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Education and public Outreach

The overarching purpose of our Outreach program is to increase public understanding of Astrobiology and the role of biosignature research in this discipline. Our specific goals are to:

• Increase the teaching of Astrobiology at the elementary, middle school, high school, and undergraduate levels;

• Engage minority and low income students in Astrobiology;

• Convey the excitement of Astrobiology to audiences with diverse backgrounds, especially those typically not stirred by traditional science outreach programs;

• Facilitate the interaction of astrobiologists with K-14 students, teachers, and adult learners;

• Express the importance of the proposed research and its discoveries to the public.

Many of our Outreach efforts will be run through the University of Wisconsin-Madison Geology Museum, which is the most popular science outreach venue on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. Each year, the museum attracts about 40,000 visitors including 13,000 school children who receive hour-long guided tours. It also functions as a teaching tool for many undergraduate courses in geology, zoology, history of science, and art.

To explain the concept of a biosignature, we plan to create a permanent exhibit that explores the question: What does life leave behind? In addition, through cooperation with the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD), we plan to develop a docent-led, multimedia presentation on the role of biosignature research in Astrobiology. The program will target high school students and will feature original music, art, and narration.

Traditional approaches to scientific outreach seldom target the arts communities. To address this issue the UW Geology Museum has developed The Stony Muse, an innovative program that fosters collaboration between artists and geoscientists. It encourages production of authentic works of art based on geologic discoveries and concepts. These collaborations not only inform the arts communities about science, but they also allow artists to develop new ways of imagining or visualizing scientific ideas. This is especially valuable when dealing with abstract concepts such as isotopic biosignatures and stable isotope science. The Stony Muse will organize two events that blend Astrobiology and the arts. The first event will be a half-day workshop on Astrobiology for science illustrators; the second will consist of a multiple artist exhibit on sulfur.

A significant Outreach effort will also be housed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), through its Solar System Ambassadors Program, a highly successful public outreach endeavor that JPL has sponsored since 1997. In this program, motivated volunteers receive training sessions and updates on NASA research via bi-weekly teleconferences. The Ambassadors regularly share this information with space enthusiasts of all ages by hosting events (e.g., star-gazing parties, library displays, and planetarium talks) in their local communities. There currently are 450 Ambassadors in 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico; many of these Ambassadors reside in underserved rural or urban areas. The Ambassadors arranged 2,071 events in 2005, which cumulatively attracted over one million people.

Finally, our Outreach efforts will tap into the Solar System Educators Program (SSEP), a network of 59 dedicated teachers in 39 states who collectively instruct more than seven thousand students during their five year SSEP contracts. These teachers use NASA-connected curricula in their classrooms and regularly interact with NASA scientists and engineers. On average, each Educator annually provides training in space-related education to 100 of their peers.

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