SAMEC E-News: 02-02-07
You can also view an online version of the newsletter at: http://samec.lpl.arizona.edu/resources/e-news02-02-07.html
Saturn Viewing Event at
Flandrau Science Center, Feb. 9/10 and 16/17
UA Science Teacher's
Colloquium Series
Arizona ACS High School
Chemistry Teaching Award
Laurel Clark EARTH CAMP -
Leadership for a Shared Planet
Opportunity for Female High
School Students Interested in Math and Science
Non-credit descriptive
astronomy course will be taught at The Learning Curve
2007 Improving Teacher
Quality (ITQ) Grant RFP is now available
Teaching Mapping Skills to
High School or College Students
Educational E-Journal Links
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Saturn Viewing
Event at Flandrau Science Center, Feb. 9/10 and 16/17, 2007
Winter 2007 is a great time to see the planet Saturn in our sky. To
help the public view and enjoy the return of Saturn to the evening sky,
large telescopes and giant binoculars will be set up by Flandrau
Science Center, The University of Arizona Astronomy Club, SEDS
(Students for the Exploration and Development of Space) and the Tucson
Amateur Astronomy Association (TAAA) on the UA mall in front of
Flandrau the next two weekends (Feb. 9/10 and 16/17). On Feb. 10,
Saturn will be at opposition - opposite the Sun in our sky, rising at
sunset, and near its closest to the Earth. This free public viewing
event will be held, weather permitting, Feb. 9, 10, 16 and 17, starting
at 7 p.m.
Also, two special talks about Saturn by UA planetary scientists will be
presented in Flandrau's star theater. First Dr. Adam Showman will
give a talk entitled "Saturn: The Ringed Planet" on Friday Feb. 9 at
6:30 p.m. Also, planetary scientist Kunio Sayanagi will present
"Saturn: Stormy weather" on Friday Feb. 16 at 8:00 p.m. In addition,
now showing in the Flandrau Planetarium this winter will be NASA's Ring
World planetarium show, a fascinating multimedia and planetarium
presentation on current exploration of Saturn by NASA's Cassini
spacecraft; Ring World includes an update on the mission via a short
Power Point presentation at the end of each recorded show. The
admission price for each science talk or Ring World is $2.50.
Currently UofA astronomers have made headlines this month in their
exploration of Saturn with NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Cassini has
imaged a huge cloud system covering the north pole of Saturn's large
moon Titan. The spectacular cloud system may be responsible for the
material that fills the lakes discovered last year by Cassini's radar
instrument. Many University of Arizona scientists are actively
involved in Cassini's exploration of Saturn and its moons, and the
University is among the leading partners in the Cassini program through
VIMS instrument on-board Cassini <http://wwwvims.lpl.arizona.edu>.
As for Saturn as seen from Earth, its in Leo, the Lion and rises
earlier and continues to creep higher above the eastern horizon.
Saturn now rises at around 6:30 p.m. in early February. Saturn is
overhead from around 10:00 p.m.-2:00 a.m. in early and middle February,
and, by the start of morning twilight is found above the western
horizon. Saturn appears as a zero magnitude star like object (about as
bright as the brightest stars in the night sky) in front of the Sickle
of Leo, the Lion. For help to find Saturn in the sky see
Flandrau's Skywatchers Guide Internet page accessible from Flandrau's
main page at: http://www.flandrau.org
Complete information about our event with lots of useful links is at
the news story on our web site: http://www.flandrau.org.
Flandrau's recorded "Astronomy Newsline" is also available at
520-621-4310.
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UA Science
Teacher's Colloquium Series
The Science Teacher's Colloquium Series is a forum for K-12 science
teachers to learn about cutting edge research at The University of
Arizona (UA). From nanotechnology to Earth-sized virtual radio
telescopes, the Ice Age to gene science, the UA is advancing in all
areas of science as it reinforces its continued position as one of the
top public national research universitys. One hour of professional
development credit is offered for attending each seminar. This
series is sponsored by The University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary
Laboratory, the UA/NASA Space Grant Program, the Space Imagery
Center and the Science and Mathematics Education Center, which provide
funding for this program. For additional information visit: http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/COLPL/
or http://samec.lpl.arizona.edu/k12educators
or contact samec@lpl.arizona.edu
* February 27, 2007, 7:30-8:30 pm “Hothouse: Global Climate Change and
the Human Condition," Robert Strom, Professor Emeritus, Lunar and
Planetary Laboratory (Location: UA Kuiper Space Sciences Lecture Hall
Room 308)
* March 27, 2007, 7:30-8:30 pm "New Views of Saturn," Bob Brown,
Professor, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory
(Location: UA Kuiper Space Sciences Lecture Hall Room 308)
* April 24, 2007, 7:30-8:30 pm "Mars: Up Close and Personal, Alfred
McEwen, Professor, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (Location: UA Kuiper
Space Sciences Lecture Hall Room 308)
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Arizona ACS High
School Chemistry Teaching Award
The Southern Arizona Section of the American Chemical Society announces
its 2007 Southern Arizona ACS High School Chemistry Teaching Award.
