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Explore Science: Earth & Space 2020 Physical Toolkit - Part A Shipping to 350 Partners Across the United States!

Kayla Berry, Museum of Science

What's New This Year?

The National Informal STEM Education Network (NISE Net) 2020 Explore Science: Earth & Space toolkit will ship in two parts this year. Part A of the toolkit will be shipping out to 350 partner institutions nationwide this month, with Part B shipping in August 2020. 

Toolkits will be shipped from the Science Museum of Minnesota in four labeled boxes. If your toolkit does not arrive by February 14th, please contact Brandon Phan at [email protected] for assistance.


Toolkit Audience & Content

In collaboration with NASA, the NISE Network has assembled a new set of engaging, hands-on Earth and space science experiences with connections to science, technology, and society. Through a competitive application process, 350 toolkits have been awarded to eligible organizations including children’s museums, science centers, science museums, public planetariums and observatories, and NASA visitor centers located in the US.

Audience

  • The toolkit materials were designed to help partners engage participants in Earth and space phenomena, reflect on science as a way of knowing, and identify as science learners.
  • The activities work best for family audiences, with a range of experiences appropriate for participants ages four through adult. We've also included Spanish translations for all of the NISE Network educational materials, plus a bilingual promotional banner. 

Contents

  • The toolkit includes hands-on activities, professional development and training materials, and marketing and promotional resources.
  • Additional resources have been included for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and the 50th anniversary of the Apollo program. 

Digital 2020 Toolkits Available for Download

All physical toolkit materials are available as a digital download online for free at https://www.nisenet.org/earthspacekit-2020.

 


Physical 2020 Toolkit Recipients

https://www.nisenet.org/earth-space-toolkit-recipients-2020


NISE Network Online Workshops 

The NISE Network runs a series of free online workshops focused on helping partners share their work and learn from others in the Network. The aim of the online workshops is to increase the number of professional development opportunities available to our partners and create more channels for Network partners to learn from each other directly. View upcoming online workshops at nisenet.org/events

 

The Science Behind the 2020 Earth & Space Toolkit - 3 Part Series

This three part series of online workshops is focused on the science behind the 2020 Earth & Space Toolkit activities. After a brief overview of each activity and its resources we'll hear from a panel of content experts.

 

February 4, 2020; 2-3pm Eastern / 11am-12pm Pacific

The Science Behind the 2020 Explore Science: Earth and Space Toolkit – Virtual Tour of a NASA Mission Prototyping and Testing Lab

This online workshop will cover the science behind two of the 2020 Explore Science: Earth & Space toolkit activities – Design, Build, Test and Mission to Space. After a brief overview of each activity and its resources, our guest presenter, George Gorospe, a research and control systems engineer at NASA Ames Research Center, will show us his lab and answer your questions about how he designs, builds, and tests equipment for current and future missions to space.

 

February 11, 2020; 2-3pm Eastern / 11am-12pm Pacific
The Science Behind the 2020 Explore Science: Earth and Space Toolkit – Using Your Toolkit to Present the Life Cycle of Stars

This online workshop will cover the science behind two of the 2020 Explore Science: Earth & Space toolkit activities – Star Formation and Nebula Spin ArtAfter a brief overview of each activity and its resources, our guest content experts will discuss how to use the activities on their own or together to introduce the life cycles of stars and their amazing diversity. 


March 24, 2020; 2-3pm Eastern / 11am-12pm Pacific
The Science Behind the 2020 Explore Science: Earth and Space Toolkit – Asteroid Mining

This online workshop will cover the science behind the Asteroid Mining activity from the 2020 Explore Science: Earth & Space toolkit. After a brief overview of the activity and its resources, our guest presenter, Jim Bell, a planetary scientist and author in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University, will speak about the science behind and social implications of asteroid mining.


Newsletter

To learn more about the National Informal STEM Education Network (NISE Net) please subscribe to our free monthly newsletter: http://www.nisenet.org/newsletter


Acknowledgements

This material is based upon work supported by NASA  cooperative agreement award number NNX16AC67A and 80NSSC18M0061.  Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).