http://www.coastlines.ws/

NEW - The Educational Materials section of NASA's Web site offers classroom activities, educator guides, posters and other types of resources that are available for use in the classroom. Materials are listed by type, grade level and subject. The following items are now available for downloading.

International Space Station: National Laboratory Education Concept Development Report

The International Space Station is the largest and most complex space vehicle ever built. Planned for completion in 2010, the space station will provide a home for laboratories equipped with a wide array of resources to develop and test the technologies needed for future generations of space exploration.

This report explores the potential of the space station to engage, inspire, and educate students, teachers, and faculty in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Information about current NASA and non-agency programs aimed to increase STEM achievement is included in the report. Diagrams and detailed information about the station are also included.

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/
listbytype/ISS_Education_Plan.html

2007 NASA Education Highlights

NASA has a tradition of investing in programs and activities that inspire and engage students, educators, families and communities at large in the excitement and discovery of exploration. Read about the innovative ways NASA is creating new activities that spark the interest and imagination of people from all segments of society. Also learn about the education milestones and accomplishments achieved by NASA Education in 2007.

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/
2007_NASA_Education_Highlights.html

Additional Video Learning Clips Added

The educational video clips listed below have been added to the Videos section of the NASA Educational Materials site. Click on the link below each list of video clips to access the videos online. Designed for students in grades 5-12, these video clips from the Universe DVD let the viewer travel billions of years through time. The viewer watches the universe evolve from one primordial mass into the stars and galaxies seen today. These videos are narrated by William Shatner.

Titles in this series:
-- Scientists Use Observatories to Learn About the Sun
-- The Planets
-- A Look Beyond the Planets: Nebulae, Stars, Quasars and Galaxies
-- Lifecycle of a Star
-- The Evolving Universe
-- Is There Life Out There?: NASA's Search Continues

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/The_Planets.html

Targeting students in grades 5-12, the Liftoff to Learning: Plants in Space video clip series follows a group of students at an elementary school as they participate in an experiment on plant growth with space shuttle astronauts. Identical seed growth pouches are planted with corn and soybean seeds. Some of the seeds are germinated on Earth and others on the space shuttle in Earth orbit. Rather than drawing conclusions on the effects of microgravity on plant growth, viewers are invited to participate in the experiment by growing seeds on Earth as control experiments.

Titles in this series:
-- How Plants Grow in Space: The Effects of Gravity and Light
-- Tropisms of Plants in Space and on Earth
-- Why Scientists Study Plants in Space
-- Evaluating Experimental Treatment: Controls of Plants Growing in Space
-- Discussion Points About Growing Plants in Space

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/
listbytype/How_Plants_Grow_in_Space.html

The video clips in the NASA's Destination Tomorrow™: Bringing the Future into Focus series are designed for educators, parents, and students in 9-12 and college. These clips build on the premise that much of NASA's aeronautical research focuses on increasing today's knowledge to solve tomorrow's problems.

Titles in this series:
-- Helios, NASA's Unmanned, Remotely Powered Flying Wing
-- The Smart Probe, an Early Cancer Detection Tool
-- A Retrospective Look at the Gemini Program
-- Alleviating Aircraft Noise: The Quiet Aircraft Technology Program
-- Spacesuits and How They Work

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/
listbytype/A_Retrospective_Look.html

TOWSON UNIVERSITY 2008
ALASKA TRAVEL/STUDY TOUR

Dear Colleague
I am conducting a Southcentral Alaska travel/study ecotour from June 28 to July 11, 2008. The tour will emphasize the grand and varied natural features of our 49th state, particularly its mountains, valleys, glaciers, fjords, wildlife, and vegetation. Participants will also have the opportunity to experience Alaska's rich cultural heritage, including its Native peoples and the Russian influence. Charlie Davis, a freelance ecologist and Chairman of the Board of The Natural History Society of Maryland, will be serving as co-leader for the tour. A copy of the tour brochure and detailed daily tour itinerary with links can be found at: http://pages.towson.edu/morgan/pages/personal_alaska_travel.htm I would appreciate it if you would share this email with the teachers in your school. The tour is a great summer field experience for teachers. We incorporate a variety of problem-based learning activities as part of our daily tour schedule. Several of our participants this past summer were in-service teachers. As indicated in the brochure, the tour is open to students, non-students, family, and friends. All are welcome! You do not need to be a Towson University student to participate on the ecotour. The tour may be taken for undergraduate or graduate credit in geography (a copy of the syllabus for the travel/study course is available on request). The tour will be limited to 27 participants. Reservations are accepted on a "first-come, first- served" basis, and must be accompanied by payment of a $1,000 deposit or the full tour cost. The tour cost may be paid with a credit card via PayPal. The deadline to register for next year's tour is Friday, March 28, 2008.Please contact me if you have any questions about the 2008 Alaska Travel/Study Ecotour. By the way, this will be the 15th tour to Alaska that I have conducted.Jay MorganJohn M. Morgan, III, Ph.D., ProfessorDirector of the Geospatial Research and Education LaboratoryDirector Emeritus of the Center for Geographic Information SciencesDepartment of Geography and Environmental PlanningTowson University8000 York RoadBaltimore, Maryland 21252-0001410-704-2964410-704-4702 (fax)jmorgan@towson.eduhttp://pages.towson.edu/morgan

PENN STATE SCIENCE WORKSHOPS
FOR EDUCATORS 2008

APPLY NOW - Probing for innovative ways to teach science in your classroom? Investigating how to stay informed about the latest science research? Interested in increasing your science content knowledge? Science Workshops for Educators is the best way to meet these needs. Keep pace with the latest science research, engage in standards-based classroom activities and explore ways to make science fun as you work side by side with Penn State faculty in our summer workshops. All educators earn 2 graduate credits for each course. Choose from six different content area workshops, designed to meet classroom curriculum requirements. Grants provide all participants with a private room in the newly built Brill Hall, reimbursements for travel costs up to $100, breakfast in the dining commons, and an allotment for lunches and dinners. In addition, tuition subsidies are available for ALL of the workshops on a competitive basis. The tuition subsidies are need-based and assessed on a first-come, first-served basis. Notification of tuition subsidies will be sent on March 21, 2008; however applications can be submitted until May 31, 2008. Depending upon funding availability, additional tuition subsidies may be provided after March 21. Sign up today and find out why most of our teachers come back to take additional courses in our series! For more information and the on-line application, visit: http://teachscience.psu.edu