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Issued by: Issued by: Images and Web Links appear below. 2 February 2010 Journey Through The Universe in February/March 2010 - Big Island Students and Teachers Explore the Human Presence in SpaceFebruary 25 to March 5, 2010, brings the sixth annual Journey Through The Universe (JTTU) program to the Hilo/Waiakea/Laupahoehoe School Complex on the Big Island of Hawai`i. During this whole week, over fifty astronomers and technical personnel from the Mauna Kea Observatories will visit local classrooms and share their work, their experience, and their love of science and exploration with students of all grade levels. Partnering with the Department of Education, and with support from a number of local sponsors, the program brings the scientists to K-12 classrooms. The theme for this year's Journey is "Building a Human Presence in Space." The Journey program aims to include the entire community. For teachers there will be several workshops to provide astronomy knowledge and resources for the class rooms. For families there will be two events at `Imiloa again, a family science day on Sunday and a family science night on Wednesday. Both events will feature lots of fun science acitivites, talks by guest speakers, planetarium shows, and exhibits by the observatories. Hilo on the Big Island of Hawai`i is one of ten Journey sites nation-wide. Since its inception, it has become the premiere site in the nation, mainly due to the enthusiastic participation of such a large number of astronomy professionals. The local astronomy professionals are all looking forward to visiting the class rooms, even though some of them confess to being a bit nervous about facing rooms full of curious youngsters. They will all learn from each other; the keiki will find out a bit more about the cosmos we live in, and the astronomers will learn a bit more about the world as perceived by the children. Scott Fisher of the National Science Foundation says: "I am very happy to be able to come back to the Big Island to take part in JTTU. I feel that I have built a lasting relationship with the schools I have visited every year, I am looking forward to seeing 'my' teachers and 'my' students again! Although taking part in JTTU is exhausting in some ways, for example giving 16 talks in 4 days! In other ways it is very rewarding, especially when you see how really interested and engaged the kids are during your visits. The classrooms I am visiting this year better watch out, I am very excited to come back to the Big Island to take part in JTTU and I am very excited to be able to work with the kids again!" Tom Geballe of Gemini Observatory says: "I’m glad to be doing JTTU again this year. In previous years I have talked to 1st-5th graders about craters: showing them pictures of craters in Hawai`i, in other places on Earth, on the Moon, and in other places in the Solar System, exploring ways in which craters can be formed and ways in which they can disappear over time. Of course in Hawai`i young students are familiar with craters being associated with volcanoes, but not with meteor, asteroid, or comet impacts. I will present the subject and ask questions in ways that would make the students think like scientists do when we have a puzzle to solve. Of course I bring in the dinosaur extinction event from 65 million years ago - the kids love it. I also looking forward to interacting with older students, for which a more sophisticated topic is needed. I’m planning to show them pictures of galaxy collisions and discussing with them what happens in such an event, and even showing them computer simulations. I think they'll get a kick out of that." Chris Davis of the Joint Astronomy Centre says: "Over the last few years I've visited with most of the kids at Hilo High School and have always been impressed with how courteous and friendly the vast majority of them have been. Most seem genuinely interested in what's happening up on the mountain. I can only hope that by the time I've finished strumming my guitar, showing mini-movies for the Spitzer Space Telescope (Mounty Martin and the Space Diamonds rocks!), and hopping about the room trying to make the "Doppler effect" sound interesting, a few of them pick up on what a lot of fun science (and astronomy in particular) can be." Kevin Caruso says: "Sharing the fascination of space exploration and sparking questions in our students' minds are two experiences I look forward to most during Journey Week." John Hamilton of the University of Hawai`i at Hilo says: "This chance to inspire our local students with very real future career prospects here on the Big Island in science and technology is very exciting to me, especially considering this year's theme of Space Exploration and our current work on PISCES at UHH with NASA!" Michael Hoenig of Gemini Observatory says: "I am really looking forward to another week of Journey Through the Universe. It is a fantastic opportunity to share some knowledge about the universe - and learn some new things, too!" Callie McNew of the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station says: "I was amazed with the enthusiasm and level of response we received from the students last year. Many outreach events we go to are fast paced festivals where we may spend 5-10 minutes talking to families as they walk from booth to booth. Journey