|
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
New England Fall Astronomy Festival
NH Space Grant provided support for the first-ever New England Fall Astronomy Festival held at the University of New Hampshire's Observatory on October 14-15, 2011. Activities included sky watching and safe solar viewing, astronomy talks, telescope clinic (courtesy of the NH Astronomical Society), family activities, and a visit from Astronaut Lee Morin (NH native and UNH graduate).
Lunabotics Mining Competition
The UNH LunaCats, sponsored by NH Space Grant, will compete in the NASA Lunabotics Mining Competition at Kennedy Space Center, May 21-26, 2012.
The challenge: students design and build a lunar excavator that can collect and deposit 10kg of lunar simulant in 15 min.
The 2012 LunaCats team will make several visits to NH schools to inspire students to consider science and engineering careers. They come equipped with a mini-moon "squeeze ball" to give to their audience. Stay tuned in to see how our team does in competiton.
Project Smart
Project SMART is a four week UNH summer residential program for high school students in grades 10-11. Using the resources of the university, it challenges students to conduct actual scientific research. NH Space Grant funded space science and environmental sciences modules.
Forest Watch
Founded by NH Space Grant, Forest Watch partners UNH scientists and middle/high school students in monitoring the health of northern white
pine trees in NH. Over 100 schools collect samples
and use satellite data to monitor ozone effects on this indicator species.
Forest Watch originated with NH Space Grant and is celebrating more than 20 years of environmental monitoring with students.
NH
FIRST Robotics Competition Teams
FIRST
Robotics Competition pairs high school students with technical
professionals in problem-solving a predetermined engineering/design project.
Sponsors fund materials and entry fee. NHSGC is a sponsor of three NH teams: St. Thomas Aquinas H.S. "RoboSaints" teamed with FPL Energy /GE; Manchester Central H.S. "Chaos" teamed with BAE Systems of NA/Rockwell Automation; and Oyster River H.S. "Bobcats" teamed with UNH and were also sponsored by JC Penney.
St. Thomas Aquinas and Manchester Central teams will compete in the Granite State Regionals Mar.1-3, 2012 at Verizon Wireless Arena. Manchester Central will also compete in the Boston Regionals, Mar. 22-24. Oyster River will compete in WPI regionals, Mar. 8-10.
Mount Washington Outreach Observers
Stationed at the Mount Washington Observatory summit facility, the Outreach Observers are trained weather specialists who offer tours, educational programs, and workshops.
Citizen Science Outreach and Science Education
The Margret and H. A. Rey Center offers several citizen science engagement opportunities to the public and in schools to foster an interest in scientific research. The Center has developed programs for science teachers that encourage ongoing environmental monitoring and mountain weather curriculums. Public education programs such as Tecumseh Overnights and Welch Stewardship Hikes encourage citizens to protect the environment and to live more sustainably.
SuperStellar Fridays
At the McAuliffe Shepard Discovery Center, every Friday is "SuperStellar." Open to the public, NHSGC supports Friday evening presentations by scientists on discoveries, historical events, and science concepts. The evening ends with a look at "Tonight's Sky" in the full-dome theatre.
Aerospace Festival
Aerospacefest at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center celebrates space sciences and aeronautics with activities, speakers, and exhibits from across the U.S.
McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center Exhibit
The discovery center created an exhibit on living and working in space, drawing on artifacts from prior space grant activities and from items items obtained through NASA's de-accessioning program.
North Country Astronomy
The Margret and H. A. Rey Center, partnered with the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center and the New Hampshire Astronomical Society, hosts stargazing evenings and astronomy education programs in Waterville Valley. Activities include Dark Sky Stargazing Nights, guided exploration of important night sky events, lecture programs, and family-friendly learning activities.
Rey Center Environmental Monitoring
The Margret and H. A. Rey Center oversees several environmental monitoring initiatives which support environmental stewardship, and long-term research datasets for managers of the region’s natural resources. In partnership with Plymouth State University, the Rey Center supports climate change and vegetation phenology research through project TRET, the Tecumseh Research and Education Transect, located on Mount Tecumseh in Waterville Valley, NH. The Rey Center's Water Watchers program routinely measures water quality parameters as indicators about the ongoing health of our water and environment.
UNH TableSat Teams
NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, through NH Space Grant, funds UNH student engineering teams working on projects that model NASA space missions. This year's team worked on components like those on the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission.
UNH Cooperative Extension Remote Imaging Project
With NH Space Grant support, UNH Cooperative Extension began a remote imaging research infrastructure project, "Expanding Access to and Use of Imagery in New Hampshire." The goal: to catalog existing resources and newly available imagery and to offer web-based access for users from government, non-profit, education, research, and business sectors.