Sandburg Center for Sky Awareness Web Site

Regular features of the SCSA Web site which were actively maintained during the '00-01 school year include 12 installments of Constellation of the Month (CoM), 31 (and counting) Special Events entries, and 32 Website of the Week (WoW!) entries (most of which featured multiple pointers to sky-related online resources as well as WoW!-related suggested teaching strategies). Among other features, the Themes for 2000-2001 Web page includes the "Millenium Countdown" and "Today's Sunspot Number," updated daily.

Fall 2000, the SCSA rolled out the prototype for the State of Sky Kiosk--an online automated "slideshow" presenting a series of sky-related Web pages, featuring the current sky (day and night) as well as some of the sky's "greatest hits." In a little more than 10 minutes, the kiosk provides a fairly comprehensive picture of the current state of the sky. For some "slides," the content is "randomized," meaning that a slightly different Web page will appear during subsequent cycles through the slideshow. Just point your Web browser to the kiosk "splash" page, sit back, relax, and enjoy!

In an effort to build upon student interest and enthusiasm generated during visits to the planetarium, "Planetarium Visit Follow-Up" Web pages were created for Grade Level 4 and 5. These "Follow-Up" pages provide pointers to high-interest instructional resources which directly relate to the planetarium visit, and may be used by teachers to either reinforce understanding or extend/enrich the astronomy unit. Following each planetarium visit, a "tickler" was sent via e-mail to remind teachers of the availability of these resources.

Curriculum Development

• Created several new "mini-activities" including Constellation Pictionary, SolarMax Facts in Five, and AMS Interactive Infrared Weather Satellite Imagery Interpretation.
• Updated Snowflakes - A Thematic Approach (provides K-12 teachers with a flurry of ideas for using snow to deliver interesting and exciting interdisciplinary instruction perfect for the Winter season).
• Me and My Shadow - Making the Sun-Earth Connection - a Web page of theme-related teaching strategies, including pointers to electronic resources, e.g., the Sandburg Sundial (54k PDF), a customized ready-to-use horizontal sundial, and classroom-ready activities such as Safely Estimating the Size of Sunspots.
• Published Top 10 Reasons to Look Up!, 21 May 2001 Website of the Week (WoW!).

Special Programming

• As part of an interdisciplinary sky poetry unit, Sandburg MS Grade Level 7 English classes visited the planetarium. As a result of their visit, students wrote and illustrated sky poems. [Note: Team 2, 3, and 4 English classes visited the planetarium during October and November '00; Team 1 English classes visited during March '01.]
• Hosted "A Collingwood Night Under the Stars," 19 October 2000. An estimated 50 parents and children from the Collingwood Civic Association visited the Sandburg Planetarium for a tour of the late Fall/early Winter skies. Afterwards, volunteers from the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club (NOVAC) set up telescopes for real-sky observation. Special thanks to NOVAC members John Avellone and Mike Lewis!
• Presented "Makin' Flakes," a "make-and-take" workshop for Grade Level 4 teachers, "Blue Schools" Elementary Science Weather Unit Inservice, Fort Hunt ES, 13 November 2000.
• Served as the Carl Sandburg MS (CSMS) point-of-contact for "Explorers" Explore Exploration, the educational outreach initiative between the Explorers Club Washington Group and CSMS (24 January and 22 February 2001).
• Hosted visiting officials from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, the school-business partner of Carl Sandburg MS, 27 April 2001. Provided an overview of the FCPS Planetarium Program, including a quick tour of the Spring night sky.
• Hosted a Sandburg Planetarium "Open House" during "Parent Visit Day" at Sandburg MS. Tuesday, 01 May 2001 from 10:00 - 10:30 a.m., there was a special "Open House" program at the Sandburg Planetarium. Among other topics, the cross-curricular Grade Level 7 English sky poetry unit and the Grade Level 8 Science astronomy unit (including upcoming class visits to the planetarium in May) were highlighted. In addition, visitors were given a quick tour of the late Spring/early Summer night skies. Parents who attended the program were able to see firsthand how this extraordinary resource enriches the instructional program at Sandburg Middle School (as well as the other schools in the Sandburg Planetarium Service Area).

National Sky Awareness Week, Astronomy Week/Day, and Solar Maximum

On Tuesday, 17 April 2001, Charles Olin, President of the Analemma Society, visited Carl Sandburg MS (CSMS) Grade Level 8 Science classes; he showed several types of sundials and explained how they work. The following day, students prepared for Sun-Earth-Moon Day 2001 by assembling the Sandburg Sundial (54k PDF), a customized ready-to-use horizontal sundial. On Thursday, 19 April, amateur astronomers from the National Capital Astronomers (NCA) and Northern Virginia Astronomy Club (NOVAC) visited Sandburg MS for a day of safe sunspot observing, sundialing, and Moon-watching. Sincere thanks to Andrew Seacord (NCA), John Avellone (NOVAC), and Charles Olin--at CSMS, we appreciate your spirit of volunteerism and willingness to share your expertise and enthusiasm for observational astronomy! And of course, thanks to the following Sandburg science teachers for allowing their classes to participate in the special event: Mr. Daugherty, Ms. Hayward, Ms. Long, Ms. Williams, and Ms. Wallace.

Professional Growth Activity

• Currently serve as an American Meteorological Society "Atmospheric Education Resource Agent" for the Commonwealth of Virginia (since 1984).
• Attended a one-day conference of the Maryland Planetarium Teachers Association, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, 16 October 2000. Presented a workshop featuring some of the SCSA's "greatest hits," including the Sandburg Sky Poetry Unit and Birthday Moons - It's Just a Phase You're Going Through....
• Attended the Smithsonian Resident Associates educational program, "Art and Science: Closer Than You Think," presented by Dr. Sidney Perkowitz, Professor of Physics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 08 February 2001.
• Attended "2001: A Gifted Odyssey," a one-day conference hosted by the Northern Virginia Council for Gifted/Talented Education, 10 March 2001. Collaborated with Ms. Dara Jacob, CSMS Team 3 English Teacher, in co-presenting a workshop entitled, "The Sky Touches Everyone: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Poetry, Astronomy, and Art."
• Attended Space Day, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, 03 May 2001. Represented the FCPS Planetarium Program.
• Selected to participate as a member of the curriculum writing team which will develop a new Grade Level 6 Science Unit, The Solar System, FCPS Instructional Services Department, Summer 2001.
• Attended FCPS School Board Public Hearing regarding the 2001-2002 budget, 14 May 2001. Published Top 10 Reasons to Preserve the FCPS Planetarium Program, 14 May 2001 Website of the Week (WoW!).

Special Recognition