Check out the following NASA opportunities for the education community. Full descriptions are listed below.

Guidance for Education and Public Outreach Activities Under Sequestration

NASA has taken the first steps in addressing the mandatory spending cuts called for in the Budget Control Act of 2011. The law mandates a series of indiscriminate and significant across-the-board spending reductions totaling $1.2 trillion over 10 years.

As a result, NASA has been forced to implement a number of new cost-saving measures, policies, and reviews in order to minimize impacts to the mission-critical activities of the Agency. Guidance regarding conferences, travel, and training that reflect the new fiscal reality in which the agency must operate has been provided.

For specific guidance as it relates to public outreach and engagement activities please reference the following webpage.

http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/about/sequestration-NASA-education-guidance.html

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Check out the following NASA opportunities for the education community. Full descriptions are listed below.

2013 GLOBE Virtual Student Conference
Audience: All Educators and Students
Event Dates: Ongoing Through May 31, 2013

Engineering Design Challenge: Thermal Protection System Web Seminar
Audience: 8-12 and Informal Educators
Event Date: May 16, 2013, at 6:30 p.m.

NASA's Digital Learning Network Event -- International Space Station EarthKAM Celebration
Audience: Middle School Educators and Students
Event Date: May 17, 2013, 11 a.m. - Noon CDT

Free Education Webinar Series from the Aerospace Education Services Project
Audience: K-12 Educators
Next Event Date: May 17, 2013

ROSES-13 Amendment 9: Final Text for ROSES-13 Appendix A.35, The GLOBE Implementation Office
Audience: Education Organizations and Consortiums
Notice of Intent Requested by: May 20, 2013
Proposal Deadline: July 19, 2013

The Curiosity Rover: Robotic Geologist and Explorer Web Seminar
Audience: Grades 4-9 Teachers and Informal Educators
Event Date: May 21, 2013

Engineering Design Challenge: Spacecraft Structures Web Seminar
Audience: 5-9 and Informal Educators
Event Date: May 22, 2013

NASA ISS FIT iPad App Challenge
Audience: Application Designers, Developers and Producers
Challenge Runs through July 1, 2013

MAVEN Workshop -- Red Planet: Read, Write, Explore!
Audience: Teachers of Grades 3-5
Application Deadline: July 24, 2013
Workshop Date: Aug. 24, 2013

Airborne Research Experience for Educators Academy
Audience: 4-12 Educators
Applications Open Until Spots Filled

DIY Podcast -- Tutorial Videos
Audience: K-12 Educators

Teacher Learning Journeys Project
Audience: All Educators

What's New at NASA's Space Place Website
Audience: K-6 Educators

Don't miss out on upcoming NASA education opportunities.
For a full list of events, opportunities and more, visit the Educator and Student Current Opportunity pages on NASA's website:
-- Educators http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html
-- Students http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/current-opps-index.html

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2013 GLOBE Virtual Student Conference

The Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment, or GLOBE, Virtual Student Conference is a place for GLOBE students to showcase their research projects for peer and scientific review. These projects will be available online for the public to view and to post comments and questions. Projects will be available for viewing through May 31, 2013.

To learn more about the GLOBE Virtual Student Conference, visit http://www.globe.gov/web/scrc/virtual-conference/2013-virtual-student-conference.

Questions about this event should be directed to http://www.globe.gov/contact-globe.

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Engineering Design Challenge: Thermal Protection System Web Seminar

As part of a series of electronic professional development experiences for educators, the NASA Explorer Schools project and the National Science Teachers Association are hosting a 90-minute live professional development Web seminar for educators on May 16, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. EDT. Learn about the science of heat transfer and heat dissipation related to NASA vehicles, and receive an introduction to the associated engineering design challenge, Thermal Protection System. In this activity, students are challenged to design a thermal protection system and test it using a propane torch.

This is the last time, during the current school year, this seminar will be offered.

For more information and to register online, visit http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NES3/webseminar16.aspx.

To learn more about the NASA Explorer Schools project, visit http://explorerschools.nasa.gov.

Email any questions about this opportunity to NASA-Explorer-Schools@mail.nasa.gov.

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NASA's Digital Learning Network Event -- International Space Station EarthKAM Celebration

NASA invites students and educators to tune in for a special Digital Learning Network webcast event celebrating International Space Station, or ISS, EarthKAM. Students around the world recently used a camera aboard the space station to take pictures of erosion on Earth during the ISS EarthKAM mission that took place April 23-26, 2013. These same students will video conference with NASA astronaut Michael Fincke at NASA's Johnson Space Center to share what they learned about erosion, to exchange images and to chat about the research being conducted from the space station.

The event will be webcast on the NASA DLiNfo Channel on May 17, 2013, at 11 a.m. CDT.

All students are invited to join in the fun by submitting questions to dlinfochannel@gmail.com.

