The IVO for Informal Science Centers, Planetaria, Schools, including and Remote and Local Telescopes:

The Real Astronomy Experience -- RAE’

Building Meaningful Use and Understanding of IVO Data through Use of Telescopes and Image Processing in Science Centers and

Planetaria

brought to you by the:

US National Science FoundationEducation and Human ResourcesElementary, Secondary and Informal Sciences EducationProgram

IVO: A Revolutionary Development.Arguably Unprecedented in

Civil Society.Why not meaningfully reach 1 billion people,

(instead of just 10,000) with high quality data?

Professional Quality Data

Humans, students

Interfaces,training,activities,communities you!

Just putting stuffOn the web bombs

RAE: An Opportunity for Science Centers and Astronomy

World of Images, Data, etc.

Science Center Visitors

Hands-On Universehas some answers

Hands-On Universe Tools -- see http://hou.lbl.gov

Rick Hessman Speaks Friday at 14:50 on HOU in General

HOU Summary:

Software

Global Partners (and eager to expand!!)

Web Site

Teacher trainers and on-going communities and bonds

Internet Mediated On-line training

1000 Teachers around the world trained in HOU

They are starved for data

They are savvy, as are their kids

Good Global Partners

JAHOU (Subaru SuPrime Camera Data is on its way!!)

France (Global HOU Meeting, Paris, July 24-29)

Obsatacles/Pitfalls

•Things are delivered to slowly (moderate hyperbolae)

•Teachers are not trained

•Teachers have no connection with scientists

•Teachers and others have no resources

•Kids don’t want archival (read “dead”) data

Of great interest to teachers and Students:• Real Research

• Non-analyzed data (save a portion of the sky for kids?? Quark Net will probably save a trigger for kids)

• Sense of adventure and discovery

• Light Curves!!! Transient Objects

• Seamless to real telescopes (Aussie VO ideas)

• FTS not Jpeg!!

Some Underpinnings of Hands-On Universe

(courtesy of NSF ESIE)

• People learn science best by doing aspects of science with modern tools

• The least powerful deserve the most powerful tools

• Scientists can share their sense of exploration, their sense of joy with students and the public

• There is always an opportunity to make a small or large discovery.

HOU Pre-IVO and new technology

• High Bandwidth Networking -- video conferencing experiments

• Resources that genuinely need computing to succeed

• Data bases

• Automated Telescopes

• CCD Image Cameras

• Teacher support networks using the internet

• On-Line courses

Three Dark Clouds Over Astronomy and Education

• Students lack of achievement in Science -- TIMSS, Pisa, etc. -- US and Europe are not so hot.

•

• US Public’s lack of enthusiasm and understanding of Science (and funding) -- decreasing science funding since Nixon.

• Students lack of engagement in physical sciences -- particularly women and minorities -- (look around the room!) None of us want this to be the EOWMIVO!!

Optimistic Signs

• Teachers like astronomy and others are eager to change

• Students know computers and networking are the future

• We have many resources that are available and are working

• IVO!!!!

• Small remote telescopes (RTML)

• Internet enables unprecedented level of – Access

– Communication

– Collaboration -- if we do it right and carefully

Why Astronomy #1?

Survey of Museum Visitors at Boston Museum of Science:

Dinosaurs #1,

Astronomy #2 (apologies to Luis Alvarez)

Why Astronomy 2

They like it better than other sciences in school1= HOU provided Less, 5= HOU provided more:

Why Astronomy 3

:

• From Master’s Thesis of Curtis Craig, early in HOU -- young women thrived at it.

• HOU is thriving in some inner cities of US and France with a diverse audience.

IVO/HOU Opportunities

• Ubiquitous access to these data bases

• Get teachers and students to work more closely together

• Huge Audience of Teachers and Students to Work with -- we know it is the right thing, and laterally millions waiting!

• Exciting, engaging, and rigorous and challenging resources we can bring into many classrooms

• July 11-12 meeting at STSCI with NVO team! HOU is there!

Resources to Supplement IVO for Public Venues:

HOU/RAE to the Rescue

• HOU IP Software

• HOU On-line and face to face workshops -- scalability!

• Web-site (http://hou.lbl.gov) • Data Base• Video Conferencing • Growing world of small telescopes, too (Monet, etc.)

Ladder of Cognition:

Narrabri Remote Telescope in Australia at ANTF

Some System Architecture

Visitor Software• Maxim DL (easy version) Image Processing

• Starry Night Planeataria software for requests and understanding sky and interacting with IVO

• Instant Telescope Control Software

• Data Base (HOU and IVO!)

• Video Conferencing with remote telescopes

• Control of Observatory Cameras

• Take home images, software, etc.

Starry Nights

Starry Nights

Starry Nights

Visitor Image Processsing Software

Supernova and HOU IP!

• Before

• After

Powerful but Easy to Understand Image Processing Tools:

Data Base• on-line images, requests, learning, etc.!

Example: Asteroid Discovery by Young Women! These materials are not esoteric to kids!

• FS144:

• FS144:

Asteroid Search Download Page

Kids and Supernovae

• Important Objects (in the California standards!)

• They create all of the matter of the universe -- you and I are star children

• Kids and Teachers love them

• They teach science and math kids have to learn anyway

• Kids have found them

Use in Classrooms and RAE

• Students rediscover a supernova in existing data

• Slowly building a student-based supernova search

• Use supernova images to find asteroids

• Connect with Berkeley supernova groups and science

• Scale to AGN’s and all other transient objects

Small Telescopes Can Supplement IVO Data!• Follow up asteroids, variable AGN’s, stars, etc.

• Make science more valuable and immediate

• Exciting

• Teaches more inquiry- based science

• RTML (Remote Telescope Markup Language

The Future is Incredibly Bright

• There will be hiccups

• We can prove stuff works and succeeds better than “normal” informal science education soon!

• It will be a great journey together