Apollo 13 The Longest Hour

Reflections on the 40th Anniversary of the Apollo Program

Thursday, October 8, 2009 • 7:30PM

Flight Controller Sy Liebergot

Sy Liebergot, a former NASA flight controller, was on the job for some of the most memorable moments in space exploration, including the Apollo 13 fuel cell explosion.

Mr. Liebergot will be available for book signings before and after the talk.

www.nasa.gov

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

San Mateo Performing Arts Center • San Mateo, CA

506 N. Delaware Street, San Mateo, CA 94401 • Phone (650) 400-9425 • email pablo@laserpablo.com

Fall NCNAAPT conference: Call for Presentations

Call for Presentations

Our Fall Section Conference will be Saturday, October 10, 2009 at NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA

We solicit presentations of 15 minutes in length. Suitable topics include teaching ideas, research projects, laboratory techniques, novel demonstrations, computers and instruction. Please send an abstract of your presentation with title, your name and affiliation, AV and equipment requests and other requirements to the Program Chairperson, Paul Robinson, by email to pablo@laserpablo.com.

Novice presenters: Our Section conferences are a great place to “get your feet wet” if you’d like to present at a national conference later. We’ll shower you with praise and encourage you to share elsewhere.

Deadline for submission is Tuesday, September 15, 2009.

In the Footsteps of Galileo: A Hands-on Workshop on Astronomy

Sat, Sep. 12 and Sun, Sep. 13, 2009

Westin SFO Hotel, Millbrae, California (near the San Francisco Airport)

Part of the 120th Anniversary Meeting of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific

In this hands-on workshop, we will train educators to be “Galileo Ambassadors” for the International Year of Astronomy (2009). Teachers in grades 4 – 12 will learn how to do age-appropriate, inquiry-based activities in astronomy and physical science. After a brief introduction to Galileo’s life and work and the realms of astronomy, participants will explore:

1. A Private Universe: Student Reasoning and How to Help Students to Act Like Scientists
2. The Moons of Jupiter: Galileo’s Experiment Redone (and the Process of Science)
3. Understanding the Phases and Motions of the Moon
4. Making a Constellation Finder and Getting Oriented in the Night Sky
5. Measuring the Dark: Activities to Understand the Environmental Effects of Light Pollution
6. The Galileoscope: A Telescope for All Seasons and All Reasons
7. The Universe at Your Fingertips: Where to Find the Best Astronomy Activities in Print and on the Web

Participants will receive a free GalileoScope (a small telescope especially developed for easy public viewing during the International Year of Astronomy) and package of hands-on activities, background information, and resource guides that can be put to immediate use in  the classroom. No background in astronomy will be assumed; both new  and veteran teachers should gain new information and effective teaching techniques from the workshop.

Facilitators include:

• Andrew Fraknoi (Chair, Astronomy Dept, Foothill College and the 2007 California Professor of the Year)
• Dennis Schatz (VP, Pacific Science Center, Seattle; and the 2009 NSTA Faraday Award winner for science communication)
• Constance Walker (Nat’l Optical Astronomy Observatories and Coordinator, Globe at Night)
• Robert Sparks (Nat’l Optical Astronomy Observatories and Senior Trainer, Hands-on Optics Project)
• Suzanne Gurton (Educational Projects Director, Astronomical Society of the Pacific)

(Sunday afternoon, participants will join with other meeting attendees to hear a series of non-technical talks on the search for extra-terrestrial life, with the father of SETI, Dr. Frank Drake, award-winning science popularizer Seth Shostak, planetary protection scientist Margaret Race, and one of the chief scientists for the Kepler Mission, looking for Earths around other stars.)

Cost

$39.95 per day ($78.90 for the weekend)
1 semester unit of academic credit: $100 (optional)

Registration

To register, go to the meeting web site:
http://www.astrosociety.org/events/2009mtg/workshops.html
When you register, click on weekend registration and the first workshop under each day.

