Poster Abstracts - Kepler - NASA

POSTER ABSTRACTSP1006. POSTER SESSION IISearching for Earth’s Twin and STEM Education—the Kepler Mission’s Education and Public OutreachProgram. E. K. DeVore 1 , A. G. Gould 2 , P. K. Harman 1 , D. G. Koch 3 , and S. B. Howell 3 , 1 SETI Institute, 189 BernardoAve, Mountain View, CA 94043, edevore@seti.org, 2 Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California atBerkeley, CA 94720, 3 Kepler Science Office, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035Introduction: Are we alone? Are there otherworlds like our own? Astronomers are discoveringmany exoplanets, but can smaller planets - new Earths- be found? These are powerful and exciting questionsthat motivate student learning and public interest in theKepler search for planets. The Kepler Mission Educationand Public Outreach (EPO) program capitalizes onthe excitement of discovering Earth-size planets in thehabitable zone, stimulating student learning and publicinterest in Science, Technology, Engineering andMathematics (STEM) education, particularly astronomyand physics.Who is the Audience for Kepler Mission EPO?The EPO program aims to bring Kepler science anddiscoveries to multiple audiences: students and teachersin formal educational institutions, the general publicin informal settings such as museums and planetariums,and the general public though the media and outreachactivities such as radio programs, star parties anda robust website. See Figure 1.Figure 1: The Scope of Kepler EPO ProgramHigh Impact Leverage and Partnerships: TheKepler EPO goals are to increase public awareness andunderstanding of the Kepler Mission by embodyingkey principles set forth in NASA's Partners in Educationand Implementing the OSS Education/ Public OutreachStrategy: involve scientists and contractors inEPO efforts, establish collaborations with planetariumprograms and science museums, and build on existingprograms and networks that maximize the leverage ofNASA EPO funding in this project. The Kepler EPOplan is designed to take advantage of existing collaborations,networks, experience, and relationships tooptimize the impact of EPO. These partnerships bringEPO expertise plus existing networks of educators andoutreach agents to the Kepler Mission, which amplifythe EPO program’s reach to students, teachers and thepublic. Examples: Kepler lessons are reaching thousandsof schools across the nation through the LawrenceHall of Science’s GEMS Space Science Sequencefor grades 3-5 and 6-8, and the FOSS PlanetaryScience unit for middle schools. The productionand distribution of the Kepler Mission poster withpublished articles via science education organizationsbrings Kepler to about 80,000 US STEM teachers inmiddle and high schools, plus planetarium directorsinternationally[1]. The Shadows and Silhouettes kitfor amateur astronomers supports outreach to the publicas well as schools, and has been used by hundredsof clubs in every state (reaching more than 100,000people) to explain lunar phases, eclipses and planetarytransits; it was developed and distributed in partnershipwith the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, whichleads the Night Sky Network. A partnership with theSpace Science Institute (Boulder, CO), created a set ofmuseum exhibits that features the search for life beyondEarth, Alien Earths, that toured the national forfive years, and are now a part of the permanent exhibitsat the Virginia Air and Space Museum. These projectsand others that leverage the Kepler EPO programwill be discussed as models for NASA EPO programs.Partnerships offer both a greater impact in terms of thereach of programs and the effectiveness of NASAfunding in enhancing STEM education.Reflections on Long-Duration EPO Programs:The Kepler mission EPO program has been in existencethe entire duration of the Kepler Mission. Thelong-duration of the program has required that the EPOprogram team adapt to new opportunities and to newchallenges. These include spin-off projects developedwith Kepler data that engage the public in citizen science.The presentation will close with a brief discussionon the evolution of the Kepler EPO program.References: [1] Koch, D. G., DeVore, E., Gould,A., Harman, P. Seeking Other Worlds, Vol. 33 No. 4,2009 Science Scope, NSTA. and Koch, D. G., DeVore,E., Gould, A., Harman, P. Take Off With NASA’sKepler Mission! V. 76 No. 1, 2009 Science Teacher,NSTA. and Gould, A., Komatso T., DeVore, E., Harman,P., Koch, D. G., Share the Hunt for Other Earths,March 2009, The Planetarian, IPS.2011 Kepler Science Conference - NASA Ames Research Center 209