Space Explorers

Summary: A multi-year personal commitment to minority high school students that focuses
on Science, Math, Engineering and Technology (SMET) skills and careers. Components
include the hands-on laboratories, residential experiences at Yerkes Observatory, activities at
Adler Planetarium, and StarLab portable planetarium presentations to aprox. 2,000
elementary students a year.
The Summer Institute has been given a pedagogical overhaul to include more depth, a
scientific theme, alignment with science standards, and more student-centered
reporting.
A partnership with the Center for Adaptive Optics (CfAO) will help to ensure that the
program will continue beyond the end of CARA.
We have begun pre-admissions college tours for juniors to partner schools in
California.
The Space Explorers program is a multi-year commitment that aims to increase interest and
abilities in math and science of African-American students from the inner city school system.
This past year the Space Explorers Program has seen a number of changes and gone through
a growth spurt due to new partnerships. However, the core structure of bi-weekly laboratories
during the academic year and summer and winter residential experiences at Yerkes remains.
As do the core principals of: (1) using hands-on (laboratory) activities; (2) providing multi-
year involvement; (3) conducting residential experiences; and (4) assuring parental
involvement (Matyas et al. 1991, Programs for Woman and Minorities, pp67-96, AAAS) and
our critical partnership with the Office of Special Programs (OSP).
Activities during the past academic year were particularly technology rich. The autumn class
focused on demystifying computers and included hands-on activities such as swapping
boards, and installing CD-ROM drives. The second laboratory session was more closely
linked to CARA research as the students, with the guidance of graduate student Dan Reichart,
ventured into the invisible universe with radio astronomy. The term culminated with the
students making a full sky map with a 4.5m radio telescope. The students filtered the raw
data, identified sources, and then labeled sources and their location on the room sized
celestial sphere they had constructed. The sphere was a particularly effective way to convey
the three dimensionality of an astronomical search strategy, and it will be used by the
undergraduate classes this Fall to teach the RA/Dec coordinate system.
Thirty-one Space Explorers attended the 1999 Yerkes Winter Institute which followed the
traditional Yerkes Institute format of daytime labs and evening observations. In contrast, a
number of changes were successfully introduced to the Yerkes Summer Institute. The
changes were made for pedagogical reasons, primarily in recognition of the need to focus the
content of the institute. The theme was changed from a celestial object to a common scientific
phenomenon to conceptually link all the experiments. The theme for YSI'99 was waves and
key concepts such as wavelength, frequency, transverse and longitudinal propagation were
revisited and reinforced throughout the institute. Alignments with the local and national
science standards were also highlighted for each lab. The overall number of labs was reduced,
by moving from 8 to 6 daytime labs. This allowed more time to be devoted to each
exploration, i.e., more depth and less breadth. In addition, the schedule was reorganized to
allow groups to re-visit each lab after a meal break. This promoted greater reflection and
sustained conversations. The daytime labs included: Polarization, Surf'n Waves (An
Introduction to Wave Properties), Spiral Galaxies/Density Waves, Speed of Light, Water
Waves, and Sonar. In the latter part of the week, the thirty students were divided into six
small analysis groups that each focused on a particular lab. In these groups students examined
their own data and those of their peers during extended in-depth sessions. Most importantly,
the formal group reporting was reorganized to include informal peer reporting in a scenario
that we referred to as jigsaw sessions.
Student representatives from each analysis group were randomly assigned to a jigsaw group
where they presented their analysis group's progress. Instructors and students alike found this
peer interaction to be a high point of YSI'99. In addition to making each student more
accountable, it helped to foster communication and critical thinking skills. Each student
shared the results of their group's analysis. Other jigsaw members listened, asked questions
and made and suggestions. Each analysis group also made presentations to Space Explorer
parents where in essence the students became the instructors and their parents the students.
At weekly Adler workshops, the students focused on astronomy using the Project STAR
curriculum (Coyle et al. 1993, Project STAR: The Universe in Your Hands, Kendal Hunt),
developed their math skills, and trained in the operation of the StarLab portable planetarium.