For more information about the ISS EarthKAM Event and to view the webcast, visit the DLiNfo Channel page at http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/dln/webcast/webcast.html.

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Free Education Webinar Series from the Aerospace Education Services Project

The Aerospace Education Services Project is presenting a series of free webinars throughout May 2013. All webinars can be accessed online. Join aerospace education specialists to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources to bring NASA into your classroom.

Climate Versus Weather: It's a Matter of Time (Grades 3-8)
May 17, 2013, at 4 - 5 p.m. EDT and 6 - 7 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Tony Leavitt will explore how weather and climate are related and how they differ. Participants will be introduced to NASA websites that will engage and educate students about these important topics.

Understanding the Red Planet: Mars Image Analysis (Grades 5-12)
May 20, 2013, at 4 - 5 p.m. EDT and 6 - 7 p.m. EDT
Join aerospace education specialist Tony Leavitt as he shares ways to use images taken by Arizona State University’s Thermal Emission Imaging System, or THEMIS, visible camera aboard NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. The Odyssey spacecraft arrived at Mars on October 24, 2001, and its images show the shape of the Martian surface (geologic features).

Modeling the Solar System: What Is a Planet? (Grades 3-8)
May 21, 2013, at 4 - 5 p.m. EDT and 6 - 7 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Angelo Casaburri will discuss the challenges of teaching students about the scale of our solar system. Using a simple cash register tape activity, participants will learn how to model the vast distances between the sun and planets. Mathematical scale, astronomical units and differences between planets and a dwarf planets will also be discussed.

For more information about these webinars, and to see a full list of webinars taking place through May 2013, visit http://aesp.psu.edu/programs/webinars/.

Questions about this series of webinars should be directed to Chris Gamrat at gamrat@psu.edu.

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ROSES-13 Amendment 9: Final Text for ROSES-13 Appendix A.35, The GLOBE Implementation Office

The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment, or GLOBE, Program is an important element of NASA's commitment to promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM education among youth worldwide and to enhancing its international collaboration through the peaceful use of space. The Earth Science Division of NASA's Science Mission Directorate solicits proposals for an organization or a consortium of organizations to host the GLOBE Implementation Office and collaborate with NASA in the implementation of GLOBE, with the objective of strengthening the programmatic support for GLOBE and enhancing the value of GLOBE to its worldwide community of partners, students, teachers and scientists.

NASA anticipates making one award through this competitive solicitation at approximately $0.5-0.8M for the first four months of transition from the current operations and $2.0-2.5M per year for the subsequent three years, for a total of three years and four months.

This Amendment creates Appendix A.35. Notices of Intent are requested by May 20, 2013, and proposals are due July 19, 2013.

This amendment to the NASA Research Announcement "Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) 2013" (NNH13ZDA001N) has been posted on the NASA research opportunity homepage at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ and appears on the RSS feed at http://nasascience.nasa.gov/researchers/sara/grant-solicitations/roses-2013.

Questions concerning Appendix A.35, The GLOBE Implementation Office, may be directed to Ming-Ying Wei, Earth Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546-0001. Telephone: (202) 358-0771; Email: mwei@nasa.gov.

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The Curiosity Rover: Robotic Geologist and Explorer Web Seminar

As part of a series of electronic professional development experiences, the NASA Explorer Schools project and the National Science Teachers Association are hosting a 90-minute Web seminar on May 21, 2013, at 6:30 p.m. EDT. Jordan Evans from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory will provide an overview of the Curiosity mission and talk about some stunning geologic discoveries. Curiosity is packing 10 science instruments, including four spectrometers, a rock-zapping laser and the first drill used on Mars.

For more information and to register online, visit http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NES3/webseminar27.aspx.

To learn more about the NASA Explorer Schools project, visit http://explorerschools.nasa.gov.

Email any questions about this opportunity to the NASA Explorer Schools help desk at NASA-Explorer-Schools@mail.nasa.gov.

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Engineering Design Challenge: Spacecraft Structures Web Seminar

As part of a series of electronic professional development experiences for educators, the NASA Explorer Schools project and the National Science Teachers Association are hosting a 90-minute live professional development Web seminar for educators on May 22, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. EDT. Learn how to incorporate the excitement of rocketry into your classroom during this Web seminar and receive an overview of the student engineering design challenge, Spacecraft Structures, where students design and construct a strong, but lightweight, structure that can withstand the launch of a water bottle “rocket.”

Due to popular demand, this Web seminar is being offered this one final time during the current school year.

For more information and to register online, visit http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NES3/webseminar14.aspx.

To learn more about the NASA Explorer Schools project, visit http://explorerschools.nasa.gov.

Email any questions about this opportunity to NASA-Explorer-Schools@mail.nasa.gov.

