NOAO Outreach Advisory Board

The National Optical Astronomy Observatories have established an advisory board to assist with the expanding educational outreach activities of NOAO. This Outreach Advisory Board (OAB) includes the 15 teachers listed below, selected from school districts in the vicinity of Tucson, AZ. The OAB will advise NOAO on a range of outreach activities, intially and primarily, our Educational Outreach Program. We are currently interested in hosting a series of summer workshops for teachers using the facilities of Kitt Peak National Observatory and providing real astronomical data on a regular basis in support of open-ended, research-based projects in middle and high school classrooms. The following teachers are members of the inaugural NOAO OAB:

Barry Boczar, Baboquivari Middle School
Scot Burns, Flowing Wells High School
Rebecca Chambers, Coronado K-8 School
Loretta Clarke-Cortez, Desert View High School
Paul Felix, Cholla High School
Kathy Friedman, Emily Gray Junior High School
Christopher Goff, Amphi Middle School
Kathryn Johnson, Tucson Magnet High School
Allen Kelley, Tucson Magnet High School
Jeff Lockwood, Sahuaro High School
Suzanne Maly, Safford Magnet Middle School
Patricia Merha, Amphitheater High School
Mark Saliba, Esperero Canyon Middle School
Richard Siegel, Salpointe Catholic High School
Edwin Pierce, Catalina Foothills High School

In this image, OAB members Christopher Goff and Suzanne Maly discuss an issue with NOAO astronomer Nigel Sharp.


In order to provide informed feedback to NOAO, the OAB will be given access to NOAO in the form of three one-day workshops. The first of these workshops took place on November 28th, 1995 at the NOAO downtown headquarters in Tucson, AZ. As detailed in the on-line agenda various NOAO staff members spoke about their current research and outreach activities and gave a tour of the extensive facilities of the NOAO downtown headquarters. In January, OAB teachers will spend 24 hours on Kitt Peak, visiting the various telescopes and learning how the Observatories serve the professional astronomical community. In March, the OAB will meet again to discuss how the resources of NOAO could be put to effective use in science classrooms, locally and nationally, and to set the agenda for future OAB activities.

Kathryn Johnson and Kathy Friedman explore the World Wide Web during the first one-day OAB workshop.



NOAO Outreach Advisory Board Meeting
Tuesday, November 28, 1995


AGENDA

8:15
Welcome and Introductions
Suzanne Jacoby, NOAO Education Officer

8:30
"What is a National Observatory and Why Do We Need One?"
Dr. Catherine Pilachowski, NOAO/KPNO Astronomer

9:00
Public Outreach Programs
Yvette Estok, Manager, NOAO Public Information Office

9:15
Educational Outreach Plans
Suzanne Jacoby

9:45
Tour of the Building
Skip Andree, Engineering Associate, NOAO

11:30
"The Internet, World Wide Web, and You"
Mike Peralta, NOAO Central Computing Services

11:45
Lunch

1:00
"Playing the Game: Doing Real Science in Your Classroom"
Jeff Lockwood, Ed.D., Sahuaro High School

1:30
Current Scientific Research by NOAO Staff Astronomers:

"Solar Variability and the Solar Cycle"
Dr. Karen Harvey, Solar Physics Research Corporation and National Solar Observatory

"Planetary Nebulae as Distance Indicators"
Dr. George Jacoby, Kitt Peak National Observatory

"Comet Rotation"
Dr. Beatrice Mueller, Kitt Peak National Observatory and NASA

3:15
Hands-On Opportunities for Surfing the Web

4:00
Debriefing, Planning for Mountain Workshop in January

Page created and maintained by Suzanne H. Jacoby (outreach@noao.edu)
Last Updated: 5 December 1995
Artwork by students of the Satori School, Tucson, Arizona

Return to NOAO Educational Outreach Page