UM Observatory: Science Insiders

Observatory Programs

Information for Potential Speakers

Got an afternoon to spare? Interested in talking to teachers?

Download a pdf version of this information

Overview: This series of workshops is intended to give teachers a look at recent scientific developments by local scientists and organizations, how those discoveries fit into our overall understanding, and what the day to day work of scientists involves.

Rationale: The National Science Education Standards and the Maryland Core Learning Goals both emphasize the importance in developing an understanding of the methods and processes through which science research is conducted. Science research is a human endeavor. This workshop will focus on the day to day efforts of scientists to understand and explain the world around us as well as keeping teachers informed about new scientific developments.

Speakers: We invite any scientist who is interested in interacting with teachers to participate. You do not have to be an expert in outreach or education work, just enthusiastic about sharing your work and its human side.

Times/Dates: Workshops will take place on the first Thursday of the month, from 4:00 - 6:00pm. The structure of each workshop will be roughly as follows.

Time	Activity
4:00-4:15	Welcome and Overview The workshop staff sets the stage
4:15-5:00	Science Insider: A scientist shares a look at what they do and how their work fits into the big picture. This is you! We ask speakers to cover three points: What are you working on now? How does that fit into the bigger picture? Relate your work to other work in the field - what is known, what are the big questions, where does your work fit in? What do you actually do everyday? Give a picture of what your day to day work is like. How do you go about the process of doing research?
5:00-5:30	Inside the Classroom: The workshop shares some instructional activities for you to take back to your classroom. This can be done by you or an associate if your project has education materials to present. If not, the workshop staff will present materials related to your subject area
5:30-6:00	Informal Connections: Get a chance to talk with scientists, science center educators, and other teachers and take a look at the Science Center facilities. If you can stay to talk with our teachers informally, please do!

Interested in Speaking? Contact: Elizabeth Warner at the Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland. Phone # 301-405-6555

Spring 2002 Schedule:

Date	Topic
March 7, 2002	Deep Impact: First Look Inside a Comet
April 4, 2002	Chaos and Weather
May 2, 2002	Northern Lights
June 6, 2002	Asteroid Families and Satellites

Directions: Exit Beltway at Baltimore-Washington Parkway/Rt.295, North, toward Baltimore. Take first exit at Greenbelt Road/Rt. 193, East, towards NASA and Glendale. Continue on Greenbelt Rd. approximately 2 miles (past NASA/Goddard). Take 3rd right turn after traffic light at Soil Conservation Rd. into Science Center Parking lot. The parking lot is DuVal High School's back parking lot.

Last Updated: Thursday October 04, 2007 by Elizabeth Warner