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NASA ISS FIT iPad App Challenge

The NASA Tournament Lab has launched a new challenge in support of International Space Station operations. The ISS Food Intake Tracker, or FIT, iPad App Challenge asks participants to design, develop and produce an iPad application that will allow space station crewmembers to easily track what foods they eat.

The application should seamlessly identify the user, track all dietary intake (food and beverages) and provide a timestamp of when the intake was consumed. And the app must be compatible with the iPad operating system.

This challenge is divided into multiple stages, and each stage has its own start and end date. The challenge is currently scheduled to run through July 1, 2013. For full challenge details and a list of what steps are currently in progress, visit http://www.topcoder.com/iss/fit/.

Questions about this opportunity should be directed to http://www.nasa.gov/offices/COECI/contact_us.html.

iPad is a registered trademark of Apple Inc.

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MAVEN Workshop -- Red Planet: Read, Write, Explore!

The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, or MAVEN, mission will explore the planet’s upper atmosphere, ionosphere and interactions with the solar wind. Set to launch in November 2013, the mission will provide invaluable insights into the history of Mars’ atmosphere and climate, liquid water and planetary habitability.

Join the MAVEN education team for a one-day workshop on the MAVEN mission and the accompanying program for grades 3-5, Red Planet: Read, Write Explore! This program features six standards-based lessons that combine science, literacy and art to help students understand planetary habitability and the MAVEN mission. The workshop will introduce participants to these lessons and concepts. The workshop also will have a session devoted to Spanish speaking English Language Learner and English as a Second Language students. Attendees will receive free classroom materials.

The workshop will take place Aug. 24, 2013, in Los Angeles, Calif. Applications are due July 24, 2013, but space is limited so interested educators are encouraged to apply early.

For more information about the workshop and to apply online, visit http://lasp.colorado.edu/home/maven/education-outreach/for-educators/red-planet/los-angeles-workshop/.

Please email any questions about this opportunity to epomail@lasp.colorado.edu.

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Airborne Research Experience for Educators Academy

In support of our nation's commitment to training and retaining 100,000 science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, teachers over the next decade through the 100Kin10 initiative, NASA's Earth Science Project Office and NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center Office of Education are recruiting 12 STEM teachers to participate in the Airborne Research Experience for Educators Academy, a 10-day research experience July 15-25, 2013, at the Aerospace Education Research Operations, or AERO, Institute in Palmdale, Calif. Applicants can be formal (traditional classrooms, public or private) or informal (museum, science center, etc.) educators of grades 4-12.

Through interactions with NASA's unique content, facilities and personnel, the academy will focus on three education goals through a variety of interfaces (virtual, in-person, self-directed learning):
1. Engage in NASA's unique, airborne research-based missions.
2. Increase core scientific and research knowledge base.
3. Generate NASA mission-based STEM resources and teaching materials.

Participants will be anchored in a community of scientific practice through an end-to-end airborne experience that will focus on two NASA Earth science missions: (1) Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel, or HS3, an investigation of how tropical storms form and develop into hurricanes, and (2) Airborne Tropical TRopopause Experiment, or ATTREX, a study of atmospheric compound concentrations and their impact on the Earth's climate and energy budget.

Experiences will include technical content instruction from mission scientists and engineers, utilization of technology via an online tool to monitor missions in real-time, pedagogical content instruction in 21st century skills, inquiry-based teaching and learning, engineering design and project-based learning. Experiences will be translated into teaching practice through the development of a thematic STEM module and action plan.

This opportunity will remain open until all seats are filled. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and may apply as individuals or as an interdisciplinary team of two - three persons.

For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/education/arees or http://aeroi.org/node/13.

Questions about this opportunity should be directed to Shaun Smith at shaun.smith@nasa.gov.

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DIY Podcast -- Tutorial Videos

Are you tired of struggling to find new ways to integrate technology into your curriculum? NASA's Do-It-Yourself Podcast website is the place to begin: It offers free public-domain resources to help you and your students build your own podcasts. With DIY Podcast, you and your students can start creating podcast files immediately.

Building podcasts supports national education standards in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines. The process also supports different learning styles. The auditory and visual learners can listen to and watch their podcasts to review the content and learn even more. The kinesthetic learner can perform demonstrations to add to the video. And because they are in the starring roles, students will watch/listen to the podcast repeatedly. The repetition reinforces the content.

NASA offers six video tutorials to show educators and students how easy it is to make podcasts and vodcasts. In just minutes, we show you how to create audio and video podcast files with the free video clips, audio tracks and images on the DIY Podcast site. The six-video series comprises:

-- What Is a Podcast?
-- DIY Podcast Tour
-- Viewing and Downloading Video Clips
-- Listening to and Downloading Audio Clips
-- Building an Audio Podcast
-- Building a Video Podcast

The series provides time-saving tips for helping students create podcasts and explains the benefits of using podcasts as an educational tool. You can find additional techniques and tips on the DIY Podcast Blog. Visit today to learn how you and your students can make podcasts -- all it takes is a few minutes!

