal educators who want to learn how to use Google Sky in their classrooms and/or out-of-school time programs.
The workshop will take place July 21-22 at the University of Washington. The instructors are Tina Ornduff of Google and UW astronomers Andy Connolly, Simon Krughoff and Julie Lutz.
The workshop itself is free; nine clock hours will be available for $15. Participants will learn how to customize Google Sky for different uses including presentations, student assignments and activities.
Workshop content includes an in-depth introduction to what can be done directly with Google Sky (constellations, planets, multi-wavelength astronomy, etc.) and instruction in how to add content appropriate to a particular program and/or children's interests. There will be time for participants to practice doing modifications.
To register or obtain more information, contact Julie Lutz at
Two Mathematics Summer Institutes for K-5 teachers focusing on Number Sense and Algebraic Reasoning will be held in Spokane on July 21-25.
The registration deadline is July 7. The K-2 institute will answer questions such as what is number sense and algebraic reasoning, how do children develop it and what strategies can teachers use to foster it. The institute for grades 3-5 will cover relational thinking, understanding equality and representing conjectures.
For K-2 information, visit
For grades 3-5, visit
On Aug. 5-6, the Museum of Flight will host a free professional development workshop utilizing aviation and space themes to teach science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
The teacher initiative workshops are sponsored by Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), The Museum of Flight, U.S. Department of Education and the Federal Aviation Administration. The sessions will be complemented by speakers and leaders in the aviation and space industry.
For registration and a schedule of breakout sessions, go to
Plant growth will be an important part of space exploration in the future. NASA scientists anticipate that astronauts may be able to grow plants on the moon, and the plants could be used to supplement meals.
Through the NASA Engineering Design Challenge, K-12 students will design, build, and evaluate lunar plant growth chambers. They will also receive cinnamon basils seeds flown last year on the space shuttle Endeavour and test lunar growth chambers by growing and comparing both space-flown and Earth-based control seeds.
To register and receive more information, go to
Exploring The Planets, a Web site of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. highlights the history and achievements of planetary explorations, both Earth-based and by spacecraft. For more information, go to
The museum offers a wide range of other classroom resources at
The latest issue of Expanding Frontiers, the Washington NASA Space Grant Consortium newsletter, is now available online. Expanding Frontiers includes news about Space Grant students, alumni and programs around the state. To view a copy of the newsletter, go to
If you are not a regular subscriber and would like to receive our newsletter, simply go to UW's Mailman and fill in a subscription form. Concerned about spam? Please note Space Grant does not sell its address lists.