Older students also take leadership roles and present programs in elementary schools using a
StarLab inflatable planetarium. This outreach effort greatly amplifies CARA's impact. During
the past academic year 20 schools were visited and 1,718 students and 40 teachers and staff
were exposed to astronomy and positive minority role models through this program.
Plans for the next year include expanding the program by incorporating a Wisconsin branch
of the Space Explorers, organizing a summative evaluation of the first 10 years of the
program, and using educator workshops as a vehicle to translate informal science activities
developed with the Space Explorers into classroom curricula. At Yerkes the Space Explorer
Program will be expanded to include the activities of Professor Kyle Cudworth and his
Williams Bay branch of the Space Explorers. In collaboration with the newly formed STC
Center for Adaptive Optics (CfAO), Hands on Universe, Adler Planetarium and Carthage
College K-12 educators workshops for both in-service and pre-service teachers will be held
that focus on optics and astronomy concepts. The ultimate goal of these enrichment
experiences will be to develop classroom and multi-media curricula. We also plan to utilize
these workshops and the Yerkes Institutes as vehicles to effectively involve CfAO
researchers in outreach.








At the beginning of the 20th century, Antarctic exploration was the The Space
Exploration of the day.
Antarctica was (and still is) a distant place visited by few, largely unknown and only recently brought
to public awareness. Photographs were rare, moving pictures even more so and radio was in its
infancy.
Exploration of this "Terra Incognita" was at the limit of possibilities, at the limits of logistical support, of
physical endurance and technological capability.
Unlike space exploration however, determined individuals with relevant
experience and the ability to generate and draw on support, particularly
sponsorship, could mount an expedition. Any kind of scientific study was like
dipping into a bran tub. You didn't know what you'd find, but you'd find something, it
would be useful to science and probably hitherto unknown.
The curtain was opened on the "Heroic Age" when in 1895 the Sixth International
Geographical Congress meeting in London adopted a resolution:
"That this congress record its opinion that the exploration of
the Antarctic Regions is the greatest piece of geographical
exploration still to be undertaken. That in view of the additions to
knowledge in almost every branch of science which would result
from such a scientific exploration the Congress recommends that
the scientific societies throughout the world should urge in whatever way
seems to them most effective, that this work should be undertaken before the
close of the century."
Adventurous men were drawn to this arena like a magnet and over the period of just a few short years
Antarctica was where some of the bravest and most worthy of explorers ever to have lived, met some
of the harshest conditions ever endured.
Some of the expeditions succeeded in their aims, some didn't but succeeded in something that they
hadn't set out to do. It was also of course the era that popularised the concept of the "heroic failure".
"Scott for scientific method, Amundsen for speed and
efficiency but when disaster strikes and all hope is gone, get
down on your knees and pray for Shackleton."
Fortunately Antarctic exploration has been blessed with a whole host of men
who were able to write about their experiences with
eloquence and sensitivity. Uniquely in any field of
exploration there was a coming together in a short period
of a concentration of character, bravery and literary ability.
This is one of the reasons that the history of Antarctic exploration
remains so popular and well known. The wealth of good quality records
and original writings also makes the subject a rich one for researchers and historians.
Photography too is well represented in the early expeditions by Herbert Ponting
with Scott's 1910-1913Terra Nova expedition and Frank Hurley with Shackleton's
1914-1917 Trans-Antarctic expedition aboard the Endurance. Their photographs not
only provide us with an excellent and comprehensive historical record, but are
superb examples of the photographers art, particularly when it is considered that
they were accomplished with relatively primitive equipment in what were still very
much the early days of photography.
Thus the subject becomes accessible and understandable. While distant, the early 20th century is still
comfortably recent so that it doesn't seem like so "foreign" a time that is being described.
Contrast this for instance with space exploration and the moon landings that haven't resulted in a
single quality piece of writing. Apart from seeing the video footage, we the public really know nothing
of it, we don't understand the hardships, comradeship, rivalries or even the mundane day to day
routines.
A final tragic chapter to many of these stories of the "Heroic Age" was that they took place in the
years just before the First World War. Many of the adventurers and members of the exploratory
parties joined their countrymen on the battlefields of Europe on their return from Antarctica. The Great
War then took a terrible toll on their numbers. Despite their heroism and fortitude in the frozen south,
many were due to die in the appalling industrialized waste of life that characterized this war.
