Informal Education and Public Outreach Programs

The NC Space Grant Informal Education and Public Outreach Programs are designed to facilitate the appreciation and knowledge of aero/space-related issues of the general population of North Carolina.

PLANETS in Motion: Phase II PI: Dr. CrystaL Harden, UNC - Chapel Hill

Morehead Planetarium and Science Center’s PLANETS program is a unique, space-themed educational outreach effort that utilizes North Carolina’s first portable fulldome digital planetarium. “PLANETS in Motion: Phase II” will bring this traveling science learning program to approximately 3,600 K-6 schoolchildren living in the most economically distressed counties in North Carolina. Participating teachers will be able to choose from four planetarium shows and will be provided materials to conduct related cross-curricular activities in their classrooms before or after PLANETS visits.

Science Saturday Program on Space Biology, Materials and Medicine PI: Dr. Roger Narayan, NC State University

Informal science education programs play an important role in providing information on recent scientific advances to both students and teachers. In addition, these programs inspire young people to pursue careers in science, engineering, and mathematics. In this program, North Carolina State University and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences will a develop series of lectures and scientific demonstrations on space biology, materials and medicine, which are geared towards young people and their families.

Putting the Digital Earth to Work: Introducing Potential Science and Social Studies Users to Earth Observation Sensors and Their Data PI: L. Jesse Rouse, UNC - Pembroke

Web-based resources such as Google Maps have made satellite and aerial imagery available to the public for free, however Google and other vendors do not directly educate users on what they are viewing or the issues and limitations inherent in the data they provide. By engaging this existing audience that is taking advantage of these free data and viewers it is likely that the potential of existing Earth Observation sensors and data may expand to be considered more broadly for use than it currently is to explore and conduct analyses in the sciences and social studies. While the project will highlight the data from remote sensors and the tools used to interact with them, it will also be important to reinforce users’ existing spatial literacy as the data captured by the sensors is highly spatial in nature. The project will focus on developing and enhancing methods and techniques for educating general audiences about Earth Observation sensors, geospatial technologies for utilizing the data captured with the sensors, and highlight the breadth of disciplines that can utilize these data and tools. Providing learners experience with Earth Observation data and knowledge of the sensors that are used to capture them, there is significant potential to engage student interest, both formal and informal, in the STEM fields that utilize and even rely on these data to understand our world.