MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov
Contact: Gia Scafidi
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MAY 16, 2000
JPL SEEKS EDUCATORS FOR SPACE TEACHING FELLOWSHIPS
Educators in the United States with an interest in teaching
about space are invited to apply for approximately 20 new Solar
System Educator fellowships.
Selected educators will attend the Solar System Educator
Program Institute held at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL),
Pasadena, Calif., from August 2 to 5, 2000. All Solar System
Educators will agree to lead educator workshops in their home
states, reaching a minimum of 100 teachers per year. The
designated educators will have the opportunity to partner with
the Space Grant Consortia in their state to help them meet the
training workshop requirements. Implemented by NASA in 1989,
the Space Grant Consortia is a network of universities that
contributes to the nation's science enterprise by funding
research, education and public service projects.
The goal of the Solar System Educator program is to inspire
America's students, create learning opportunities and enlighten
inquisitive minds by engaging them in the planetary exploration
efforts conducted by JPL. The program is managed for JPL by
Space Explorers Inc. and the Virginia Space Grant Consortium.
However, the heart of the program is a nationwide network of
highly motivated educators who lead teaching workshops for their
fellow educators throughout the country.
Solar System Educators are comprised of current K-12
educators and others from the informal education community
(museums, science centers, planetariums, etc.) with a strong
background in teaching science or math and experience in teacher
training. Solar System Educators receive training at a four-day,
all-expenses paid institute at JPL, and throughout the year via
the Internet.
More information and an online application form are
available at http://www.ssep.org/apply . For more information,
contact Eric Brunsell, Space Explorers, Inc. at (920) 339-4600 or
via email eric@space-explorers.com .
NASA/JPL missions participating in the institute include the
Cassini mission to Saturn, the Stardust and Deep Impact comet
missions, the Galileo mission to Jupiter, the Mars Exploration
Program, the Outer Planets/Solar Probe program and the Deep Space
Network of ground-based antennas that communicate with
spacecraft.
The Solar System Educators Program is an element of NASA's
Office of Space Science Education and Public Outreach Program,
NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
