MAVEN Educator Ambassador Program

Written by Nathan Smith on April 16, 2015. Posted in STEM and STEAM.

In September 2014, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, or MAVEN, mission began exploring Mars’ upper atmosphere, ionosphere and interactions with the sun and solar wind. The MAVEN Educator Ambassador, or MEA, program will focus on in-depth learning experiences around Earth, space and physical science topics for educators teaching middle- and high-school grades.

During this weeklong, NASA-funded program, participants will receive training to become a MAVEN Educator Ambassador. The goal of the MEA program is to develop the capacity and provide the opportunity for educators to train other teachers on NASA heliophysics and planetary science educational resources. Follow-up support will be provided via teleconference calls and other electronic communications. Participants involved in the MEA program will be expected to implement the lesson plans and education resources in their own classrooms, as well as train other teachers at local and regional professional development conferences or meetings.

The program will take place Aug. 3-7, 2015, at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Participants will receive a travel stipend of $700. Free housing and meals will be provided.

Applications are due May 22, 2015.

For more information about the workshop and to apply online, visit http://lasp.colorado.edu/home/maven/education-outreach/for-educators/mea/2015mea/.

Questions about this opportunity should be directed to epomail@lasp.colorado.edu.

Nathan Smith

Nathan Smith is Director of Technology for the College of Education and Human Services at Utah State University. In that role, he also directs The Adele & Dale Young Education Technology Center (The YETC) located in room 170 of the Education Building on Utah State University's Logan campus. The YETC is a combination student openaccess computer facility, a K12 curriculum materials library, a NASA Educator Resource Center for Utah, and a technology training center. Nathan served eight years (20042012) on the Board of Directors for the Utah Coalition for Education Technology (UCET) He was reelected in 2014 to serve another two year term on the board. A former elementary school teacher, Nathan has taught students every age from young children to senior citizens. He has had the opportunity beginning in 2011 to train international high school teachers from all over the world about technology in education, through the U.S. State