Newsletter Archive
View previous ASTROgrams (newsletters) and other ASTRO news items.
ASTRO-Tucson News
Project ASTRO Training Workshop 2008
Hosted by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory
Developed by the Astronomical Society of The Pacific and coordinated in Tucson by NOAO, this unique educational program offers teachers instruction in conducting hands-on inquiry-based science activities in their classrooms plus an astronomer partner with whom to present the activities. During the two-day ASTRO workshop, a partnership is forged that blends the teacher’s knowledge of methods and classroom discipline with the astronomer’s knowledge of and passion for astronomy. Together the team brings the science of astronomy alive in the classroom when the astronomer makes four school visits during the academic year. Those activities in turn may serve as springboards into other lessons in math, physics, chemistry, and even writing that may be used to meet various standards. In the workshops both partners receive Universe At Your Fingertips, a resource book containing seventy-seven lesson plans organized progressively from the solar system to galaxies. The workshop also includes a trip to Kitt Peak National Observatory for the Nightly Observing Program.
Date: September 19 and 20, 2008
Place: Ventana Room at the U of A Student Union
Time: Friday, 8:30 AM to 10:30 PM
Saturday, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
Cost: Free
Applications to join the Project ASTRO program are available for teachers and for astronomers.
The application deadline is September 1, 2008. Completed applications may be faxed to Chuck Dugan at 520-318-8451 or mailed to him at 950 N. Cherry Ave., Tucson, AZ, 85719. For any further questions, feel free to contact Chuck at cdugan@noao.edu or 520-318-8291.
Project ASTRO Training Workshop 2007
Hosted by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory
Developed by the Astronomical Society of The Pacific and coordinated in Tucson by NOAO, this unique educational program offers teachers instruction in conducting hands-on inquiry-based science activities in their classrooms plus an astronomer partner with whom to present the activities. During the two-day ASTRO workshop, a partnership is forged that blends the teacher’s knowledge of methods and classroom discipline with the astronomer’s knowledge of and passion for astronomy. Together the team brings the science of astronomy alive in the classroom when the astronomer makes four school visits during the academic year. Those activities in turn may serve as springboards into other lessons in math, physics, chemistry, and even writing that may be used to meet various standards. In the workshops both partners receive Universe At Your Fingertips, a resource book containing seventy-seven lesson plans organized progressively from the solar system to galaxies. The workshop also includes a trip to Kitt Peak National Observatory for the Nightly Observing Program.
Date: September 14 and 15, 2007
Place: Ventana Room at the U of A Student Union
Time: Friday, 8:30 AM to 10:30 PM
Saturday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM.
Cost: Free
Applications to join the Project ASTRO program are available for teachers and for astronomers.
The application deadline is August 24, 2007. Completed applications may be faxed to Connie Walker at 520-318-8451 or mailed to her at 950 N. Cherry Ave., Tucson, AZ, 85719. For any further questions, feel free to contact Connie at cwalker@noao.edu or 520-318-8535.
Project ASTRO Training Workshop 2006
Hosted by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory
Developed by the Astronomical Society of The Pacific and coordinated in Tucson by NOAO, this unique educational program offers teachers instruction in conducting hands-on inquiry-based science activities in their classrooms plus an astronomer partner with whom to present the activities. During the two-day ASTRO workshop, a partnership is forged that blends the teacher’s knowledge of methods and classroom discipline with the astronomer’s knowledge of and passion for astronomy. Together the team brings the science of astronomy alive in the classroom when the astronomer makes four school visits during the academic year. Those activities in turn may serve as springboards into other lessons in math, physics, chemistry, and even writing that may be used to meet various standards. In the workshops both partners receive Universe At Your Fingertips, a resource book containing seventy-seven lesson plans organized progressively from the solar system to galaxies. The workshop also includes a trip to Kitt Peak National Observatory for the Nightly Observing Program.
Date: September 29 and 30, 2006
Place: U of A Student Union
Time: Friday, 8:30 AM to 10:30 PM
Saturday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM.
Cost: Free
Applications to join the Project ASTRO program are available for teachers and for astronomers.
The application deadline is September 8, 2006. Completed applications may be faxed to Connie Walker at 520-318-8451 or mailed to her at 950 N. Cherry Ave., Tucson, AZ, 85719. For any further questions, feel free to contact Connie at cwalker@noao.edu or 520-318-8535.
