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C.A. Morrow, J.B. Harold, C.L. Edwards (Space Science Institute)
Space and earth scientists often report that they would be happy to become engaged in valuable education and public outreach (EPO) activity if they were offered a feasible way to get started. Motivated by the need to offer scientists useful ideas and options for EPO involvement, we have created prototype versions of two interconnected, web-based resources: 1) the "Menu of Opportunities for Scientists in Education" (MOSIE) and 2) the "Roles Matrix". Our MOSIE prototype features EPO options collected from a small group of high-impact projects that are national in scope, with diverse geographic access, and ongoing opportunities for scientists to play valuable EPO roles. Featured projects currently include Project ASTRO, an NSF-supported national network of astronomer-teacher partnerships, and several traveling science center exhibits supported by NSF and/or NASA, such as MarsQuest, the Space Weather Center, and New Views of the Hubble Space Telescope. We are also featuring scientists from the MOSIE projects in our web-based "Roles Matrix", which includes profiles of actual space and earth scientists successfully engaged in EPO. The goals of this web-based Matrix are to: 1) recognize scientists successfully involved in education and public outreach (EPO); 2) raise awareness of the diversity of roles scientists can play in EPO besides classroom or public presentation; 3) document a representative sample of the ways scientists are currently involved in EPO; and 4) provide role models for scientists in personally rewarding and effective EPO involvement. We will evolve the Roles Matrix and MOSIE based on user feedback to maximize their value in promoting fruitful partnerships between EPO professionals and the communities in space and earth science. This work is supported by the NASA Office of Space Science and the NSF Geosciences Directorate.
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The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: camorrow@colorado.edu