NCNAAPT fall meeting/workshop at NASA Ames, October 10, 2009

Mark your calendars

The fall NCNAPT meeting/workshops will be held at NASA Ames Research Center on October 10th, 2009.

Keynote speaker will be Sy Liebergot, EECOM from Apollo 13.

More details will be posted soon, including registration links, call for presentations, etc.

Teachers In Space Workshop / California 2009

Dear Educator,

Take advantage of this unique opportunity to be part of history and shape the future of education! Join us for the Teachers In Space luncheon and workshop / California 2009!

Teachers In Space . . . then back to class

The Space Frontier Foundation and Teachers In Space invite you to join us at NASA Ames Research Center as we make history! Fifty years after the Mercury Seven, on the 40th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing, we are rebooting the American space program. This July 20th we will introduce the next generation of space explorers who will boldly go where no astronaut has gone before . . . back into the classroom!

Teachers In Space wants to put a thousand astronaut teachers into American classrooms within the next decade. Teachers In Space will provide these educator astronauts with professional development classes in STEM academics, followed by a sub-orbital flight. These Pathfinders will be the first astronaut teachers to fly in space and then return to the classroom to inspire the next generation.

Currently, Teachers In Space is working with educators across the country to design the ideal professional development component for this cutting edge program. Over 100 educators have participated in workshops conducted in Massachusetts, Texas and Arizona. Teacher-generated ideas compiled from these sessions will fuel this program for success in schools across America and we want the input of enthusiastic, experienced Californiateachers added to the tank.

If you appreciate the value of space education and have a passion to motivate and encourage students in pursuing STEM academics please join Teachers In Space on this incredible adventure. Help write a new chapter in American history!

Teachers In Space Workshop / California 2009

• Monday, July 20, 2009
• NewSpace 2009 Conference / http://newspace2009.spacefrontier.org
• NASA Ames Research Center / Mountain View, California
• 11:00 AM / Pathfinders Introduction Ceremony
• 12:00 PM / luncheon / catered by Maverick’s Barbeque
• 1:00 to 3:00 PM / workshop / participants will receive two recertification hours
• Registration Fee of $45 / includes Pathfinders Intro, lunch and workshop

REGISTER ONLINE: http://newspace2009.spacefrontier.org/registration.php

• Enter your information
• Go to Meal Events
• Select Teachers In Space Event and Lunch and submit
• Registration deadline is July 17, 2009

If you are planning to attend or have any questions, please contact:

Colleen Howard
SIM Coordinator / Mesa Public Schools
Education Coordinator / Teachers In Space
choward@mpsaz.org

Physics Instant Update – A Workshop for High School Physics Teachers (USC)

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Organizers- Topics

• Ty Buxman (S. Heart Flintridge) – Refresh Physics Knowledge
• Bill Layton (UCLA) – New Technology in Science Education
• Stephan Haas (USC) – Design In-Class Demonstrations
• Dean Papadakis (South Pasadena High) – Physics in the Laboratory
• Stephen Cronin (USC) – Science & Religion

Schedule:

• 9:30-10:15 Secrets of Quantum Information Science (Todd Brun, USC Engineering)
• 10:15-11:00 The Question of Why. How do religions view science and how do scientists view religion? (Stephan Haas, USC Physics)
• 11:00-12:00 Science and Religion – a Buddhist Perspective (John Daishin Bukzbazen, Zen Center of Los Angeles)
• 12:00-1:00 Lunch (provided)
• 1:00-1:30 Incorporating Webcasts in the Classroom (Gene Bickers, USC Physics)
• 1:30-2:15 Tour of Studio Classrooms at the USC Distance Education Network (Binh Tran, USC Distance Education Network)
• 2:15-3:00 Microbe Power (Moh El Naggar, USC Physics)
• 3:00-4:00 Demonstrations, Activities and the California Standards (Bill Layton, UCLA Physics)

Location:

University of Southern California
Irani Hall (RRI) 421
Los Angeles, CA 90089
Participation, parking and lunch are free of charge.