The close of the Heroic age is generally taken coming with the death of Ernest Shackleton in 1922
from a heart attack while aboard the shipQuest at anchor at South Georgia. After this time Antarctic
expeditions were fundamentally different, usually being much larger in scale and with back up if
necessary able to summoned by radio. No longer would men set out completely alone and self
contained on their adventure, the tale to be told either on their return or by the finding of their remains
by later parties.
The Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration, though it happened a century ago
now is still very real and very accessible thanks to the efforts and talents of
the men who chronicled and photographed the events as they happened.
Four names are pre-eminent in this era representing adventures that at times
would be discounted as too fantastic if they had been written as works of fiction. In
alphabetical order, they are:

Roald Amundsen Douglas Mawson Robert Falcon Scott Ernest Shackleton



Space Explorers: Astronomy Outreach at the Center for Astrophysical
Research in Antarctica
J. S. Sweitzer, D. A. Harper, L. Hawkins, R. G. Kron (U. Chicago), C. O. Brass and A.
S. Whitt (Adler Planetarium)
The Center for Astrophysical Research in Antarctica (CARA) is an NSF Science
and Technology Center that has been formed to take advantage of the South Pole
as an observing site for infrared through millimeter wave astronomy. Besides its
research mission, CARA conducts an educational outreach program for Chicago
high school and grammar school students. The thirty high school students, called
Space Explorers, participate in an intense, multi-year program at three locations:
Yerkes Observatory, on the U. of Chicago campus, and at the Adler Planetarium.
The Space Explorers program multiplies its efforts through the teaching and
mentoring that the high school students do for younger students. Space Explorers
reach nearly seventy students in the middle grades by leading astronomy clubs
established in the middle schools that feed their high schools. Their largest impact,
in terms of total numbers, is the 2,700 grammar school students that the Space
Explorers teach yearly with the Adler Planetarium's portable Starlab planetarium.
The alliance of three unique organizations within the structure of an NSF STC has
made this program possible. The U. of Chicago's Office of Special Programs offers
the link to the students, parents and schools. The Adler Planetarium brings to the
program unique facilities and expertise in astronomy education. Finally, the
scientists, both within CARA and recruited from other University departments,
enable the use of the U. of Chicago scientific resources. The Space Explorers
program has been translated to a Wisconsin school district and is being studied as a
model outreach program by educational institutions in three large cities. It is also
serving as an excellent test-bed for exploring electronic learning circles, project
based learning and adventure learning.
This program is supported by NSF grant DPP-8920223 and NASA contract
NAGW-3252.







Antarctic Exploration



Dear Fellow Explorers,
It's neat to think that there are some places on Earth we have not visited. Many
people think of outer space as the next frontierbut there is still much to learn and
understand about Antarctica, the deep ocean, the microscopic worldand even our
own back yards! Sometimes I wonder if some of the places I work in Antarctica have
been visited before; many of the maps we use of the ocean floor have large blank
areas and there are no records that they have been explored.
Antarctica was the very last continent discovered. Though its existence was
predicted for thousands of years, no one actually knew it was there! In the days of
the Greek and Roman philosophers, people imagined that such a continent needed
to exist at the bottom of the world to balance the top-heavy Northern Hemisphere.
The Greeks named this mythical land "Antarktikos," land "opposite the Bear." The
Great Bear constellation of "Arktos" was above the North Pole, and the Greeks and
Romans imagined this hypothetical continent being opposite from it. (By the way,
that Great Bear is known today as the Big Dipper.)
As explorers began to fan out across the globe from Western Europe, the mythical
continent of Antarktikos was the target of many expeditions. The early explorers
spent months, sometimes years, at sea searching for the elusive continent. They
fought illness, hunger, loneliness, and bad weather, driven by dreams of tropical land
masses and riches, seeking to fulfill desires for wealth, national pride, personal fame,
and scientific discovery.