NASA's DIY Podcast Tutorial Videos
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/diypodcast/tutorials-index-diy.html

NASA’s DIY Podcast Blog http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/newui/blog/viewpostlist.jsp?blogname=diyPodcastBlog

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Teacher Learning Journeys Project

NASA's Aerospace Education Services Project has teamed up with the National Science Teachers Association to launch the new Teacher Learning Journeys project. This new approach to individualized professional development is designed to help teachers meet personal learning goals and increase student learning and motivation.

Educators can select, prioritize and complete professional development paths that allow them to find and make use of specific resources, teaching strategies and content they need for their students. Participants may apply for digital badges, a form of recognition that explains the activity, required effort and skills acquired.

For more information and to register for the free project, visit http://aesp.psu.edu/programs/teacher-learning-journey/.

Questions about the Teacher Learning Journeys project should be directed to Chris Gamrat at gamrat@psu.edu.

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What's New at NASA's Space Place Website

More and more of our readers are using mobile devices. For that reason, we have recently optimized the design of The Space Place to work well on mobile phone screens. You will see only what fits comfortably (at a readable size) on even the smallest screen, with the rest of the page accessible at your touch. Here's what else we've been doing . . .

What's New?
Why would a pigeon racer phone the Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colo., for a report before entering a prized pigeon into a big race?

It's surprising how many ways the sun affects Earth and its living things. Solar storms can cause "bad space weather" on Earth. Bad space weather can damage communication and navigation satellites, power grids and hurt astronauts on the space station. But that's not all. Read this new article on The Space Place to find out why homing pigeons and their human handlers might care about space weather. Go to http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/pigeons.

Un Rescate en Español
We have all heard stories in which it took many days and a lot of trouble and expense to rescue or find people who were lost in the wilderness or at sea. Sometimes, the rescue comes too late. Here's a story with a much happier ending, thanks to advance planning and the help of a well-designed and -managed system involving weather satellites and a ground-support system. This new feature on Space Place is in both English and Spanish, with Spanish being the story’s original form. Go to http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/sarsat/sp.

Spotlight on a Dream Career
A Mars mission is good example to show how different scientists and engineers can be. The engineers build and operate the spacecraft, and the scientists determine what information it will gather once it is on the ground or in orbit. Engineers and scientists have different priorities. So there is a special kind of engineer who designs and sets up tools that allow these two types of people to work smoothly together. That's the job of our latest Mission Chronicles blogger. Sarah Milkovich gives a unique view of how a diverse mission operations and science team can work together even though they are located around the country. Check it out at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/mission-chronicles/#milkovich.

For the Classroom
No matter what kind of science lesson or activity you are doing with your class, the most important lesson is how to think like a scientist. Science isn't just a bunch of facts. And although there is a formal process known as the scientific method, it is not always necessary to follow it in order to “do science.” So what is science? That is the weighty topic dealt with lightly at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/science. Along with this discussion is an introduction to doing a science fair project, which can be found at spaceplace.nasa.gov/science-fair. Although it may be a bit late in the year to think about science fairs, such projects can also be encouraged just to satisfy students' curiosity -- or, if that isn’t enough -- for extra credit!

For Out of School Time
A menu full of games will entertain kids all summer, while sneaking in a few informal science and technology lessons -- but don't let them know about this latter advantage! See them all in one place at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/menu/play.

Also, don't forget about our iPhone and iPad mobile apps over the summer. Space Place Prime updates daily with new images, videos and articles from The Space Place. Games "Satellite Insight" and "Comet Quest" are also fun challenges. Find out more at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/ios.

Special Days

June 8: World Oceans Day
Pick from a diverse set of ocean-related pages and activities at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/search/ocean.

June 16:Father's Day
Any dad would love a cloud mobile or a galactic mobile. Check out the mobiles at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/cloud-mobile or http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/galactic-mobile.

June 21: Summer Solstice, First Day of Summer
There's a simple explanation of why we have seasons at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/seasons.

We Love Feedback
Thanks to the many of you who have written to info@spaceplace.nasa.gov to tell us how you use our website in your teaching and informal work with kids. We are happy to be able to bring you this valuable resource to enhance and supplement your curriculum.

Have a restorative, relaxing summer. Meanwhile, we will continue working to bring you more new materials for next school year.

iPhone and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc.

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Don't miss out on education-related opportunities available from NASA. For a full list of Current Opportunities, visit http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html.

Visit NASA Education on the Web:
For Educators: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html
For Students: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html
NASA Kids’ Club: http://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub

Check out the following NASA opportunities for the education community. Full descriptions are listed below.

Guidance for Education and Public Outreach Activities Under Sequestration

NASA has taken the first steps in addressing the mandatory spending cuts called for in the Budget Control Act of 2011. The law mandates a series of indiscriminate and significant across-the-board spending reductions totaling $1.2 trillion over 10 years.

