The Lowell Observatory Navajo-Hopi Astronomy Outreach Program: the Kayenta Unified School District Collaboration

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The project will fund five partnerships as part of the Lowell Observatory Navajo-Hopi Astronomy Outreach program in the 2018-19 school year. The program, which is in its 23rd year, is beginning a collaboration with 4th-7th grade teachers in the Kayenta Unified School District, located in the Navajo Nation of northern Arizona. Teachers are paired with an astronomer/educator from Lowell Observatory who regularly visits the observatory. Star parties are held in partnership with tribal educators who present traditional knowledge, and students visit Lowell Observatory as a culminating experience. The curriculum uses Project Based Learning, which education research has shown to be particularly effective with Native children. Topics for the new units are aligned with state, national, and Navajo tribal standards. Curriculum units will be developed, tested, and evaluated, and successful units will be made available free to educators. Navajo and Hopi elders and educators will be involved in this process.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.