“Over the Moon for STEM”
Date: March 27, 2020 Postponed
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Location: NCCAT, Cullowhee NC
Registration: 8:15-9:00 a.m.
Keynote Speaker: Victoria Pidgeon Andrews
Victoria Pidgeon Andrews, recently retired, served as NASA’s first Deputy Planetary Defense Officer at the NASA Planetary Defense Program office in Washington, D.C. “Planetary Defense” refers to detecting, tracking and characterizing space objects such as asteroids and comets that come close to Earth, and more recently, to developing approaches to prevent potential asteroid impacts from occurring. Ms. Andrews led the Nation’s intergovernmental policy, planning, and cooperation efforts for planetary defense. She holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of North Carolina and a master’s degree in science and technology policy from Virginia ‘Tech. She has worked on flight-system and instrument-development projects for NASA’s human exploration and Mars exploration programs. From 2005-2010 she was the Program Executive for the LCROSS mission, notable for confirming the presence of water ice on the Moon. After leading an asteroid utilization study for NASA in 2010, she became passionate about understanding, managing, and explaining the risk posed by near-Earth asteroids. Prior to retirement, Ms. Andrews co-chaired the NASA-FEMA Planetary Impact Emergency Response Working Group and served as Executive Secretary of the White House National Science and Technology Council’s Subcommittee on Space Weather, Security, and Hazards. Ms. Andrews is an avid fan of science fiction film and literature and possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of the genre.
Fun and informative break-out sessions:
“WHY THE MOON LOOKS LIKE IT DOES”- BY OUR KEYNOTE SPEAKER: VICTORIA P. ANDREWS
“DESTINATION SPACE: SATELLITE PROGRAM FOR AEROSPACE-CENTERED EDUCATION”
“ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES: LUNARTICS & SUN, STARS, AND PLANETS…. OH MY!”
(INFLATABLE PLANETARIUM)
“SALAMANDER SURVIVAL ON SUNUP KNOB”
“DRONES IN EDUCATION”
“HOW STUDENTS FIND THEIR STEM PATH”
“BUILD A MICROSCOPE AND TAKE IT HOME” (GRADES 2-6)
“HOW PEOPLE LEARN: A CONVERSATION EXPLORING THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING”
Contact: csellers@wresa.org for more info!