Heliophysics
Education and Public Outreach
Unique
Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) opportunities are associated
with Heliophysics science. The top-level objectives,
research focus areas, and science achievements that constitute
the Heliophysics Strategic Roadmap for the next 30 years provide
powerful opportunities for Education and Public Outreach from
the Heliophysics science community.
E/PO activities stemming from the science achievements
should be developed to support the following five themes:
• NASA keeps me informed about what’s going on with
the Sun
• The Solar System is an astrophysical laboratory for NASA
• NASA science helps us protect our society from hazardous
space weather
• NASA science helps us understand climate change
• NASA science helps keep space explorers safe and supports
exploration activities
These messages are of high interest and relevance to the public
and they span the range of scientific activity engaged in by the
Heliophysics community.
Expanded
and invigorated education and public outreach are essential to
the achievement of the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE).
NASA’s Strategic Objective for Education and Public Outreach
is to “Use NASA missions and other activities to inspire
and motivate the nation’s students and teachers, to engage
and educate the public, and to advance the scientific and technological
capabilities of the nation.” The Heliophysics community emphasizes
the connection between achievement of this strategic objective
and the Vision for Space Exploration. The development of the workforce
needed to achieve NASA’s objectives requires that EPO activities
engage young people and capture their interest and passion. We
need to increase the capacity of our nation’s education systems,
both in school (Formal: K-16) and out of school (Informal), to
prepare students for scientific and engineering careers.
Heliophysics science and mission activities provide valuable hooks
for EPO. For example, learning to predict the variable radiation
hazards and space weather conditions that our astronauts and robots
will encounter on excursions to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere
is very exciting scientific work that the public will want to
know about. New advances using our Sun and solar system as astrophysical
laboratories will fuel the generation of authentic, science-rich
education resources that will increase the capacity of the nation’s
education systems.
Developing the workforce to implement the VSE will require substantial
focus on underrepresented communities. The current demographic
makeup of the science and engineering workforce in the USA is
overwhelmingly white. Population projections to 2025 indicate
that the percentage of traditionally underrepresented communities
will increase. Successful EPO efforts will benefit substantially
by reaching presently under-represented groups.
An exciting example of EPO targeted at underrepresented communities
is NASA’s Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum’s (SECEF)
Sun-Earth Day programming for 2005: Ancient Observatories: Timeless
Knowledge. This broad program allowed NASA and Native American
astrophysicists to share their research into the efforts of ancient
cultures to understand the Sun and its affects on their lives,
highlighting the importance of the Sun across the ages. Through
programs such as these, Heliophysics scientists convey NASA’s
mission and research program activities to diverse audiences.
Heliophysics
Education Related Sites:
