AstronomyTeacher

From the Dome-L listserv:


Fellow Planetarians,

I have been asked by the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics at the
University of Chicago to alert you to a valuable opportunity, whose deadline
for applications is almost upon us; a funded residential weekend in Chicago
studying Cosmology with some of the countries top researchers, all gifted at
communicating the newest ideas in cosmology, designed with you in mind.
Having attended two of these courses myself, I can highly recommend them.
Your mind will be overflowing with ideas. There's two weeks to go before the
deadline.

So you know all about dark energy, dark matter, and how the age of the
universe is actually calculated? Very good. One of the best things about
this course it that it challenges the misconceptions you didn't even know
you had. This new-found clarity, combined with the basic cosmological
framework the course provides, will place you in a better position to
explain the origin of the universe to your audiences.

You'll get a set of the best tools available (complete PowerPoint slides
including: diagrams, animations, and short video clips from the researchers
themselves) to help you teach Cosmology. If you attended this course two
years ago, you need a refresher (remember when the acoustical interpretation
of the WMAP image made perfect sense? Or when we actually measured the CMB
from the roof of the University?) In the two years since the last
introductory course on Cosmology held at the University of Chicago, there
are so many developments too. So check out the course details at
.
"This three day course will take participants to the frontiers of current
cosmological research and provide them with the necessary tools to bring the
excitement of discovery back to their home institutions. By bringing
together the making the discoveries with planetarium/museum/science center
staff, who interact daily with the public, this course will help energize
the presentation of cosmology in informal educational settings."

If you need some justification for your administration, check out the
results from the course survey from past participants at


The deadline is July 1. There's an on-line registration form, which may be
worth printing off first to read the questions. Because the University have
a grant to pay for attendees to stay in Chicago (yes hotels and food are
covered, and travel allowances up to $200 can be applied for, all you have
to find is the $75 course fee and any additional travel expenses over $200),
you have to answer a few questions to get a place. The course is restricted
to 30 people, so apply now.

Martin Ratcliffe
Director, Theaters & Media Services
Exploration Place
300 N McLean Blvd
Wichita, KS 67203
Tel: +1 (316) 266-4255
Fax: +1 (316) 263 4545

Contributing Editor, Astronomy magazine - http://www.astronomy.com
Past-President, International Planetarium Society - see our web page at
http://www.ips-planetarium.org Discover the explorer in you at
http://www.exploration.org

posted by Jeff Adkins  # 8:06 AM