As a result, NASA has been forced to implement a number of new cost-saving measures, policies and reviews to minimize impacts to the mission-critical activities of the agency. Guidance regarding conferences, travel and training that reflect the new fiscal reality in which the agency must operate has been provided.

For specific guidance as it relates to public outreach and engagement activities, please reference the following webpage.

http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/about/sequestration-NASA-education-guidance.html

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Check out the following NASA opportunities for the education community. Full descriptions are listed below.

National Air and Space Museum Super Science Saturday Events
Audience: All Educators and Students
Next Event: April 13, 2013

Summer Counselors Needed: 2013 Women in STEM High School Aerospace Scholars
Audience: Educators Interested in STEM Fields
Application Deadline: April 15, 2013
Summer Session Dates: June 23-28 and July 7-12, 2013

2013 Thacher Environmental Research Contest
Audience: 9-12 Students
Entry Deadline: April 15, 2013

Free Education Webinar Series from the Aerospace Education Services Project
Audience: K-12 Educators
Next Event Date: April 15, 2013, at 4 p.m. EDT

Free Exploring Space Lecture Series -- Attend in Person or View Online
Audience: All Educators and 9-Higher Education Students
Next Lecture Date: April 16, 2013, at 8 p.m. EDT

Digital Learning Network Webcast Event: Climate Change
Audience: All Educators and Students
Event Date: April 17, 2013, Noon - 1 p.m. EDT

Engineering Design: Forces and Motion -- Balloon Aerodynamics Challenge Web Seminar
Audience: 6-12 and Informal Educators
Event Date: April 17, 2013, at 6:30 p.m. EDT

Reduced Gravity Education Flight Opportunity for Students at Minority Serving Institutions
Audience: Higher Education Educators & Students
Proposal Deadline: April 17, 2013

Properties of Living Things: Searching for Life on Mars Web Seminar
Audience: 4-8 and Informal Educators
Event Date: April 18, 2013, at 6:30 p.m. EDT

International Space Apps Challenge
Audience: All Educators and 9-Higher Education Students
Event Dates: April 20-21, 2013

Center for Astronomy Education Teaching Excellence Workshops
Audience: Higher Education Educators and Students
Event Dates: Multiple Dates April - June 2013

NASA's Digital Learning Network Event -- Celebrate Our Beautiful Earth
Audience: Grades 5-12
Event Date: April 22, 2013, Noon EDT

2013-14 NASA LEARN Opportunity
Audience: 6-12 Educators
Application Deadline: April 22, 2013

ISS EarthKAM Spring 2013 Mission – EarthKAM Erosion Challenge
Audience: Middle School Educators and Students
Mission Dates: April 23-26, 2013

Free Virtual Professional Development Workshop Series: Rockets to Racecars
Audience: K-12 Educators
Event Dates: April 23, 2013, at 3:15 p.m. EDT

Educator Workshop: How to Think Like a NASA Scientist
Audience: Grade 5-12 Educators
Registration Deadline: May 3, 2013
Event Date: May 11, 2013

Don't miss out on upcoming NASA education opportunities.
For a full list of events, opportunities and more, visit the Educator and Student Current Opportunity pages on NASA's website:
-- Educators http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html
-- Students http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/current-opps-index.html

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National Air and Space Museum Super Science Saturday Events

Join the National Air and Space Museum on the second Saturday of each month during 2013 for Super Science Saturday at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Through demonstrations and hands-on activities, visitors of all ages will become immersed in science, technology, engineering and mathematics topics related to aviation and space exploration. Each event takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Admission is free, and parking is $15.

Upcoming topics include:

April 13, 2013 -- How Things Fly
May 11, 2013 -- Astronomy

For more information and a full list of upcoming Super Science Saturday events, visit http://airandspace.si.edu/events/superscience/.

Questions about this series of lectures should be directed to nasmpubliclectures@si.edu.

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Summer Counselors Needed: 2013 Women in STEM High School Aerospace Scholars

The Women in STEM High School Aerospace Scholars, or WISH, project offers a one-of-a-kind experience for female high school juniors to jump-start their futures by engaging in opportunities relating to science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM. Participation starts in an online community and culminates with a summer experience at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, during the summer of 2013.

WISH is looking for counselors for its summer sessions. Applicants should be educators who have experience and are interested in the STEM fields. Counselors will work either the week of June 23-28 or July 7-12, 2013. This is the perfect opportunity for educators looking to inspire young minds and spend a week at NASA's Johnson Space Center.

Applications are due April 15, 2013.

For more information please contact: Maria Chambers at: maria.a.chambers@nasa.gov.

To complete an application please visit the website at: https://spacegrant.net/apps/?pk=wish3.

