Hawaii Teachers Training in Radio Astronomy
March 30, 2009
Teachers Preparing For NASA's Return To The Moon
Monday, March 23, 2009. Hawaii. A total of twenty-seven teachers from Kaneohe, Honolulu and the Hilo District Annex are training in Radio Astronomy beginning March 23rd at three separate workshops to be part of America's Return to the Moon. By training with the Lewis Center for Educational Research's GAVRT (Goldstone Apple Valley Radio Telescope) program, teachers with students in grades K-12 will learn about radio astronomy and how to remotely operate a 110 foot diameter radio telescope that is located in California's Mojave Desert Deep Space Network in order to monitor the status of the Lunar CRater Observing and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) when it launches in late spring of this year.
LCROSS is a mission in collaboration with NASA Ames and prime contractor Northrop Grumman to search for water in a permanently dark crater on the moon's north polar icecap. LCROSS will launch and be in orbit approximately 80 days before impacting the moon. Students across the world will have the ability to monitor the satellite via the Internet located at the Lewis Center's Mission Control.
The GAVRT program at the Lewis Center is an 11 year program in partnership with NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The Lewis Center has created hands-on curriculum that follow state and national educational standards, bringing the relevance of science to students. Having the opportunity to conduct real science where discovery is possible is a motivating factor for students and teachers. GAVRT is currently in 37 states, 14 countries and 3 US territories, and now in the Islands.
Kim Bunnell, Lewis Center's Educational Projects Manager and Pat Reeder, Instructor, have traveled to the Islands to conduct the three trainings. Teachers will learn an Introduction to Radio Astronomy, technical information about the radio telescope, discover how to meet educational standards, have simulations and real time antenna use, as well as procedures for pre and post antenna sessions with students. For more information regarding LCROSS, GAVRT and the Lewis Center, visit www.lewislearning.org, www.lewiscenter.org/gavrt/about.php. Contact Cheryl Thompson at 760-553-5543 or cthompson@lcer.org or Kim Bunnell, 760-403-5333.
