The Sun and Tools of Astronomers Mary Kay Hemenway Marc Wetzel University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory

Outline  Goals of McDonald programs on the sun  Equipment  Pre-visit/pre-conference materials  Solar Student Field Experience program at McDonald Observatory  Solar videoconference program from McDonald Observatory  Preliminary Results  Other McDonald Observatory Programs  Contact information

Goals of the Program Develop/provide effective programming on the sun for K-12 students and teachers who visit McDonald Observatory Develop/provide effective programming on astronomy, including solar viewing, for those visiting the Observatory electronically through individual classroom videoconferences Share both the content and the process of creating these programs with others involved in similar outreach programs

Equipment C-14 and two 76-mm TeleVue refractors AVA Astrovid camera with computer controls Tandberg 6000 codec H-alpha and white light filters Paramount ME100 robotic telescope mount

Solar equipment Building with roll-off roof Computer interfaced to controls in classroom and theater

Pre-visit/pre-conference Assessment sheet for students from "Eye on the Sky" of Project FIRST Behavior norms for students Suggested activities for engaging students

Student Field Experience Pre-visit package Tour of observatory and 2.7-m telescope Use of exhibit area with student guides (English/Spanish) Solar viewing (Optional) Enriched solar experience Post-visit package

McDonald Observatory Visitor Center

At the observatory

Astroscan telescope Project the sun to Observe sunspots Measure the rotation rate of the Earth by timing the drift of the sun through one solar diameter.

Solar viewing Viewing the sun with two telescopes One for full-disk live image One for H-alpha close-up images

Using the magnet box After showing the close-up live image of the sun with prominences and solar activity, insert magnet into box. Discuss similarities with solar phenomena

Demonstrations Pre-recorded for solar viewing experience Live for enriched Student Field Experience or Videoconference Lava lamp Magnet box Sunspot demo

Large sun and word wall

Cut-away sun (shows layers)

Question and answer

Videoconference

Videoconference Elements of 50-minute program Outside views of observatory Narrated tour of the Struve 2.1-m telescope Live views of sun Demonstrations Question and answer session

Videoconferencing methods Facilitator and technician Two-way communication with the classroom Script with variations for grade levels

Demonstrations Demos are done live Solar images may be pre- recorded if weather doesn't permit real-time observations

Classroom and studio

Technician at work

Pulling the elements together

Comparison of pre/post student ideas about the sun

Post-visit/conference Suggestions for activities to follow the interaction are linked with Texas and/or national science education standards Program evaluation is continuing with a professional evaluator for formative and summative evaluation.

Formative Evaluation Rating of program elements Engage Explore Explain Elaborate Evaluate Ratings done by project staff and outside Educator Advisory Board

Summative evaluation Interviews with teachers who participated in either –on-site Student Field Experience –videoconference

Teacher Professional Development at McDonald Annually - general astronomy (k-8 or 6- 12) Special workshops 2005 Texas Rural Teachers 2005 SAFIR 2006 FUSE White Dwarf

SAFIR 10-m primary mirror 20 microns to 1mm Telescope temperature < 5 K Launch year mission PI = Dan Lester, UT- Austin

SAFIR - workshop Dr. Sheila Kappannan Dr. Dan Lester

Workshop elements Coudé room 2.7-m telescope Galaxy activity SOFIA "Active Astronomy" infrared kit activities

Contact information Mary Kay Hemenway: Marc Wetzel: Observatory website: Videoconference website:

Acknowledgements Support for HST-ED A was provided by NASA through a grant from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities in Astronomy, Incorporated, under NASA contract NAS Support for the “Future Astronomy:The Infrared Universe” workshop was provided by NASA under an Education and Public Outreach supplement to Grant/Contract/Agreement No. NNG04GJ63G issued through the Office of Space Science for the study of SAFIR - the Single Array Far Infrared Observatory.