Please register by contacting:

Stephan Haas (shaas@usc.edu or 213-740-4528)
Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0484

Connecting with Energy Research at Berkeley Lab

Mysteries, Secrets, & Solutions: Connecting with Energy at Berkeley Lab

July 15-16, 2009, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab

Educator Institute

• Explore the latest research on energy and climate change
• Meet the experts
• Aimed for middle school and high school teachers
• Keynote address by Dr. Sally Ride
• $30 registration fee includes three meals and materials

http://www.sallyridescience.com/for_educators/institutes

Contributed Papers, Spring 2009 Conference

The following papers were presented at the conference.

We hope to have links to author’s web resources soon.

What is an electron?

Richard Kidd, Diablo Valley College (retired), Pleasant Hill, CA kiddri@sonoma.edu
A student once asked me this question and appeared very dissatisfied when I replied that we have many precise
measurements of its properties but no knowledge as to the electron’s structure, leading it to be often considered to be a point
particle. Recently, my interest in the question was rekindled by a plausible suggestion as to electron structure in a science fiction
story. I calculated its feasibility along with those of some historical models, including several suggested by A. H. Compton, in terms
of what we do know.

A Proof of the Maximal Efficiency of the Carnot Cycle

Duygu Demirlioğlu, Holy Names University, Oakland, CA duygu@hnu.edu
When discussing heat engines, standard physics textbooks state that the most efficient cycle operating between two reservoirs at fixed temperature is the Carnot cycle. On a PV diagram the Carnot cycle appears to be a peculiar figure bounded by two isotherms and two adiabats. How do we show students that this cycle is indeed the most efficient one? How do we prove Carnot’s theorem in an elementary course? We will present a simple, visually elegant proof, a transformation of the oddly shaped Carnot cycle into a simple geometric figure, and a calculation of the efficiency of the cycle by essentially reading it off a diagram.

Orbiting Satellites and Elevators Through the Center of Earth

Paul Robinson, San Mateo High School, San Mateo, CA laserpablo.com
Suppose you could bore a tunnel through the center of the earth. Further suppose you could pump all the air out of this tunnel to eliminate air friction. What would happen if you devised an elevator that dropped all the through to the other side? This would be one heck of ride–such an elevator would be like an 8,000-mile Drop Zone at Great America! How long would it take for you to reach the other side of the earth? How long would a round trip be? And how fast would you end up going at the center of the earth? It turns out the round trip time of the elevator is exactly the same time it takes a satellite to orbit the earth—about 90 minutes! This means it would take the elevator 45 minutes to reach the other side of the earth—an impressive feat considering it required no fuel! Why is the time (or period) of the elevator the same as an orbiting satellite? The solution to this problem makes an excellent review problem for either introductory college or AP students.

Using YouTube Video in the Classroom

CJ Chretien, Leadership Public Schools, Richmond, CA groovitude@gmail.com
YouTube can be a great, and free, educational tool for the classroom as well as for your own professional development. I will give you some ideas of how you can use YouTube videos in your classroom as well as how to download YouTube videos since it is blocked at many schools. Lastly I will introduce the new NCNAAPT YouTube channel, which is a great way to share teaching ideas within our community: www.youtube.com/user/ncnaapt

IceCube, Bringing Cutting-Edge Science into the Classroom

Casey O’Hara, Carlmont High School, Belmont, CA schmasey@stanfordalumni.org
In December-January of 2009-2010, I will be going to the South Pole to work with researchers from the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, in conjunction with PolarTREC and the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation (KSTF). The IceCube telescope is the largest research project ever attempted in Antarctica, being built to map out the universe by detecting high-energy neutrinos and cosmic rays. I will be traveling as a PolarTREC teacher to the South Pole in December of 2009 to help work on the IceCube project, while working with five other KSTF Teaching Fellows to bring the IceCube project into our classrooms by following the expedition via an online journal and webinars. This collaboration is being used as a means of exciting students about current polar research and will allow students insight into what “real” scientists do. This presentation will focus on an overview of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, and the nature of collaboration between IceCube, PolarTREC, and the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation.

