EPO - Choctaw Nation's Jones Academy
Sandy Dueck, Lead Co-Investigator
The Ames Team is collaborating with the Jones Academy in Oklahoma to coordinate interactive science seminars via the NASA Digital Learning Network (DLN) at Ames, to 6th-12th grade students. These seminars will provide students with the opportunity to interact directly with, and ask questions of, participating NASA scientists.
Established in 1891 by the Choctaw Nation, the Jones Academy is a Native American residential learning center for elementary and secondary school children. Each student of the academy is a member of a federally recognized tribe and has met the criteria established by the school for placement in a boarding school. Jones Academy's maximum enrollment is 190 students. The students represent a cross-section of Native American tribes. In the past, the school has enrolled students from 29 different tribes and from states such as Oklahoma, Texas, Mississippi, New Mexico, Nevada, South Dakota, and several others.
Visit the Choctaw Nation's Jones Academy website at www.choctawnation.com/jonesacademy.
RESEARCH ON THE CHEMISTRY OF MOON ROCKS LEADS TO NASA CAREER
On February 18, 2010, the Ames Team conducted the second in a series of four distance-learning lectures with Hartshorne High School and the Choctaw Nation Jones Academy in Oklahoma. Using NASA's Digital Learning Network (DLN), planetary scientist Dave Des Marais spoke to students about his high school education and motivation, and his career at NASA. Des Marais has analyzed ancient rocks from Earth in order to understand what early environments were like and what might have been living there. He is now on the science team for the Mars Exploration Rovers. The goal of this lecture series is to demonstrate career opportunities in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields to Oklahoma students. Many of the students from Hartshorne High School, as well as the Jones Academy, come from backgrounds traditionally under-represented in STEM. This series hopes to correct that trend. Upcoming lectures will be given by biogeologist Tori Hoehler on March 11, 2010, and astrobiologist Marilyn Vogel in May 2010.
To listen to Dave Des Marais' lecture, visit the Ames Team Digital Learning Network page.
ANDREW MATTIODA INTRODUCES CHOCTAW NATION STUDENTS TO ASTROBIOLOGY
On January 1, 2010, the Ames Team conducted the first in a series of four distance-learning lectures with the Hartshorne High School and the Choctaw Nation Jones Academy in Hartshorne, Oklahoma. Using NASA's Digital Learning Network, Andrew Mattioda presented a seminar on Astrochemistry and Astrobiology. Mattioda attended Hartshorne High School and grew up in the Choctaw Nation area of Oklahoma.
To listen to Andy Mattioda's lecture, visit the Ames Team Digital Learning Network page.
AMES TEAM EDUCATION AND PUBLIC OUTREACH
---Sandy Dueck, Lead Co-Investigator
Educational Resources
National Park Service: Lassen Volcanic National Park and Yellowstone National Park
California Academy of Sciences
Choctaw Nation's Jones Academy
NASA Digital Learning Network
University of California, Santa Cruz, Astrobiology Course
and Accessibility Certification