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2013 Thacher Environmental Research Contest

The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies is currently accepting entries for the 2013 Thacher Environmental Research Contest. The contest is open to U.S. students in grades 9-12. Entries should demonstrate the best use of geospatial tools or data to study our home planet. Eligible geospatial tools and data include satellite remote sensing, aerial photography, geographic information systems and the Global Positioning System. The main focus of the project must be on the application of the geospatial tool(s) or data to study a problem related to Earth's environment.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens. Students in public, private, parochial, Native American reservation and home schools are eligible. Entries may be submitted by individuals or teams. Cash awards will be given to students in the top three places. Awards will also be given to the winning students' teachers.

Entries must be postmarked by April 15, 2013. Entries may also be submitted electronically.

For more information, visit http://strategies.org/education/student-contests/thacher-contest/2013-thacher-environmental-research-contest/.

Questions about this contest should be emailed to ThacherScholars@strategies.org.

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Free Education Webinar Series from the Aerospace Education Services Project

The Aerospace Education Services Project is presenting a series of free webinars throughout April 2013. All webinars can be accessed online. Join aerospace education specialists to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources to bring NASA into your classroom.

3,670,044,979 miles From the Sun and Wicked Cold (Grades 3-8)
April 15, 2013, at 4 - 5 p.m. EDT and 6 - 7 p.m. EDT
Join aerospace education specialist Rick Varner as he discusses the extreme distances of the objects in our solar system. Participants will learn how to use a simple linear model of paper to look more closely at the distant dwarf planet Pluto and the New Horizons mission scheduled for an encounter in 2015.

Our Solar System: A Model Overview (Grades 4-8)
April 16, 2013, at 4 - 5 p.m. EDT and 6 - 7 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Steve Culivan will present NASA inquiry activities that demonstrate remote sensing and scale models to better visualize our sun, planets, asteroids and other objects as a whole system.

For more information about these webinars, and to see a full list of webinars taking place through April 2013, visit http://aesp.psu.edu/programs/webinars/.

Questions about this series of webinars should be directed to Chris Gamrat at gamrat@psu.edu.

The U.S. Department of Education has Green Strides webinars scheduled throughout 2013. To see a full list of Green Strides webinars, visit http://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/green-strides/webinar.html.

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Free Exploring Space Lecture Series -- Attend in Person or View Online

The 2013 Exploring Space Lectures will feature world-class scholars discussing the incredibly diverse worlds that make up our solar system. The lectures will be held at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., and are free to attend. Tickets are required. The lectures will be webcast live for free viewing. Lecture videos will be archived.

The Voyager Journey to the Edge of Interstellar Space

Launched in 1977 on a journey to explore Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, the two Voyager spacecraft are now over nine billion miles from Earth. Professor Edward Stone of the California Institute of Technology will discuss the epic journey taken by the Voyager spacecraft as they approach interstellar space.

The lecture will take place on April 16, 2013, at 8 p.m. Come early to see a free film and to meet the lecturer.

For more information, visit http://airandspace.si.edu/events/eventDetail.cfm?eventID=4978.

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Digital Learning Network Webcast Event: Climate Change

Join NASA's Digital Learning Network for a live webcast discussing the effects of climate change with the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA. The event will take place on April 17, 2013, from Noon - 1 EDT.

Students across the nation will talk with NASA Astronaut Mario Runco and a climate expert from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. The webcast will also feature live data from satellites on a high-definition climate simulation hyperwall. Students will also connect live to an EPA scientist, who will share the effect of climate change on our planet and how each of us can make a difference.

Watch the webcast live by clicking on the link below.
http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/dln/webcast/webcast.html

Questions about the program may be directed to Patricia Moore at patricia.l.moore@nasa.gov.

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Engineering Design: Forces and Motion -- Balloon Aerodynamics Challenge Web Seminar

As part of a series of electronic professional development experiences for educators, the NASA Explorer Schools project and the National Science Teachers Association are hosting a 90-minute live professional development Web seminar for educators on April 17, 2013, at 6:30 p.m. EDT. This Web seminar will introduce the Forces and Motion: Balloon Aerodynamics Challenge for students. This activity provides firsthand information about density, neutral buoyancy and drag, which is then used to solve a problem. The activity provides many opportunities for incorporating national mathematics, science and technology learning standards into your curriculum.

This will be the final time this seminar is offered during the current school year.

For more information and to register online, visit http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NES3/webseminar19.aspx.

To learn more about the NASA Explorer Schools project, visit http://explorerschools.nasa.gov.

Email any questions about this opportunity to the NES Help Desk at NASA.Explorer.Schools@mail.nasa.gov.

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Reduced Gravity Education Flight Opportunity for Students at Minority Serving Institutions

NASA is offering undergraduate students from minority serving institutions an opportunity to test experiments in microgravity aboard NASA's reduced gravity aircraft.

