1 Contact: Nancy Alima Ali, Center for Science Space Sciences Lab, UC Berkeley Heliophysics Forum Nugget: High School Student Publishes Paper Using THEMIS Mission Data Kevin Beach, a high school student at Chippewa Hills High School in Remus, MI, published a paper in the National High School Journal of Science about his research using THEMIS data. Under the direction of science teacher Cris DeWolf, Kevin studied data about the solar wind collected from the THEMIS magnetometer located at Chippewa Hills High School. Cris DeWolf and his students participate in the Geomagnetic Event Observation Network by Students (GEONS) program in which students use real scientific data to learn about heliophysics. Read Kevin’s full article at classification-and-the-impact-of-solar-flaring-on-geomagnetic-field-strength/. classification-and-the-impact-of-solar-flaring-on-geomagnetic-field-strength/ For more information about the THEMIS GEONS program, visit

2 Helio Nugget: Energy from the Sun in Space and on Earth (ESSE) Teachers use photovoltaic modules to harness the Sun’s energy. The Energy from the Sun project successfully completed a series of innovative multi-day teacher workshops. In partnership with the National Energy Education Development Program and 2011 Tech Award Winner Hal Aronson (We Care Solar), we trained 50 elementary, middle and high school educators. Workshop topics included NASA’s heliophysics resources as well as curricula on solar energy. Our workshops tapped into surging interest in solar energy among educators, thereby expanding the reach of NASA’s heliophysics curricula and resources into Green Academies and environmental magnet schools. In our follow-on workshops, teachers shared strategies for implementing our NASA materials, showcased student work and deepened their knowledge of the Sun. Teachers learn cutting-edge NASA science and core concepts about the Sun from Dr. Bryan Mendez, Astronomer and E/PO Specialist. Hands-on exploration of classroom materials. “This was the best teacher workshop I have ever attended. I love the balance of high-level background science with information for teachers and experience with student labs.” “Everything was very valuable today. I really do feel I could translate all I learned to my group of K-6 graders…” “Thank you for the workshop. I am now inspired to continue exploring and sharing my newly gained information!” A few teachers comments—

3 Helio Nugget – MMS E/PO at Mars Rover Competition Contact: Pat Reiff, On January 28, we took a Discovery Dome to the Mars Rover Competition, held at the University of Houston – downtown, which hosted 720 participants (some elementary, some middle school), each of whom entered a low-cost rover design. Each student who toured the dome (280) received a "Space Weather" CD, and each teacher received either a "Space Update" DVD or a planetarium show DVD. View of the dome when a group was inside. Note MMS logo on banner on table.

4 Helio Nugget – MMS - NASA Space Science Days Contact: Pat Reiff, Happy students after learning about space in the dome (with MMS mascot Trigger) The ninth annual NASA Space Science Days were held in Brownsville January 13 and 14, Friday evening Jan 13 was a public event, with 212 visitors attending (70 of whom stayed after the lecture to go to the dome), and Saturday was a student and teacher day, with 528 students (5 th through 8 th grade) and 50 teachers and parents, all getting a dome show (we take two domes to ensure every student can see the show). Each student received a "Space Weather" CD, and each teacher also got a "Space Update" DVD or a planetarium show DVD. Press coverage:

5 The Center for Science UC Berkeley enjoyed lively and rewarding interactions with girls on February 25 at the Career Day called “Expanding Your Horizons: Motivating Young Women in Science and Math.” (San Ramon, CA). Girls See Themselves as Scientists at the “Expanding Your Horizons” Career Day We shared amazing images of the Sun, including our “solar pizza,” and Space Weather Media Viewer, and got a chance to explore outside with UV beads. Our fellow booth presenters included representatives from a variety of other science career paths, including chemistry, botany and geology. We are happy to report that we got several return visitors that day, one of them exclaiming “You guys are really fun, so I wanted to come back and learn more!” 300 middle school girls with a budding interest in space science visited our table for some hands-on exploration and conversations about science as a career. Contact Ruth Paglierani, Photos: Girls experiment with hands-on Sun models and UV-sensitive beads.

6 Nugget: Space Explorers Club After School Program The IBEX E/PO team is currently running an after school program called Space Explorers Club for 18 Chicago Public Schools. This program consists of two 8-week sessions of curriculum using the GEMS Space Science Sequence and IBEX E/PO resources. Components of the program include: Teacher professional development, school site visits and a culminating event at the Adler Planetarium for teachers, students and their families. January 28, 2012 was the first of two culminating events for participating clubs in the school year. 116 people attended the event. During the event students and their families engaged with exhibits, participated in hands-on demonstrations and saw the IBEX planetarium show. Students try out an IBEX activity that uses water to model the Heliosphere. Space Explorers Club Teacher discusses Solar System exhibit at the Adler Planetarium with students from his club. The following are quotes from students when surveyed at the event about the Space Explorers Club: “The club makes science more fun and interesting…in school it usually isn’t very entertaining or exciting” “It’s different because we get to see an actual model of what we’re talking about and not just reading a text book” “Learning science in this club is different because in regular class we don’t learn about space” Contact: Heather Brubach