The Broader Impact of NRAO

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The Broader Impact of NRAO

• Goal To increase appreciation for Radio
  Astronomy, and the NRAO locally, regionally,
  nationally.
• Scientific literacy
• Encourage STEM Careers
• Science is accessible, and fun

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Teacher Programs

• Core experience Scientific Research on the 40
  Ft. telescope.
• Team research/NRAO scientist mentors
• Astronomy content
• Research talks
• In-depth tours
• Classroom application
• Proven to change teacher practices in the
  classroom.

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Student Programs

• Overnight (or longer) field trips
• Extended tours
• 2000 students have used the 40 Foot telescope
  over the past 12 months.
• Grade School to Grad School

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West Virginia Governors School
Goal to encourage students interest in STEM
careers before they enter high school. 60 rising
freshman/year.
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Public Programs

• Tour Program
• Star Quest
• SARA

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Public Relations

• good to the last drop

Virginia
I cant believe I ate the whole thing.
Brylcream
NRAO???
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Quiet Skies
Quiet Skies Detector
Goal to promote student aware-ness of radio
astronomy and radio frequency interference
through an inquiry-based research project.

• Students will
• Measure interference levels at schools and in
  communities
• Reduce and transmit data to an NRAO data base
• Debate how the spectrum should be allocated.

North America at Night
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NRAO Navigators
Goal to train outreach volunteers to spread the
word about radio astronomy and NRAO.
November 2008 -- 44 Night Sky Network clubs and
a record 102 participants, tuned into a training
telecon.
Navigator David Fields with youth group in
Tennessee
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• Funded by the Corporation for Public
  Broadcasting, though local station. (10,000
  plus in-kind)
• 26 3-minute shows
• Aired 2007/2008
• Also available at www.nrao.edu
• Accompanied by web content.

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NEW!

• Pulsar Search Collaboratory
• Proposal to be Submitted to NSF ITEST
• To involve students in radio astronomy science
  and the search for new pulsars.
• Distributed computing
• Ultimate goal to become a citizen science project

Partnership between WVU physics, computer
science, and education departments, WV EPSCoR, WV
Dept. of Ed. and NRAO.