This opportunity is a partnership between the Minority University Research and Education Program and NASA's Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program, which gives aspiring explorers a chance to propose, design and fabricate a reduced-gravity experiment. Selected teams will test and evaluate their experiments aboard NASA's reduced-gravity airplane. The aircraft flies about 30 roller-coaster-like climbs and dips during experiment flights to produce periods of weightlessness and hypergravity ranging from 0g, to 2g.

Proposals are due April 17, 2013.

All applicants must be full-time undergraduate students, U.S. citizens and at least 18 years old.

To learn more about this opportunity, visit https://microgravityuniversity.jsc.nasa.gov/murep/.

Questions about this opportunity should be emailed to Suzanne Foxworth at jsc-reducedgravity@nasa.gov.

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Properties of Living Things: Searching for Life on Mars Web Seminar

As part of a series of electronic professional development experiences, the NASA Explorer Schools project and the National Science Teachers Association are hosting a 90-minute Web seminar for educators on April 18, 2013, at 6:30 p.m. EDT. This web seminar features two lessons: one on extremophiles and the other on searching for life. Review criteria for determining if something is alive and learn how students apply the criteria in a hands-on activity. A video will be shown that connects the activity to a NASA mission. Collaborate with other participants about ways of using and adapting the activity. Extension activities for students interested in the topic will be provided.

This is the final time this seminar will be offered during the current school year.

For more information and to register online, visit http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NES3/webseminar21.aspx.

To learn more about the NASA Explorer Schools project, visit http://explorerschools.nasa.gov.

Email any questions about this opportunity to the NASA Explorer Schools help desk at NASA-Explorer-Schools@mail.nasa.gov.

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International Space Apps Challenge

NASA and government agencies worldwide will host the second International Space Apps Challenge April 20-21, 2013, with events across all seven continents and in space.

Participants are encouraged to develop mobile applications, software, hardware, data visualization and platform solutions that could contribute to space exploration missions and help improve life on Earth.

The two-day event will provide an opportunity for government to harness the expertise and entrepreneurial spirit of citizen explorers to help address global challenges. During the event, representatives of NASA and other international space agencies will gather with scientists and participants to use publicly released open data to create solutions for 50 software, hardware and visualization challenges, including robotics, citizen science platforms and applications of remote sensing data.

Twelve locations in the United States will host an International Space Apps Challenge event: Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Cape Canaveral, Fla.; Cleveland; Detroit; Easton, Md.; New York; Philadelphia; Reno, Nev.; Rochester, N.Y.; San Francisco; and Syracuse, N.Y. Thirty-eight other events will be held in 30 other countries: Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Poland, Macedonia, Mexico, Nepal, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Uganda and United Kingdom. Also participating will be McMurdo Station in Antarctica and astronauts aboard the International Space Station

Registration for citizen participation is now open.

To learn more about the International Space Apps Challenge, get the latest updates and register to attend an event, visit http://spaceappschallenge.org/.

If you have questions about the challenge, please visit http://spaceappschallenge.org/about/contact/.

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Center for Astronomy Education Teaching Excellence Workshops

NASA's Center for Astronomy Education, or CAE, announces a series of educator workshops for astronomy and space science educators.

These workshops provide participants with experiences needed to create effective and productive active-learning classroom environments. Workshop leaders model best practices in implementing many different classroom-tested instructional strategies. But most importantly, you and your workshop colleagues will gain first-hand experience implementing these proven strategies yourselves. During many microteaching events, you will have the opportunity to role-play the parts of student and instructor. You will assess and critique each other’s implementation in real time, as part of a supportive learning community. You will have the opportunity to use unfamiliar teaching techniques in collaboration with mentors before using them with your students. CAE is funded through NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Exoplanet Exploration Program.

April 20, 2013 -- Dearborn, Mich.
CAE Great Lakes Regional Teaching Exchange

May 4, 2013 -- Oceanside, Calif.
CAE Southern California Regional Teaching Exchange

June 1-2, 2013 -- Indianapolis, Ind.
CAE Tier I Teaching Excellence Workshop for Current and Future Astronomy and Space Science Instructors

June 17-20, 2013 -- College Park, Md.
New Faculty Workshop for Physics and Astronomy

For more information and to register for workshops online, visit http://astronomy101.jpl.nasa.gov/workshops/index.cfm.

Inquiries about this series of workshops should be directed to Gina Brissenden at gbrissenden@as.arizona.edu.

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NASA's Digital Learning Network Event -- Celebrate Our Beautiful Earth

Join NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center on Earth Day, April 22, 2013, at Noon EDT, for a musical and visual tour of Earth from space with interactive discussions through the Beautiful Earth program!

Director and musician Kenji Williams will narrate the BELLA GAIA^®, or beautiful Earth, multimedia show, and discuss his inspiration and why art and music are important in science. He will be joined by NASA's Dr. Claire Parkinson, project scientist of the Aqua satellite mission, which measures Earth's processes including temperatures, clouds, vegetation cover and water vapor. Dr. Parkinson will discuss climate change and how NASA is studying our home planet.

