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Could you use an ASTRONOMER or SPACE SCIENTIST for Your Classroom in 2008-2009?

Apply to be a Project ASTRO Educator!


National Project gives grades 3-9 teachers "their own" astronomer/space scientist

Project ASTRO San Diego pairs area educators in grades 3-9 with local amateur and professional astronomers and space scientists, who commit to make at least four classroom visits in the school year. Educator and astronomer partners train together at a summer Saturday workshop where they practise hands-on, inquiry-based activities that involve students in the process of scientific discovery and reasoning. Workshop participants receive Project ASTRO's 800-page activity guide The Universe at Your Fingertips free-of-charge, as well as continuing support and local resources.

Teachers must commit to teaching some astronomy/space science (which includes lunar phases, Earth's climate, energy from the Sun) during the 2008-2009 school year, but prior experience in teaching astronomy is definitely NOT required - we shall provide you with all the expertise!

Project ASTRO is a national program of the non-profit Astronomical Society of the Pacific. The project began in 1993 and has now expanded to 11 other sites across the country. The emphasis is on continuing teacher-astronomer partnerships, where the students really get to know "their astronomer".

The hands-on classroom activities are closely aligned with California science curriculum guidelines. In addition, many Project ASTRO scientists go beyond the classroom to organize stargazing events, field trips, or astronomy clubs for their adopted schools. Project ASTRO's first 3 years in San Diego have been a great success, with 1000 students in 30 county schools benefitting from the program.

Applications are being taken for the 2008-2009 school year. The deadline for the next training workshop is JULY 15, 2008. (Later applications will still be considered, space permitting). All participants must attend a Saturday training workshop; the next one scheduled (numbers permitting) will be on Saturday August 16, 2008 at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center.

For more information and an application form, please contact:

Dr. Philip Blanco - Coordinator, San Diego Project ASTRO
Email: pblanco@sciences.sdsu.edu

or visit the San Diego Project ASTRO WWW site:

http://mintaka.sdsu.edu/projectastro/index.html

Project ASTRO San Diego funding - we need your help!

Project ASTRO San Diego relies on local funding to provide teachers and astronomers with training and classroom materials. Project ASTRO San Diego's funding is administered by the Campanile Foundation, a 501c(3) organization. Individual and corporate tax-deductible contributions will be acknowledged on the ASTRO website, at training workshops, and in publicity ranging from school newsletters to local TV and radio coverage.

Your tax-deductible 2005 contribution will be doubled by a generous matching donation from the O.P. and W. E. Edwards Foundation, which is managed by Yale graduate Dr. JoAnn Eder.

For more information, please contact the Project Director, Dr. Ron Angione, SDSU Astronomy Department, 5500 Campanile Dr, San Diego, CA 92182-1221, email angione@sciences.sdsu.edu, phone 619 594-6183.