Education & Public Outreach: Project AstroBio, Newsletters, Public Lecture Series, plus future directions

NASA not only funds astrobiology research, but also Education and Public Outreach (EPO) activities. “Education” refers to formal and informal education of students and adults. “Public Outreach” refers to newsletters, lectures, and other means of public information. In this way, NASA fulfills its mission as a promoter and provider of high quality education in science and technology, benefiting individuals, institutions, and society as a whole.

The Present

Since NASA began supporting UW’s Astrobiology Program in 2001, Project AstroBio (PAB) has been the centerpiece of our EPO. PAB is a nationally recognized outreach program that links professional, amateur and student scientists with Grade 3-12 teachers to present hands-on science activities in the classroom. Originally called Project Astro/Seattle, PAB also continues to be closely associated with other Project Astro sites around the country. For full information on Project AstroBio, CLICK HERE.

Recent changes in the UW Astrobiology Program, in addition to new funding options, have led us to revamp PAB and add other content to our EPO program.

The Future

Our proposed EPO activities include a suite of professional development opportunities for teachers. We will support teachers to take an online course in astrobiology developed by the NAI EPO group at the University of Arizona. The course content is basic astrobiology, but what makes it appropriate for graduate credit is that the teachers convert the content to lesson plans appropriate for their students.

Then, during the summer after they complete this course, the teachers will receive further professional development in astrobiology (AB) via a 5-day workshop on the UW campus. This workshop will give UW NAI members a chance to showcase their research and labs and get directly involved with educators who are enthusiastic about astrobiology. An area of emphasis will be chosen each year, depending upon suitable topics within the AB research programs at UW and NASA space science missions.

In early 2006 the Pacific Science Center is partnering with us to develop an AB show for their Starlab portable planetarium and to pilot the show in 20 PAB schools. This new show is made possible by special funds from the NASA Astrobiology Institute.

We also plan to offer annual Chautauqua courses led by Professors Peter Ward and Don Brownlee, which will provide professional development for neglected segments of higher education faculty, namely from community colleges and small 4-yr colleges.
In our plan, we will expand our diversity connections by bringing to each summer workshop (a) a faculty member from one of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities who are members of the Minority Institutions Astrobiology Collaboration, and (b) three teachers from that person’s region.

And of course, we will also continue our popular semi-annual lecture series and newsletters. Past examples can be found here:

Public Lecture Series

Astrobiology Newsletters

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The above represents our formally funded EPO projects; however, we believe strongly in astrobiology as a vehicle to science inquiry and understanding, and so our members also engage in many other educational and public science activities.
Click below for highlights of other EPO activities in past years by UW astrobiology faculty and students:

2004-2005

2003-2004

2002-2003

For a complete list of all our astrobiology EPO conducted in past years of funding, please see the following link to the full EPO reports, as submitted annually to NASA:

http://nai.arc.nasa.gov/team/index.cfm?page=epo&teamID=39&year=7