SUCCESSFULLY TARGETING A VARIETY OF POPULATIONS AND CULTURES IN MONTANA WITH SPACE EDUCATION AND OUTREACH

摘要

The Montana Space Grant Consortium (MSGC) and its partnering institutions have a wide variety of space public outreach and education programs that uniquely target Montana's diverse population, which includes a large portion of rural communities and Native American reservations. The Space Public Outreach Team (SPOT) employs graduate students to write NASA presentations and trains undergraduate presenters to travel and present at schools across Montana, reaching over 10,000 students last year. The Tribal College Research Project calls for State and Tribal University researchers, engineers, and students to build and collect data with remote sensing equipment and aurora detectors. Collecting and analyzing data with red and infrared cameras on board the remote sensing apparatus allows tribal students to contribute meaningfully to the scientific endeavor and the well-being of their environments. The MSGC BOREALIS teams involve undergraduate students at two of Montana's large, state universities in a scientific high-altitude ballooning program. The Space Science and Engineering Lab (SSEL) produced student-built hardware for the International Space Station and will launch a CubeSat in October 2011. Contributing to all aspects of a project prepares students to become the next generation of leading space science researchers and engineers. Additionally, regular small-scale public outreach events such as Science Saturdays for kids, science workshops for girls, and science camps for middle school students reinforce students with hands-on experience and inspiration from real scientists. Focusing on issues that are specific to the region and to the culture of the people, maximizing time and monetary resources, and fostering cooperative partnerships are all integral components that are built in to Montana's successful education efforts.