NAIC/AO Newsletter, July 1997

AOVEF IN THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS

Frank DiMeo
Mysteries of clouds and mist - children at AOVEF.

In its first four months of operation the AOVEF has surpassed our expectations on visitor numbers, almost reaching in four months our previous annual number of visitors. As we look into the future several improvements to the exhibit materials and the site are programmed.

We plan a series of outdoor exhibits, including a full scale model of the solar system, and exhibits about the Karst topography, and the geography of the region. Improvements to visitor access, benches and shelters along the way, and a resting place have been planned, and will be implemented when funds become available. A fifteen minute audiovisual presentation: "A Day in the Life of the Arecibo Observatory" is also to be produced once we secure funding.

Several activities have been initiated as described below.

The student guide program established in collaboration with the University of Puerto Rico, Arecibo Campus, has been very successful. Eight selected science students are working as student guides at the center. They contribute significantly to all aspects of the operation and have an opportunity to learn about the work of the Observatory and interact with members of the staff.

A new program of "Teachers in Residence", developed by Jo Ann Eder, began this summer administered by the PR Community Foundation. The program offers grants to two local public school teachers who will spend eight weeks at the AOVEF during the summer. The teachers will learn about the work of Arecibo Observatory and the science behind it. They will help to develop materials and hands-on experiences related to the exhibits in the AOVEF which could be used in their classrooms. The teachers will also become involved in future science teacher workshops to be conducted at the AOVEF. The "Teachers in Residence" program will be initially funded for a two-year period.

A proposal was submitted, to the "Dwight D.Eisenhower - Professional Development Program" of the Puerto Rico Department of Education. As a new step to improve science education in Puerto Rico, we are proposing a series of science workshops for 50 science teachers from the Arecibo school region in the island. Participants will learn to use the available science exhibits as teaching tools. The program will include hands-on activities about the moon, seasons, motion of the Earth, solar system, constellations, and the atmosphere. The main emphasis of the project is to provide participants with a set of activities, and the required background to allow them to incorporate these activities in their classrooms.

We target 25 teachers from the elementary school level (K-6), and 25 teachers from the middle school (7-9). Each group will receive a 5-day summer workshop and two follow-up sessions during the school year, for a total of 42 contact hours. These will include astronomical observing nights, a detailed tour of the Arecibo Observatory, and a general presentation by a member of the scientific staff. The participating teachers will receive a set of educational materials for their classrooms.

With the new auditorium we will embark in a series of scientific workshops The first one scheduled will take place in April of 1998 in collaboration with the Physics Department of the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras. This "Tropical Workshop on Particle Physics and Cosmology" will take place in San Juan, but a special one day session will take place at the Observatory.