One Year With a $1000 High-Speed Video Camera

Dean Baird, Rio Americano High School, Sacramento, CA dean@phyz.org
The Casio EX-F1 is a digital still camera with first-in-its-class high-speed video capabilities. In addition to being able to capture full-resolution still images at 60 frames per second, it can capture video at 300, 600, and even 1200 fps. Since the standard video playback rate is 30 fps, the EX-F1 can “slow down” events to 1/10th, 1/20th, or 1/40th of their natural speed. For $1000, you can be Harold Edgerton! One year later, no other consumer camera competes with the EX-F1 for high-speed captures. I’ll show some clips and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of this breakthrough camera.

Concept Mapping Software in a High School Physics Class

Lee Trampleasure, Carondelet High School, Concord, CA lee@trampleasure.net
Concept maps, or graphic organizers, are a means to organize concepts to form a visual representation of the relationships between these concepts. Research shows that some students gain a better understanding by ‘mapping’ concepts in a spatial manner rather than the more traditional outline format. In my academically-diverse high school physics class, many students struggle to grasp the relationships between the words we use. I will present the software CmapTools, examples of concept maps created by my students (including handdrawn maps), and results of a survey of these students on their perception of the value of CmapTools. CmapTools is free software that runs on Windows, Macs, and Linux. It is both robust and easy to learn. CmapTools was developed by the Institute for Machine and Human Cognition (of which I am not affiliated). IMHC also provides CmapServer, a free program that allows people to share maps over the internet.

Teaching Physics with Multi-Station Activities, by Charles Hunt, American River College

Charles presented several stations for Newton’s Laws of Motion. His goal is to have his students spend more time with their hands on activities, and less time listening to lectures. He generally introduces the activities of the day with a mini lecture, then students have time to work the activities.

He does some preparation/manipulation of the apparatus to ensure students get the desired results.

Some of his activities/demos include:

• A great demo he uses is a “fake rock” made of foam and painted black that he can throw to students and be surprised by how light it is.
• Nice heavy chain that students try to pull horizontal in a tug of war.
• Doppler effect with the flexible tube twirled overhead.

Hand outs were provided, and everyone had time to get their “hands on” the activities.

Charles always leaves a 5-10 minutes at the end to review what students were expected to see at each station. Tape down the station numbers or they will migrate!

“Seeing Radiation: Nuclear Science Experiments” A Teacher Workshop for high school science educators

Friday, April 3, 2009

8:00 am to 5:00 pm

University of California, Berkeley

This workshop will focus on using cloud chambers and Geiger counters to help teach the principles of radioactivity and radiation. Participants will receive a wealth of materials – a cloud chamber kit and
Geiger counter, workbooks, and classroom activities. This workshop will include a tour to the Advanced Light Source and lectures by leading scientists. The educational material is targeted for
high school science teachers, grades 9-12.

A review of the workshop is available online:
http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/news/Sci_teachers_workshop/index.htm

Preliminary Topics

• What is radiation?
• How is it measured?
• Where does it come from?
• What experiments can you do in your school?

Sponsors: The American Nuclear Society (ANS) and the Northern California Chapter of the Health Physics Society are proud to sponsor this workshop. Scientists and engineers from the Northern California Section of both professional societies (ANS-NCS and NCCHPS) are presenting the material. The UC Berkeley, Nuclear Engineering Department, is generously providing facilities for the event.

Funding for the workshop is provided in part by the Northern California Section of the American Nuclear Society, in part by the Northern California Chapter of the Health Physics Society, and through individual and organizational contributions to the American Nuclear Society (ANS).