New Leadership for Space Science Education in New York
by Michael J. Passow
Earth Sciences CorrespondentEducational programs in the space and aeronautical sciences in the New York City metropolitan area are being revived through the National Space Society (NSS) Education Chapter.
The mission of the NSS Education Chapter is to promote space as an interdisciplinary approach to education, preparing students for 21st century scientific and technological challenges. The chapters goals include encouraging students to explore space and aeronautics, and to provide teachers, parents, and youth groups with the resources needed to encourage such exploration.
Towards these goals, they have sponsored educational conferences and student competitions. Space Science Technology Opportunities Educational Conference #3, in November 1996, presented Frank Vernuccio, editor of The Space Press, who spoke about revitalizing American cities through public and private partnerships. Among the workshops were The First Explorers from the Stone Age to the Space Age, The Balloon Project, and workshops about rocketry and space shuttle missions.
Planning is currently underway for Space Science Technology Opportunities, Education Conference #4, scheduled for Saturday, 25 October 1997 at Teachers College, Columbia University (see calendar, this issue). For more information, visit the NSS Education Chapter home page (http://pages.nyu.edu/~potter/nssedu/eduspace.html) or contact Carolyn Josephs (1084 E. 82 St., Brooklyn, NY 11236; e-mail: carolyn3@mail.idt.net).
The Education Chapter works closely with the National Space Society (600 Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E., Washington, DC 20003; 1-800-376-ORBIT). For more about NSS activities, check out their home page at www.nss.org/. There are 95 chapters affiliated with the NSS; you can probably find one near you through the listing on their home page. There are also sources of information for students and teachers, answers to frequently-asked questions about space, and many other useful subtopics.
The Education Chapter also has an excellent working relationship with one of New York City hidden science gems, the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), a division of the Goddard Space Flight Center of Greenbelt, MD, connected with Columbia University. Located at Broadway and 112th St. (above Toms Restaurant), GISS has been a leader in basic research about earth and space since its founding by Dr. Robert Jastrow in 1961. Much of the current research focuses on global change studies, especially natural and human-induced environmental changes over decadal time scales. Scientists at GISS are leaders in studies of climatic shifts, biogeochemical cycles, planetary atmospheres, and other interdisciplinary studies. For more information about GISS, contact Goddard Institute for Space Studies, by mail at 2880 Broadway, New York, NY 10025, or on the Internet at www.gsfc.nasa.gov/.
Home Spring 97 Full Screen
The TEACHERS CLEARINGHOUSE FOR SCIENCE AND SOCIETY EDUCATION