January 2, 2009
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
-- WHAT IF COMPETITION (6-8)
-- FREE MARINE RESOURCES (K-12)
-- LIVE CHAT WITH ISS CREW
-- SPIRIT & OPPORTUNITY FIVE YEARS LATER
-- DATASTREME METEOROLOGY COURSE (K-12)
This year?s "What If?" essay competition for middle schoolers focuses on living aboard an orbiting space station as the first step to building colonies on the moon or Mars.
Students may work individually or in pairs. Registration closes Feb. 1; essay and any supporting information are due Feb. 13. For more information, go to
The Bridge, supported by the National Sea Grant Office, is a growing collection of online marine education resources.
The site provides a convenient source of accurate and useful information on global, national, and regional marine science topics, and gives researchers a contact point for educational outreach.
Resources include lesson plans and links to professional development programs and student education opportunities. For more information, visit
On January 21, students from the Peninsula School District will take part in a live question-and-answer session with Expedition 18 astronauts Mike Fincke and Sandra Magnus, now aboard the International Space Station.
The event, coordinated by Key Peninsula Middle School and Galaxy Theaters, takes place from 10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. and will air live worldwide on NASA Television and online at
NASA rovers Spirit and Opportunity may still have big achievements ahead as they approach the fifth anniversaries of their memorable landings on Mars.
Of the hundreds of engineers and scientists who cheered at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena on Jan. 3, 2004, when Spirit landed safely, and 21 days later when Opportunity followed suit, none predicted the team would still be operating both rovers in 2009.
For the whole story, plus links to recent findings and plans for the future, visit
DataStreme—the graduate level meteorology course for K-12 educators—is again being offered, beginning January 26. The 12-week course is funded by the American Meteorological Society and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Three meetings are scheduled at the National Weather Office in Seattle, and participants will work closely with mentors throughout the course. For more information, see
To register, contact Dave Weller at
Ideas, comments and Web sites of interest to other teachers should be sent to Irene Svete, newsletter editor, at
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