Students and teachers are invited to participate by viewing the webcast on the DLiNfo Channel at http://dln.nasa.gov. During the event, an email address will be provided for participants to send questions.

For more information about the Beautiful Earth program, visit http://beautifulearth.gsfc.nasa.gov.

Inquiries about this event should be directed to Erin McKinley at erin.e.mckinley@nasa.gov.

BELLA GAIA is a registered trademark of Remedy Arts, LLC.

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2013-14 NASA LEARN Opportunity

The Long-term Engagement in Authentic Research at NASA, or LEARN, Project is seeking educators for an innovative program that provides onsite research and training opportunities with NASA scientists in the summer and guided research projects that continue on throughout the school year. Participants conduct their own research with help of a team of NASA scientists and share and integrate these projects into the classroom.

This summer, participants will complete two weeks of onsite work at NASA's Langley Research Center during the weeks of July 8-12 and July 15-19, 2013. Teachers will receive approximately 70 hours of professional development. Onsite work will be followed by continued research through 2014 via virtual research team meetings and data presentations. A stipend is offered for participants, and educators may present proposals for travel funding to present their research at regional conferences.

This opportunity is open to science, technology, engineering and mathematics educators of grades 6-12. Earth science, physics, chemistry and mathematics teachers are strongly encouraged to apply. Application is open to U.S. citizens only.

Applications are due April 22, 2013.

For more information and to register for the workshops, visit http://science-edu.larc.nasa.gov/LEARN/.

Questions about these workshops should be directed to Margaret Pippin at m.pippin@nasa.gov.

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ISS EarthKAM Spring 2013 Mission – EarthKAM Erosion Challenge

Middle school educators are invited to join NASA for the International Space Station EarthKAM Spring 2013 Mission from April 23-26, 2013. This mission will feature the EarthKAM Erosion Challenge. Guide your students in hands-on research as they program cameras aboard the space station to take pictures of erosion on Earth, and then video conference with an astronaut to discuss what they learned. During the interactive video conference, students will share what they learned about erosion, exchange images and chat with the astronaut about the research being conducted from the International Space Station.

For more information about EarthKAM and to register for the upcoming mission, visit the EarthKAM home page https://earthkam.ucsd.edu/ek-images/erosion_challenge .

Please note that you can participate in the ISS EarthKAM Spring 2013 mission without participating in the EarthKAM Erosion Challenge.

If you have questions about the EarthKAM project, please email ek-help@earthkam.ucsd.edu.

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Free Virtual Professional Development Workshop Series: Rockets to Racecars

Start your engines! Engage students in real-world mathematics and incorporate standards-based hands-on activities to make mathematics challenging and fun. Bring the excitement of racing and the thrill of launching into your classroom with the "Rockets 2 Racecars" educational materials.

Learn about tires and air pressure as you calculate the effects of temperature on regular tires as well as Space Shuttle and racecar tires in the session "Measure Up and Calculate." Use mathematics to interpret air pressure and air flow data on airplane wings and racecar spoilers in "May the Force Uplift You...or Not!". Test the variables that affect cars' stability to travel by constructing a balloon-powered race car and maneuver through different angles to see force in action in "Newton's Angle on Force and Motion." Design a capsule to land on Mars and see its effectiveness by calculating speed or rate of descent in "Drag Race to Mars Engineering Design Challenge."

Sign up today to join the free four-day workshop series on April 23, April 25, April 29 and May 1, 2013, from 3:15pm to 4:30pm EDT.

Participants who register and complete all four workshops are eligible to receive five workshop hours towards continuing education units.

For more information, visit http://dln.nasa.gov.

Questions about this opportunity should be directed to Marilé Colon Robles at marile.colonrobles@nasa.gov.

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Educator Workshop: How to Think Like a NASA Scientist

Learn to think like a NASA scientist, and get your students thinking like one, too!

On May 11, 2013, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, or JPL, in Pasadena, Calif., will host an educator workshop that will share techniques to teach students to read scientific graphs and draw conclusions based on real NASA data. Experts will discuss current Earth science missions and show how scientists draw conclusions from these data. Participants will also receive science and mathematics application problems to take back and use in the classroom.

The target audience for the workshop is middle- and high-school science and mathematics educators, but the workshop is open to all educators.

Registration for this workshop closes on May 3, 2013. A $25 registration fee includes continental breakfast, lunch and snacks.

For more information, directions to the workshop location and to register online, visit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/education/index.cfm?page=373.

Please direct questions about this workshop to Patty Tovar at Patricia.G.Tovar@jpl.nasa.gov.


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Don't miss out on education-related opportunities available from NASA. For a full list of Current Opportunities, visit http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html.

Visit NASA Education on the Web:
For Educators: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html
For Students: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html
NASA Kids’ Club: http://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub