Space Weather Outreach Program

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Both the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have identified the need to educate the public about the effects of solar activity on Earth's near-space environment, including possible harm to astronauts, disruption of satellite communications, and adverse effects on power grids. This project will expand on the previous activities of the Space Science Institute by expanding and developing the following project components: (1) the Space Weather Center Web Site; (2) Micro Exhibits for Science Centers and Shopping Malls; (3) Radio Programs on Ancient Observatories/Space Weather; (4) the Family Guide to the Sun; and (5) Professional Development Workshops. The proposed components of the Space Weather Outreach Project cross the major realms of science communications: formal education, informal education, and public outreach. The proposed project is integrated so that each of the components makes use of aspects of the other components. For example, the micro exhibit will take advantage of the web site's interactive activities as well as selections from the radio programming. Radio programs can be archived on the Web site along with the Family Guide and Educator Guide. The guides will be used in the educator workshops along with the Web site. These interconnections serve to strengthen each individual component and the project as a whole. This project will contribute to the field of informal education evaluation by incorporating various evaluation results into the project and gathering data contrasting public understanding with student understanding of space physics and astronomy concepts. In addition, the Institute will conduct further evaluations of its Family Guide to the Sun that builds on an earlier evaluation in order to find out what works best in family learning environments. The findings from both evaluation studies will be made available to other education and outreach professionals by publishing them in relevant journals. It will also apply the lessons from the evaluations to activities and materials that it develops for after-school programs, which will be a new area for SSI's outreach program. SSI will distribute new, multi-media space weather-related content and activities through the following channels: (1) the Space Weather Center Web site; (2) professional development workshops for middle and high school teachers; (3) English and Spanish language radio broadcasts across the country; (4) NASA's distribution outlet for printed materials; (5) after-school and community-based programs; and (6) shopping malls and science centers as venues for micro exhibits.