EPOXI

Two intriguing investigations -- One flight-proven spacecraft

Outreach

Outreach Reports

16-17 Oct 2009: STEMapalooza Sows Seeds for Math and Science Careers

McREL EPO specialist demonstrates Comet on a Stick with a young student visitor.
Credit: McREL

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) came together in Denver, Colorado on October 16-17, 2009 with more than 100 exhibits that featured "minds-on" interactive displays for a palooza - all out party and celebration of the science, technology engineering and mathematics fields: STEMapalooza!
McREL's Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) team highlighted three Discovery missions (Dawn, EPOXI, and Stardust-NExT) at a fun and exciting booth where participants had an opportunity to take part in a variety of hands-on, interactive activities.
The most popular interactive was Stardust-NExT's educational "Design a Satellite" interactive, designed by the people of Littleton, Colorado. And the booth couldn't keep up with the demand for the Discovery Space Thrills poster-one student even wanted the display poster! The Comet Chronicle was a big hit, too-featuring the differences between comets and cows, CAIs, missing comets, and CSI investigations on the collision between the Deep Impact projectile and Comet Tempel 1!
Approximately 10,000 participants-students, educators, business leaders-converged at STEMapalooza, a rousing initiation to the second annual event at the Colorado Convention Center, sponsored by the Center for Applied Science and Mathematics for Innovation and Competitiveness at the University of Colorado, Denver. Exhibits featured robotics, fast-track racing, gaming, film production, staging, rocketry and solar energy with the idea of creating opportunities for students to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to explore careers in areas that require math and science-the goal being to be competitive in a global society.
The STEM push is part of a nationwide effort, one that was recognized by President Barack Obama, who recently attended a similar event in the Washington, D.C., area.
Local event sponsors include federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, and companies, universities, colleges and school districts from throughout Colorado.

30 May 2009: Maryland's Place in Space

UM undergrad Ricky and postdoc Mike await the crowds of space enthusiasts!
Credit: Elizabeth Warner

The UM Astronomy Department had a display themed "How We Know What We Know" at the Maryland's Place in Space event, a series of events hosted by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). Both organizations are recognizing their 50th anniversary in 2009. EPOXI project members Elizabeth Warner and Mike Kelley were on hand to talk about UM's role in EPOXI.

Dr. Mike A'Hearn, PI for EPOXI, talks about comets and the exploration of comets in a short presentation in the 'Science Cafe.'
Credit: Elizabeth Warner

UM President Mote visits the Astro Department's booth.

University of Maryland president Dr. Dan Mote stops by the display and takes a look. The glowing tubes are tubes of gas: hydrogen is on the left and neon is on the right.
Credit: Elizabeth Warner

$Children looking at glowing gas tubes with diffraction grating glasses.$

Children of all ages enjoyed looking at the glowing gas tubes (neon in this case) with the diffraction grating glasses and learning about spectra.
Credit: Elizabeth Warner

24 May 2009: Balticon

Tim Livengood attended the Baltimore Science Fiction Convention (Balticon 43) over Memorial Day weekend and presented a talk on "Earth Through Alien Eyes", about EPOXI observations of the Earth.

25 Apr 2009: Maryland Day

Drs. Livengood and Hewagama demonstrate a transiting exoplanet.
Credit: Elizabeth Warner

Science team members and associates Tony Farnham, Lori Feaga, Lucy McFadden, Frederic Merlin, Jianyang Li, Jessica Sunshine, Tilak Hewagama, Drake Deming, Tim Livengod, Casey Lisse along with Elizabeth Warner, Carolyn Crow and Naomi Lisse all participated in the 11th annual Maryland Day, a campus-wide open house showcasing the research and academic highlights of the departments and colleges on the University of Maryland campus. Some of the team talked about comets and made dry-ice comets throughout the day. Other team members focused on the transiting exoplanet observations.

Lucy McFadden showing the DI spacecraft and model of Tempel 1

Dr. McFadden demonstrates the components of the Deep Impact spacecraft.
Credit: Elizabeth Warner

Dr. Sunshine and Naomi make a mess while building dry ice comets.
Credit: Elizabeth Warner

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