The purpose is to recognize, encourage, and stimulate outstanding
teachers of high school chemistry in Southern Arizona. The nature of
the award consists of a plaque, a cash prize of $500 for the
teacher, and a $500 donation to the teacher?s school for use by
the awardee for educational supplies. The winner will
automatically be nominated by the section for the American
Chemical Society's annual Regional Award in High School Chemistry
Teaching. The award will be presented at the Southern Arizona Section's
April awards reception. The awardee, the nominator, and selected
students will be invited to attend. The award, originally funded
by Research Corporation of Tucson, is made possible due to the
generosity of the members of the local section. Past Recipients
include: Jill Christman, Canyon Del Oro High School; Brenda
Wolpa, Canyon del Oro High School; Ann Marie Condes, Catalina
Foothills High School; Teresa Potter, Rio Rico High School; Ellen
Caldwell, Palo Verde High School; Gayle Brickert-Albreicht,
Tucson High School; Elyse Wexler, Sabino High School; Patricia
Merha, Amphitheater High School Eligibility: Any high school chemistry
teacher in the Southern Arizona Section geographic area (Pima, Pinal,
Greenlee, Graham and Santa Cruz counties) may be nominated for
the award. The submission deadline is March 15th.
Nomination information: Contact Kathryn Louie, Ph.D. by phone at
(520)626-8695 or 626-2044 or by email at klouie@email.arizona.edu
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Laurel Clark EARTH
CAMP - Leadership for a Shared Planet
The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and the UA College of Science team up
to offer middle school and high school students an incredible summer
learning experience. Youth build leadership skills through experiential
learning and conceptual understanding of earth processes, expand
awareness of the interdependency of all living things, and create a
sense of wonder related to the Sonoran Desert. To receive a packet
containing 10 color brochures and a 10 minute promotional DVD, please
contact Amy Orchard at 520-883-3083 or aorchard@desertmuseum.org To
learn more about our day program with three overnighters (MS) and our
10-day field excursion (HS) visit http://www.desertmuseum.org/kids/camp_page.php
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Opportunity for
Female High School Students Interested in Math and Science
The CURIE Academy is a one-week summer residential program for high
school girls who excel in math and science, enjoy solving problems, and
want to learn more about careers in engineering, Cornell University's
world-renowned faculty and graduate students lead academy participants
in classes, lab sessions, and project research. Participants work in
teams to solve problems that mirror real-life situations. In addition,
social events, panel discussions, and other out-of-classroom activities
provide participants with opportunities to network informally with each
other and Cornell faculty, staff, and students.
Primary goals of this program include: Exposing girls to the exciting
opportunities existing for them in engineering; Helping girls
understand that women belong and are needed in the science, technology,
engineering, and math (STEM) fields BR; Demonstrating the connections
between the study of engineering and solving problems affecting people
and society. Please share the enclosed information with current
sophmore and junior girls who have an interest in STEM fields. We also
encourage you to share this information with science and math teachers
so they may distribute it to their students. You will find all program
materials including the application online at
http://www.engineering.cornell.edu/curie.
Applications from girls who belong to groups severely underrepresented
in engineering-African Americans, Native Americans, and
Hispanics/Latinas are encouraged. If you have questions about the
program, please contact us at cj38@cornell.edu
or (607)255-0735 Eligibility and application requirements may be
found at http://www.engineering.cornell.edu/curie
The application must be postmarked by April 16, 2007.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Non-credit
descriptive astronomy course will be taught at The Learning Curve
A 6-week non-credit descriptive astronomy course will be taught at The
Learning Curve at the University of Phoenix campus, 555 E. River
Rd. The content is all parts of astronomy, but described and
explained in words, not mathematics or numbers. No prior
knowledge is needed. The lectures are on Tuesdays, 1:30-3:30 pm,
March 27 - May 1. They will be given by Kitt Peak astronomer
Helmut Abt. The tuition for the course is $115. Contact The
Learning Curve at 520-777-5817 or info@thelearningcurvetucson.com
or P.O. Box 41776, Tucson, AZ 85717-1776.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
2007 Improving
Teacher Quality (ITQ) Grant RFP is now available
The 2007 Improving Teacher Quality (ITQ) Grant RFP is now
available at: http://www.azregents.edu
under the Special Programs link. We appreciate your interest in
the Arizona Board of Regents and its Special Programs.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Teaching Mapping
Skills to High School or College Students
If you are teaching mapping skills to high school or college students,
DLESE has posted an interesting paper examining the
problems students have with various aspects of this study area.
Visit: http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/edu/DLESE/maptutorial/
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Educational
E-Journal Links
* Carolina Biological online tips: http://www.carolina.com/tips/
* CONTINUUM (The first edition of the Governor's P-20 Council
newsletter): http://www.governor.state.az.us/P20/
* Education News and Research Reports: http://www.queuenews.com/AZnews
* Education Week: http://www.edweek.org/
* No Child Left Behind: http://www.ed.gov/nclb/
* NSTA Express: http://science.nsta.org/nstaexpress/nstaexpress_2006_10_23.htm
* NSTA Science Class (High School Edition): http://science.nsta.org/enewsletter/2006-11/member_high.htm
* NSTA Web Seminars:http://institute.nsta.org/web_seminars.asp
* Physics Teacher Online: http://phy.ilstu.edu/jpteo/
* Teacher Magazine: http://www.teachermagazine.org
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This information was sent to approximately 3100 science and mathematics
educators and is posted at the SAMEC website:
http://samec.lpl.arizona.edu/resources/e-news.html
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