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Could you use an ASTRONOMER or SPACE SCIENTIST for Your Classroom in 2014-15?

Apply to be a Project ASTRO Educator! Receive free training, year-round assistance, and standards-based materials.


National Project gives grades 3-10 teachers "their own" astronomer/space scientist

Project ASTRO San Diego pairs area educators in grades 3-10 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 updated DVD 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 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 about a dozen 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 9 years in San Diego have been a great success, with 1000 students in 30 county schools benefitting from the program.

Applications are now being taken for the 2013-14 school year. All participants should attend a Saturday training workshop; the next one will be on Saturday November1, 2014 at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center. The deadline for the next training workshop is OCTOBER 18. (Later applications may still be considered, space permitting).

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.

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.