K-12 Mini-Grants

K-12 Mini-Grants is sponsored by Montana Space Grant Consortium (MSGC). Supports STEM engagement activities or materials that enhance teaching and learning for K-12 students. The program is offered throughout the year.

Teacher Resources and Opportunities - Montana Space Grant Consortium | Montana Space Grant Consortium Montana Space Grant Consortium Teacher Resources and Opportunities Teacher Resources and Opportunities The Montana Space Grant Consortium helps connect K-12 teachers with STEM related resources and opportunities from NASA and around our state. Please browse the following existing programs and let us know if you have any questions !

Presentations are free of charge to all Montana schools. Please keep in mind that schools more than four hours away from Bozeman should be able to gather at least one hundred students for a presentation. Click on the show request page to request a show The Montana Space Grant Consortium (MSGC) offers K-12 Mini-Grant to support STEM engagement activities or materials that enhance teaching and learning .

All Montana educators are eligible to apply. Grant applications can typically request up to $3,000. The mini-grant program is offered throughout the year.

Applications are submitted through Submittable . NASA Educational Resources NASA for Educators: NASA related resources for educators (K-12) looking for NASA related classroom material. NASA for Students: NASA related resources for K-12 and higher education students including educational NASA Wavelength : A full spectrum of NASA resources for Earth and Space Science Education.

NASA's Eyes on the Solar System: (K-12) Download this free, easy-to-use app from NASA to explore the Solar System with your classroom. This app is basically Google Earth, but in space! The app includes trajectories and information about current probes that are exploring our Solar System.

Astronomy Picture of the Day NASA News and Events : Stay up to date with NASA updates. NASA's Eyes Visualization is a freely available suite of computer visualization applications created by the Visualization Technology Applications and Development Team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to render scientifically accurate views of the planets studied by JPL missions and the spacecraft used in that study.

Stellarium is a free open source planetarium for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope. Download Stellarium for free here!

Montana State University Science Zone The following are short one page worksheets that ask a question, provide a basic answer to the question, and offer a short activity related to the topic. They can be used in any classroom, museum, summer camp, or even at home. University Science Zone Educational Activities Looking for more educational content that's happening right here on Earth?

Free educational content can be found on Terra's website that has been produced right here in Montana! Visit Life on Terra's Website Orbit Solar Viewing Glasses STEM Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES) Summer High School Intern Program [Summer NASA , Texas Space Grant Consortium , and The University of Texas at Austin Center for Space Research Summer Intern Program is a nationally competitive STEM program for high school students.

The program provides selected students with exposure to Earth and space research. Interns will learn how to interpret NASA satellite data while working with scientists and engineers in their chosen area of work. Check back for more details for 2024.

Classroom Observatory [Fall 2023] Montana Learning Center and Montana State University are partnering to offer a free, non-credit online course for high school teachers interested in using a state-of-the-art robotic telescope and integrate image-capturing and research capabilities into their curriculum. High school teachers in Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington are eligible for this unique learning opportunity.

This course gives teachers and their students unprecedented access to a world-class research facility, and teachers will learn how to use the observatory and capture images for student projects. These activities are suitable for any level of high school student, and range from astrophotography to research. The course will also instruct teachers on how to facilitate students’ contributions to publishable research.

A NASA grant from the Northwest Earth and Space Sciences Pathways program is funding the Montana Learning Center’s further development and presentation of this teacher training course, in collaboration with Montana State University’s National Teacher Classroom Observatory will be taught online, enabling teachers across the four-state region to participate, regardless of location.

Classroom Observatory will introduce participants to robotic telescopes and teach • Remotely operate the Learning Center’s 16-inch, research-grade, Ritchey-Chretien telescope, located atop a mountain in New Mexico. • Take, prepare, and evaluate astronomical images. • Evaluate observing programs for their effectiveness in the classroom.

• Create a curriculum for classroom use of a robotic telescope. • Use photometric filters to create research projects. The course provides participants up to 30 hours of renewal units through the Montana Office of Public Instruction.

Upon successful completion of the course, teachers will be set up with an account for their students at the observatory. Ryan Hannahoe, executive director of the Learning Center, and Peter Detterline, lead astronomy instructor for the Learning Center, teach the course.

In addition to the Northwest Earth and Space Sciences Pathways grant, the Learning Center received a donation by Christian Perez valued at $12,000 per year that allows the use of the Learning Center’s Ritchey-Chretien telescope for the course. The Learning Center also received a donation from Mike and Lynn Rice of New Mexico Skies Remote Observatories for the telescope’s hosting, valued at $18,000 per year.

Teachers can contact Ryan Hannahoe at MontanaLearningCenter@gmail. com for more information. Juno - Unveiling the Mysteries of Jupiter Presentation Resources: This was previously a SPOT presentation Theme.

The Juno mission will remain active until February 2018 when the probe will deorbit into Jupiter. Stay up to date with the project and learn about new Jupiter details on the Juno Mission website . Total Solar Eclipses - Preparing for the Great American Eclipse: This was previously a SPOT presentation Theme.

Did you have a good time looking at the Eclipse? Looking for eclipse related lesson plans? Check out these lesson plans created by pre-service undergraduate students for the Great American Eclipse as part of Montana Space Grant's PSEEC project (Pre-Service Educator Eclipse Competition).

These lesson plans integrate NGSS with NASA's 5E model to create a diverse approach Check out NASA's official eclipse page where you will find access to all kinds of resources in preparation for the Great See and stay up to date with our star, the Sun, like you never have before with NASA's Helioviewer .

This Google Earth-like viewer will allow you to observe our star in your classroom Interact with and expand your understanding of the 2017 eclipse using NASA's Eyes on the 2017 Eclipse . Explore your view fo the 2017 eclipse and other astronomical events from your location using the free interactive planetarium software Stellarium.

These teacher tested activities are very helpful and complement Montana's science Montana Space Grant Consortium Physical Location: 416 Cobleigh Hall