Spring ‘06 Follow-up Workshop
February 4, 2006
3pm - 9:30pm
Explore The Night Sky With Internationally-Known Comet Hunter David Levy At His Home-based Observatory In Vail
Registration Deadline is January 20, 2006… (space is limited to 30 Family or Project ASTRO Partners)
Download the flyer for more information and to register!
Project ASTRO Tucson Fall Workshop
Celebrating 9 Years of bringing astronomy into the classroom through partnerships formed with teachers and scientists.
- October 7, 2005
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- Teacher/Astronomer Partnerships
- Hand-on Activities
- Evening Trip to Kitt Peak
- Night-Sky Observing and More
- October 8, 2005
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- Hands-on Workshop
For more information, download the Project ASTRO Tucson Brochure [2.35 MB pdf].
Free Optics Education Event for Educators
Join us for “Seeing the World Through the Many Eyes of Optics”!!!
Educators are invited to a special event put on by the Optical Society of America, Thursday, October 20th, 4:00 pm - 9:00 pm, at the El Conquistador Resort, in Tucson. If you can make it, this event is not to be missed. At 4pm, there is an incredible talk by Dr. Sara Armstrong for teachers and optics professionals alike on technology and optics in the classroom. Sara is from the George Lucas Educational Foundation. Then there will be a Mexican buffet dinner, followed at 6:30pm with tabletop demonstrations on optics education for the classroom. And there will be giveaways for teachers, if they pre-register. The entire evening’s events are free to teachers. For further details, see the attached brochure [159 KB pdf].
ASTRO-Tucson Director featured in Explore Optics Magazine
Dr. Connie Walker, Director of ASTRO-Tucson, was recently featured in Explore Optics, a magazine for youth interested in learning more about the field of optics.
Read the interview with Dr. Connie Walker, Star Scientist. [201 KB jpg]
Mt. Graham Astronomy Day 2005
Submitted by Project and Family ASTRO partners—Paul and Cathy Anderson
Mt. Graham Astronomy Day 2005 was a huge success with about 250 in attendance. The Desert Skygazers Astronomy Club hosted the event at Discovery Park in Safford, Arizona. We had many from the community helping out to make this a success. The Boy Scouts were parking cars, Eastern Arizona College students were helping out with the Solar Viewing and Rocket launching, and teachers from Discovery Plus Academy and the Discovery Astros Junior Club were assisting in the Game Building. The Lions Club kept us well nourished. We can not forget the local police department that guarded the Moon Rocks for us while they were here.
2005 Followup workshop
Explore the night sky with internationally-known comet hunter David Levy at his home-based observatory in Vail. Registration Deadline is January 28, 2005 (space is limited to 30 Project ASTRO Partners).
Download the registration form [180 KB pdf]
Fall 2004 Workshop a Success
On September 17 and 18, Project ASTRO hosted another successful workshop partnering 37 astronomers with 33 Arizona teachers from grades 2-8. Many thanks to all of the helpful hands and particularly to the 7 astronomer volunteers from NOAO, NSO and GONG.
The event included about a dozen hands-on, minds-on solar system activities most from the Project ASTRO book, a solar system talk by David Levy, a kinesthetic astronomy activity by an affiliate of Space Science Institute in Boulder, a NASA missions talk by a NASA solar system ambassador from LPL, a talk on misconceptions in astronomy by a science education specialist from the UA “CAPER” group and, of course, an inspiring nightly observing program experience on Kitt Peak.
Project Astro—Celebrates 8 Years!
Project ASTRO continues strong into its eighth year in Tucson. The training workshop for Project ASTRO-Tucson occurred on 3-4 October 2003 at the University of Arizona with 33 teachers and 27 astronomers in this year’s program. Highlights of the workshop included a talk on the craters of the Moon by noted planetary scientist, Dr. Charles Wood, a talk on student misconceptions in astronomy by science education specialist, Dr. Ed Prather, and the participation of the group in 10 hands-on, minds-on activities.
About ASTRO-Tucson
Project ASTRO forms the core of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory’s highly successful regional educational outreach program. Project ASTRO-Tucson is a flexible program with broad content coverage and great utility for a diverse educational audience. Project ASTRO is aligned with the National Science Education Standards, it appeals to different teaching and learning styles, and it can be adapted for constraints on space, staff, and money at individual schools. It also addresses the scientific process, best practices and pedagogy, student misconceptions, and authentic assessment issues. In Tucson, it has been used successfully with elementary, middle and high school students of different ethnic backgrounds, as well as with handicap-challenged and underserved students. ASTRO-Tucson is one of 13 sites nationally that have collectively reached over 100,000 students with more than 1,000 teacher-astronomer partnerships in the last six years.
