NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee teachers and students will work with astronauts, astronomers and other leading space explorers at an interactive summer institute hosted by Dyer Observatory the week of June 21.
Building a full-scale model satellite, an artificial comet and a smaller model of the Hubble Space Telescope are some of the hands-on activities scheduled for the group of middle school students and K-12 teachers. In addition, the first Japanese astronaut to walk in space will meet with the students and teachers on June 25 from 10 a.m. to noon. Takao Doi, who was a mission specialist on a fall 1997 NASA space shuttle flight, has done research in microgravity science. He conducted experiments on the shuttle that studied how the weightless environment of space can affect the formation of different materials. He also earned a doctorate in astronomy and is helping develop the tools and procedures that will be used in the assembly of the space station.
"Dyer Observatory is a unique place where K-12 teachers and students can converse with and learn from some of the best space explorers in the world," said Rick Chappell, director of Dyer and a former payload specialist astronaut. Chappell is also a research professor of physics at Vanderbilt. Instructors for the institute include Robert O’Dell, distinguished research professor of physics and astronomy at Vanderbilt and former chief scientist for the Hubble Space Telescope Project; David Weintraub, associate professor of physics and astronomy at Vanderbilt; Todd Gary, director of the Institute for Understanding Biological Systems at Tennessee State University; and Robert Knop, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Vanderbilt.
Funding for the institute has been provided by a grant from NASA through the Space Telescope Science Institute. The workshop curriculum has been designed by an advisory group of K-12 teachers led by Sue McPherson from Hendersonville High School.
All spaces have been reserved for this week’s summer institute, but there are a limited number of openings for middle-school students in upcoming sessions of the Dyer Space Exploration Science Camp. For more information, call 615-373-4897 or e-mail Nancy Dwyer at nancy.dwyer@vanderbilt.edu.
Media contact: Ann Marie Deer Owens, (615) 322-NEWS
Annmarie.owens@vanderbilt.edu