I am a 5^th year graduate student in the Department of Planetary Sciences studying impact craters on the Moon, Mars, and Mercury.  I love both communicating science and teaching others to explore science on their own.  I was fortunate as a student to have teachers who provided opportunities to explore space science and encouraged my interest in the sciences.  It is extremely important to me to provide these same opportunities to students not only in high school, but also at a younger age when students have no preconceived notions about the difficulty of science.  A 2006 study published in Science Magazine shows that scientific interest at a young age is a better predictor of majoring in science in college than mathematical ability.

For my Space Grant outreach project, I will develop lesson plans for 1^st-3^rd grade students that make planetary science interactive and relevant with a hands-on approach for analyzing images of planetary surfaces.  A major component of this project is the vast database of NASA images of the surface of Earth, Mars, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, and the icy satellites of Jupiter and Saturn.  With continuing NASA missions such as the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mercury Messenger, students can participate in current, ongoing science. 

My lesson plans will help students explore the major geologic processes on solid planet surfaces: impact cratering, tectonics, and volcanism.  First, I will familiarize students with satellite images and the appearance of planetary surface from space.  Students will then learn basic classification techniques to group surface features into the three different processes. I will tie these processes to hands-on activities in the classroom that explore how these features are formed.  Lessons will also include activities for image analysis, such as crater counting and surface mapping.  By the end of the three units, students will be able to recognize and classify surface features, and qualitatively describe how they form.  Early exposure to the planetary sciences will help young students develop a basic awareness of and interest in space science that they will carry throughout their lives, share new knowledge with family and friends, and help produce a new generation of space scientists.

Seafha is a Yurok tribal member and a PhD student in Natural Resources Studies with a minor in American Indian Studies. She has worked as a Learning Center Instructor at Ha:san Preparatory and Leadership School (“Ha:san”), a Native American charter school in Tucson, for three years. Her outreach project involves both Ha:san and Klamath River Early College (KRECR), a charter school on the Yurok reservation.  Through her experiences at Ha:san and by living on the Yurok reservation, she has gained insight into teaching Native American students in a culturally relevant atmosphere and is familiar with the extremely adverse circumstances many Native American students face.

One significant limiting factor in preparing high school students for college programs and careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields is the difficulty for teachers to incorporate innovative technology in their curricula. Beyond challenges to widespread incorporation of innovative technology in high schools, charter schools that serve a majority of Native Americans are at an extreme disadvantage in accessing those technologies.  Native Americans are severely underrepresented in college enrollment, especially in STEM fields. In addition, while there is a very large volume of literature about the potential success of teaching science with respect to Native American culture, little of it is based in schools and other contexts that focus on Indigenous learners and their communities.

Seafha is working with students at KRECR and Ha:san to teach them about spatial technologies used in natural resources management, such as air quality, water quality, wildlife and fisheries monitoring. There is a strong focus on the link between culture, place, natural resources, and community health. During the summer of 2011, Seafha coordinated a workshop with various activities, including Geographic Information Systems (GIS), compass and map navigation, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), and telemetry. In hands-on exercises, the students were able to demonstrate that they had learned how to use these technologies.  Partners included the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Yurok Tribe Environmental Program, and Yurok Tribe Education Department. She will introduce similar activities to the Ha:san students in Phase 1 of her outreach project.  In Phase 2, she will work with each school’s science teacher to modify the activities such that they can be incorporated into lesson plans.

This outreach project serves NASA’s major educational goals by aiming to attract and retain students in STEM disciplines.  It continues NASA’s tradition of investing in education and supporting educators who play a vital role in preparing, inspiring, exciting, encouraging, and nurturing our future workforce.

Danielle Benkert is a University of Arizona Senior majoring in Ag and Bio Systems Engineering. She works with Kevin Lansey from Civil Engineering conducting research on "Endocrine disrupting activity reduction in treatment and natrual systems."

Everett Benally is a University of Arizona Sophomore majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He works with Barron Orr from Arid Lands conducting research on "Navajo Watershed Research Project."

Laura Yablon is a University of Arizona Senior majoring in Renewable Natural Resources. She works with Steven Archer from the School of Natural Resources conducting research on "Assessing the Consequences of Land Cover Change."

Ryan White is a University of Arizona Senior majoring in Mechanical Engineering. He works with Anatoli Tumin from AME conducting research on "Laminar-turbulent Transition on a Reentry Vehicle."

Keith Ward is a University of Arizona Junior majoring in Computer Engineering. He works with Ross Bryant from USDA-ARS conducting research on "Soil Moisture Modeling and GIS."

Yuta Torrey is a Pima Community College Junior majoring in Business. He works with Barron Orr from the Office of Arid Lands Studies conducting research on "The Arizona Regional Image Archive."

Monica Titus is a University of Arizona Senior majoring in Chemical Engineering. She works with Jon Chorover from Soil, Water and Environmental Science conducting research on "Do Organic Acids Produce Biosignatures During Mineral Weathering?."

Daniel Studer is a University of Arizona Junior majoring in Mining and Geological Engineering. He works with Alfred McEwen from Planetary Sciences conducting research on "Mars Secondary Cratering."