The NVO for Schools, Informal Science Centers, Planetaria, including and Remote and Local Telescopes:
The National Virtual Observatory and Hands-On Universe (HOU)
UC Berkeley
Building Meaningful Use and Understanding of NVO Data through Use of Telescopes and Image Processing in Schools,
Science Centers and Planetaria
brought to you by the:
US National Science FoundationEducation and Human ResourcesElementary, Secondary and Informal Sciences EducationProgram
NVO: A Revolutionary Development.With Arguably Unprecedented
Public/Educational Outreach Capability:Why not meaningfully reach many, many people, (instead of
just 10,000 Astronomers) with high quality data?
Professional Quality Data
Humans, students
Hands-On Universe Interfaces,training,activities,communities you!
Just putting stuffOn the web bombs!!
Hands-On Universe Tools -- see http://hou.lbl.gov
Hands-On Universe Resources --What have we got to share with the NVO?
• Image processing software (C++ and IDL based)• Master Teacher Corp of 22 Teacher Resource Agents (many have been with the project for ~ 7 years)• Curriculum for High School• Real Astronomy Experience for Informal Science Centers• Growing Telescope Network (RTML!!)• Teacher workshops• On-line teacher workshops!!• Growing Alliance with Starry Nights/Maxim DL/Bob Denny• 700 Trained HOU teachers in the US• Another 500 trained teachers around the world• Some good discoveries -- young women have found supernovae, asteroids, etc.• Knowledge of how to make astronomy work in school environments• TIMSS Evaluation
On-Line Course
Good Global Partners
JAHOU (Subaru SuPrime Camera Data is on its way!!)
France (Global HOU Meeting, Paris, July 24-29)
TIMSS Results -- On-Line Training of Teachers Seems to as Effective as Face-to-face workshops, as measured by
Student Performance
Of great interest to teachers and Students:
• Real Research
• Non-analyzed data (save a portion of the sky for kids?? e.g., Quark Net will probably save a trigger for kids)
• Sense of adventure and discovery
• Light Curves!!! Transient Objects
• Seamless connections to real telescopes (Aussie VO ideas)
• FTS not Jpeg!!
Some Underpinnings of Hands-On Universe
(courtesy of NSF ESIE)
• People learn science best by doing aspects of science with modern tools
• The least powerful deserve the most powerful tools
• Scientists can share their sense of exploration, their sense of joy with students and the public
• There is always an opportunity to make a small or large discovery.
HOU Pre-NVO and new technology
• High Bandwidth Networking -- video conferencing experiments with teacher training -- we trained a group of teachers using Polycom-based one-day workshop.
• Resources that genuinely need computing to succeed
• Data bases
• Automated Telescopes
• CCD Image Cameras
• Teacher support networks using the internet
• On-Line courses
Optimistic Signs
• Teachers like astronomy and others are eager to change
• Students know computers and networking are the future
• We have many resources that are available and are working
• NVO!!!!
• Small remote telescopes (RTML)
• Internet enables unprecedented level of – Access
– Communication
– Collaboration -- if we do it right and carefully
Why Astronomy?
They like it better than other sciences in school1= HOU provided Less, 5= HOU provided more:
Why Astronomy 2
:
• From Master’s Thesis of Curtis Craig, early in HOU -- young women thrived at it.
• HOU is thriving in some inner cities of US and France with a diverse audience.
What Does HOU have to gain from the NVO?
• New unprecedented set of great data for universal access
• Possible collaborations and linkages to more scientists, educators, and other institutions
• Data base and infomatics for kids
• Better Collaborations
Resources to Supplement IVO for Public Venues:
HOU/RAE to the Rescue
• HOU IP Software
• HOU On-line and face to face workshops -- scalability!
• Web-site (http://hou.lbl.gov) • Data Base• Video Conferencing • Growing world of small telescopes, too (Monet, etc.)
Ladder of Cognition:
Narrabri Remote Telescope in Australia at ANTF
Some System Architecture
Visitor Software• Maxim DL (easy version) Image Processing
• Starry Night Planeataria software for requests and understanding sky and interacting with IVO
• Instant Telescope Control Software
• Data Base (HOU and IVO!)
• Video Conferencing with remote telescopes
• Control of Observatory Cameras
• Take home images, software, etc.
Starry Nights
Starry Nights
Starry Nights
Visitor Image Processsing Software
Supernova and HOU IP!
• Before
• After
Powerful but Easy to Understand Image Processing Tools:
Data Base• on-line images, requests, learning, etc.!
Example: Asteroid Discovery by Young Women! These materials are not esoteric to kids!
• FS144:
• FS144:
Asteroid Search Download Page
Kids and Supernovae
• Important Objects (in the California standards!)
• They create all of the matter of the universe -- you and I are star children
• Kids and Teachers love them
• They teach science and math kids have to learn anyway
• Kids have found them
Use in Classrooms and RAE
• Students/visitors rediscover a supernova in existing data or evolving data
• Slowly building a student-based supernova search
• Use supernova images to find asteroids
• Connect with Berkeley supernova groups and science
• Scale to AGN’s and all other transient objects
Small Telescopes Can Supplement NVO Data
• Follow up asteroids, variable AGN’s, stars, etc.
• Make science more valuable and immediate
• Exciting
• Teaches more inquiry- based science
• RTML (Remote Telescope Markup Language
More that NVO Do for HOU:
• Excel -->> SQL Cross-compilers/interpreters be able to make a global search on stars that vary, search on absolute magnitudes, search on any reasonable derived attribute. Jim Gray says it is possible.
• Utilize some Grid technology to establish up-link/server sites to consolidate data that cannot be put on a stable server at users “observatory” -- do photometry, astrometry, etc.
• Click on a Starry Night Star, and get all of the data ever taken on this, from every observatory or satellite in the world
• Be open to formative evaluation to make this operation successful -- establish a working group with funding for travel
The Future is Incredibly Bright
• There will be hiccups
• We can prove stuff works and succeeds better than “normal” informal science education soon!
• It will be a great journey together