Through the Universe gives us a chance to go into the classroom and present an actual lesson, where the students hopefully come away inspired about the Universe and about their future education." Kumiko Usuda of Subaru Telescope says: "Even though the Journey program was envisioned to run only five years, I am very happy that we now find ourselves in the sixth year. The happy faces and bright eyes of the students as well as the tremendous community support enable us to continue this program. Last year, during the International Year of Astronomy (IYA) 2009, we organized a lot of educational community events. We would like to keep this momentum going into the future on the Big Island with programs such as The Journey Through The Universe." Tony Matulonis of Gemini Observatory says: "It is such an honor to be part of the awesome Journey Through Universe program that allows the scientific community to educate and inspire the future generation. It is an endeavor that enhances the undivided community's understanding of the universe, Earth and the people who inhabit this place we call home. I continue to be humbled by the program's synergy of mission to spark a student's interest in the sciences and to pursue whatever career they can imagine." Inge Heyer of the Joint Astronomy Centre says: "If we compare the jobs our parents had with similar jobs today, we see that science and technology have become very important in almost every single field of human endeavour. This trend will increase as time goes on, so the students of today will be faced with a job environment where science and technology are essential in every field. It is therefore vital that today's students learn about and feel comfortable with that, in order for them to be able to compete for good jobs in the future. The Journey program helps to lay a foundation for interest in these fields." Scheduled Journey week events include: Journey Through The Universe is a national education initiative developed by the National Center for Space, Earth and Flight Sciences Education. It is funded at the national level by grants from NASA’s Office of the Chief Education and Science Mission Directorate. However, it is the local team of sponsors and organizers who make this event possible. The primary sponsors include the Hawai`i Department of Eduation Hilo/Waiakea/Laupahoehoe Complex, Gemini Observatory, The University of Hawai`i at Hilo, ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hilo and the Joint Astronomy Centre. Other participating sponsors include the Bank of Hawai`i, Hawai`i Island Chamber of Commerce, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club of Hilo Bay, the Hawai`i Tribune-Herald, KWXX Radio, Hawai`i Island Economic Development Board, Governor Linda Lingle, the Business-Education Partnership, the New West Broadcasting Corporation, Domino's Pizza, Big Island Toyota, Borders Books, Richard J. Valcourt, the Mauna Kea Observatories Outreach Committee, and all the Mauna Kea Observatories: University of Hawai`i Hoku Ke`a and 2.2m Telescopes, NASA Infrared Telescope, Gemini Observatory North, United Kingdom Infrared Telescope, James Clerk Maxwell Submillimeter Telescope, Subaru Telescope, Caltech Submillimeter Telescope, Smithsonian Submillimeter Array, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Canada-France-Hawai`i Telescope, W.M. Keck Observatory, and the Thirty Meter Telescope. The local Journey organizing team includes Valerie Takata (Superintendent Hilo/Waiakea/Laupahoehoe Complex); Darrell Nekoba and Bess Jennings (Department of Education, Hilo/Waiakea/Laupahoehoe Complex); Gail Loeffler and Dr. Richard Crowe (`Imiloa Astronomy Center); Janice Harvey, Andolie Marten and Peter Michaud (Gemini Observatory); and Inge Heyer (Joint Astronomy Centre). For further information on the Journey Through The Universe program, please contact Janice Harvey at Gemini Observatory (974-2603, jharvey@gemini.edu). Please visit our website at www.gemini.edu/journey Images
Teachers are developing new astronomy lessons plans. Photo Credit: Joint Astronomy Centre.
An astronomer shares a desktop planetarium program with excited students. Photo Credit: Joint Astronomy Centre.
Our Solar System, one happy family. Photo Credit: Joint Astronomy Centre.
Keiki astronomy story time at Borders Books in Hilo. Photo Credit: Joint Astronomy Centre.
Astronomy science cafe discussion at Borders Books in Hilo. Photo Credit: Joint Astronomy Centre.
Making comets with styrofoam balls and ribbon leis. Photo Credit: Joint Astronomy Centre.
Learning about infrared radiation during Family Science Night at `Imiloa. Photo Credit: Joint Astronomy Centre.
Students are creating their own solar systems in the class room. Photo Credit: Joint Astronomy Centre.
Using special glasses to view the spectra of the different lamps during Family Science Day at `Imiloa. Photo Credit: Subaru Telescope (NAOJ).
A student tries on the world's cheapest space suit. Photo Credit: Gemini Observatory.
A student gets to clean a mirror the astronomical way. Photo Credit: Gemini Observatory.
Students learn about our Moon in the class room. Photo Credit: Subaru Telescope (NAOJ).
Journey Through The Universe logo. Image Credit: Journey Throught The Universe.
Logo for "Beyond IYA" (building on the International Year of Astronomy 2009). Image Credit: IYA.
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