FYI for libraries that are interested in STEM programming. The Lunar & Planetary Institute is  partner of the Collaborative  Summer Library Program.

 

 

 

Shared on behalf of our partner Lunar & Planetary Institute.  Please direct any questions about the content to:

Keliann LaConte

Informal Education/Explore! Program Lead

Education and Public Outreach

Lunar and Planetary Institute

3600 Bay Area Boulevard

Houston, TX  77058-1113

(281) 486-2166

(281) 244-2006 Fax

laconte@lpi.usra.edu

www.lpi.usra.edu

 

 

 

NASA Explores Pluto This Summer!

On July 14, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft will become the first mission to get up close and personal with distant Pluto and its moons. The New Horizons mission will help us understand the small, icy worlds at the edge of our solar system. New Horizons launched on January 19, 2006 and will capture the first up-close images of Pluto and its moons on July 14, 2015. As part of an extended mission, the spacecraft is expected to head farther into the Kuiper Belt to examine more icy, mini-worlds.

 

Download the Libraries’ Guide to Solar System Exploration: The New Horizons Mission at the Pluto System for programming resources. Find online resources for hosting a night sky viewing in partnership with a local amateur astronomy club, as well as information about exploring the solar system and the New Horizons mission to the Pluto system. Connect with social media and STEM events around the nation using NASA’s Pluto Toolkit. Make your own “planets” out of modeling clay, Styrofoam™ balls, and other common materials, and invite children to plan a mission to explore these “new worlds” using paper towel tube “telescopes.”  Find a complete materials list, supporting resources, and facilitation strategies with the Explore! activity planning guide, Strange New Planet.

 

Are you planning to host a Pluto/New Horizons event? Have you hosted a NASA mission milestone event in the past? We’d love to hear which resources you used and what other types resources you would like to see!  Join the conversation at http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/explore/community_corner/?story_id=127!