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Teacher Workshops
Chris Kinion
Age of the Milky Way Galaxy
Workshop 2009 |
Are you interested in astronomy?
Most likely your students are too.
Do you want to incorporate astronomy into your science curriculum?
Astronomy offers an inviting way into the world and culture of science.
Would you prefer a teacher-centered, engaging learning experience?
Passive lectures and slideshows will not dominate your time. You will do the activities with a dual mindset of student and teacher, while learning firsthand the concepts and applications. |
Summer 2010 Workshops at the Observatory
 McDonald Observatory offers a unique setting for teacher workshops: the Observatory and Visitors Center in the Davis Mountains of West Texas. Tours of the telescopes, discussions with the research astrophysicists in residence, and nighttime observations are an integral part of every workshop experience. Not only will you do inquiry-based activities aligned with science and mathematics TEKS and TAKS, you will practice your new astronomy skills under the Observatory’s dark skies, weather permitting, and partner with trained and nationally recognized astronomy educators.
Additionally, 2009 was designated the International Year of Astronomy (IYA) by the United Nations and UNESCO, marking the 400th anniversary of the first astronomical use of the telescope by Galileo. McDonald Observatory has been celebrating this event by offering K-12 teachers IYA content in teacher workshops as part of the international Galileo Teacher Training Program. We will continue to offer this same programming and other IYA materials throughout the 2010 workshops.
Benefits
- 20 hours or more of Continuing Education Credit for Summer workshops
- inquiry based activities that are TEKS- and TAKS-aligned
- immersion: lunch and dinner are at the Observatory
- meet astronomers and discuss current astronomical research
- practice basic astronomy skills
- International Year of Astronomy content, materials, and resources
- Potential for future videoconference opportunities in your classroom
How To Apply
Please complete the online application here. The deadline for applications was February 8, 2010; however, we are still accepting applications for our waiting list. Please apply!
Directions to the Observatory
The McDonald Observatory is located in the beautiful Davis Mountains of west Texas.
Click here for driving and flying directions to our facility.
2010 Schedule, Fees and Information
Scholarships for teachers are available for five of this summer’s workshops. For these funded workshops, room and board, program fees, and materials are provided by the funding agencies listed in italics. Participants are only responsible for their own transportation to/from McDonald Observatory.
* Workshop sponsors have provided full scholarships for all US participants for the following workshops: Comets!, Worlds Beyond Our Solar System, and Formation of Planetary Systems. Scholarships for the MONET workshop are for TEXAS teachers only. The scholarships cover lodging, meals, program fees, and instructional materials. Participants with scholarships only need to pay for their transportation to McDonald Observatory. The two 'Explore Our Solar System' workshops are available for $550/participant, and the 'Earth and Space Science' workshop is available for $750/participant; these fees cover lodging meals, program fees, and instructional materials.
**Scholarships for the MONET workshop are available for Texas teachers only.
Suggestion: If you are accepted for a workshop and require funds, either for travel or for the Explore Our Solar System workshop, we recommend you contact your school administration or parents' organization. Some teachers have found support from local businesses and industries in their communities. And some have done fundraising events such as bake sales. McDonald Observatory does not have any travel funds available for participants. Accepted participants will receive email contact information of the other registered participants for their specific workshop so that travel/carpooling arrangements can be coordinated.
All programs include both day and night instructional sessions, materials, daytime tours, evening observing (weather permitting), lodging, and meals. Shared hotel rooms have been reserved for registered participants only. Participants who do not wish to share a room with another participant are responsible for reserving and paying for any other additional hotel room arrangements for themselves or accompanying family or friends. If you are participating in a workshop and will be arranging your own room, please let us know at least 45 days in advance of the workshop. For the three workshops that require a fee, a small discount is available to participants who provide their own lodging. Please be aware that some of the telescope observing activites will last until late hours.
All applications must be submitted by February 8, 2010. You should receive notification as to the status of your application within 2 weeks after the deadline date. For all McDonald Observatory workshops, a $100 deposit is required from all accepted applicants. Your deposit is used as an accommodations placeholder. All deposits are due before April 16, 2010. If no deposit is received by this date, your spot will be given to the next qualified applicant. You may make the deposit by notifying us by telephone of your credit card number or submitting a check.
Payment and $100 Deposit Refund Policy
If you are accepted into a funded workshop (NOT ‘Explore Our Solar System’ nor 'Earth and Space Science' ):
- A $100 deposit is due by April 16, 2010.
- Your $100 deposit is fully refunded if you attend the workshop, or if you cancel your registration more than 30 days in advance of the first day of the workshop.
- Participants canceling less than 30 days before the beginning of the workshop do not receive deposit refunds.
If you are accepted into the ‘Earth and Space Science’ workshop, or one of the two ‘Explore Our Solar System’ workshops:
- A $100 deposit is due by April 16, 2010. The remaining balance ($650 or $450) is due 30 days prior to the beginning of the workshop.
- Your $100 deposit is fully refunded if you cancel more than 30 days prior to the beginning of the workshop.
- Participants cancelling less than 30 days prior to the beginning of the workshop do not receive deposit refunds.
Workshops Offered:
Comets!
June 17-19
Recommended for Grades 6-12
20 SBEC credit hours
3 days/2 nights
The study of comets has provided significant contributions to our understanding of the origin and evolution of the solar system. This workshop will offer a variety of lessons on comets, solar system formation, properties of planets, spectroscopy, and the related astronomical instrumentation used to study these topics. A follow-up videoconference will be offered to each participating teacher’s classroom.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration provides support for this project under an Education and Public Outreach supplement to Grant/Contract/Agreement NNX08AO52G issued through the Office of Space Science.
Earth and Space Science
June 21-24
Recommended for Grades 11-12
30 SBEC credit hours
4 days/3 nights
$750
The science curriculum landscape in Texas is changing. One of the new courses that will be offered in many high schools in 2010-11 is ‘Earth and Space Science’. This workshop will address many of the astronomy-related concepts for this new course. Activities will cover topics such as cosmology, solar system formation, the origin of the moon, characteristics of objects in the solar system, exoplanets, use of telescopes, and more… Whether or not you will be teaching this new course, these lessons are relevant to many other science courses, and are sure to increase your enthusiasm and effectiveness in the classroom.
The fee for this workshop is $750. This covers lodging, meals, program fees, and instructional materials.
Explore Our Solar System
June 25-27 or July 11-13
Recommended for Grades K-8
20 SBEC credit hours
3 days/2 nights
$550
Explore the characteristics of our solar system through hands-on, minds-on activities that you can use in your classroom. Learn about the sun, its properties and apparent motion. Use scale models to explore the relative sizes and distances of planets, moons, and other objects in the solar system. Learn about phases of the moon, seasons, motions in the night sky and more! This is one of our most popular workshops. It is the only open-registry workshop in 2010 being offered to elementary-level teachers.
The fee for this workshop is $550. This covers lodging, meals, program fees, and instructional materials.
Worlds Beyond Our Solar System
July 5-7
Recommended for Grades 7-12
20 SBEC credit hours
3 days/2 nights
Astronomers are finding new planets around other stars at an increasing rate. What do we know about these exoplanets? How do we know what we know? This workshop we will have a focus on spectroscopy and how it applies to our discoveries of the properties of these distant worlds, including detection of the atmospheres of some exoplanets. Compare ground-based observing with NASA space missions, and visit the first ground-based telescope to ever observe the atmosphere of a distant planet.
This program is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (Award# 0807992). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF. Additional support is provided by the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation Education Endowment, the Carolyn Keenan and Charlie Gaines Endowment for McDonald Observatory Education and Outreach, and the Hugh Gragg Educational Endowment.
MONET: Using a Remote Telescope
July 8-10
Recommended for Grades 9-12
20 SBEC credit hours
3 days/2 nights
The most recent research telescope to be added to McDonald Observatory is the 1.2-meter MONET-North robotic telescope. Part of the telescope’s design includes the ability for teachers to operate it remotely in real-time via the Internet in their classroom. The activity content of this workshop will focus on finding objects in the night sky, telescope technology, and image processing. Participants will learn how to operate MONET (and its sister telescope in South Africa) and be given future observing time on the telescope to use with their students. Experience and proficiency with performing multiple computer tasks is highly recommended. Scholarships are available for Texas Teachers only. (Out of state fee for lodging, meals, program fees, and instructional materials is $550.)
This program is supported by the Texas Space Grant Consortium, the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation Education Endowment, the Carolyn Keenan and Charlie Gaines Endowment for McDonald Observatory Education and Outreach, and the Hugh Gragg Educational Endowment.
Formation of Planetary Systems
July 19-22
Recommended to Grades 7-12 teachers
30 SBEC credit hours
4 days/3 nights
Where do planets come from? No matter how many planets you think are in our solar system, astronomers have discovered over 400 in other planetary systems and see evidence of planetary formation throughout our galaxy. Build a cardboard spectrometer and perform activities that explore light at many wavelengths, such as the infrared portion of the spectrum that is used to study planetary disks - the birthplace of planets. Perform activities on how stars and disks change over time, and compare ground-based observing with NASA space missions.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration provides support for this project under an Education and Public Outreach supplement to Grant/Contract/Agreement NNX07A183G issued through the Office of Space Science.
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