In the late 1700's, Captain Cook led a two year expedition that circumnavigated the
Southern Oceanand killed the dream that the Antarktikos was a tropical land mass
filled with riches. Cook's crew never even saw Antarctica; they battled through thick
pack ice, fog, and bad weather for two years before giving up and returning home to
England. Cook and his crew concluded that if the continent did indeed exist, it was
farther south, covered with ice, and virtually inaccessible. Despite their grim reports,
many expeditions of sealers and whalers set out for the Southern Ocean to find the
rich hunting grounds. Interestingly, these expeditions did not add much to our
knowledge of the region because they wanted to protect their best fishing spots.
The next phase of exploration was driven by national pride and personal fame.
Explorers set out for the glory of their own countries, each striving to be the first to
reach the farthest point in the Southern Ocean, the first to discover the South
Magnetic Pole, or the even more fertile fishing grounds that could bring wealth to the
nation, the first to reach the South Pole, or the first to cross Antarctica.
These early explorers faced incredibly difficult conditions with far less preparation
than we have today. The explorers of the 1800's and early 1900's knew far less
about the lands they were exploring, and they had less technology to help them. (Of
course, what we know now will be overshadowed by our technology and discoveries
in the future!) Early explorers did not know the Antarctic environment and did not
have the special foods, fabrics, and types of transportation we have in Antarctica
today. Their courage, discoveries, and failures provided knowledge that would help
future explorers prepare for their expeditions. Scott and his field team perished
because, in part, they started for the pole too late in the summer season; knowledge
of the seasonal temperature distribution would have aided their planning. Mawson's
expedition lost one member and valuable supplies in a crevasse; today's expeditions
often have maps of crevasse fields and experienced mountainers. Shackleton's ship
Endurance was crushed by sea ice in the Weddell Sea, a difficult region to navigate;
sea ice now can be monitored on satellite images and photography acquired by fly-
overs, allowing ships to carefully plan their courses.
Scientific exploration, aided by new technology, really got underway in the 1920's. In
1929, Admiral Richard E. Byrd flew over South Poleit was the first time much of
Antarctica had been seen by air! Byrd's expedition ushered in rapid aerial surveys
and aerial photos mapping of Antarctica and helped to establish advanced
communications by radio.
Until 1950, explorers worked mostly in solitude, and mostly for the glory of just one
country. But a group of scientists realized that exhaustive research could only
succeed if teams began to pool talents and findings. In 1950 the International
Council of Scientific Unions received a proposal for a collaborative study of
Antarctica, called the International Geophysical Year (IGY). Sixty-seven countries
were to participate, with Antarctic investigation as one of the two objectivesthe
second objective of the IGY was to explore aspects of outer space. The IGY began
in 1957.
The cooperation of the IGY participants, and concerns that countries would make
claims on the land, helped to bring about a more lasting form of international
government. It began with the creation in 1957 of the Scientific Committee on
Antarctic Research (SCAR) to manage the way scientists in Antarctica shared their
research. Today, SCAR continues to offer guidance on issues of Antarctic scientific
research and environment.
An even stronger resolution came about in 1959, when representatives of twelve
nations met at the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Washington, D.C. to create
the Antarctic Treaty. The Treaty, which took effect since 1961, outlines international
cooperation for scientific study in Antarctica. Among its mandates is the designation
of Antarctica as a space for scientific, not military, research. The Treaty also puts
aside any claims on Antarctica territories; the treaty does not resolve territorial claims
and does not impact any existing claim in any way. In addition, no new claims can be
made while the Treaty is in effect.
Today, many views of Antarctic ownership exist, but they fall into four basic groups.
Countries that believe Antarctica belongs to no nation, but is available for traditional claims on
new territories (Argentina, Chile, Australia, France, New Zealand, Norway, United Kingdom)
Countries that do not recognize the claims (above), but reserve the right to make claims in the
future (Russia, United States)
Countries that neither recognize claims by other countries nor make claims of their own
Countries that believe Antarctica is part of the common heritage of all humankind
Under the Antarctic Treaty, no country actually owns Antarctica or parts of
Antarctica, and no country can exploit the resources of the continent while the Treaty
is in effect. Periodically, the Treaty is reviewed and renewed. Other components are
added, after the countries agree. Over time, the Antarctic Treaty has developed into
the Antarctic Treaty System. The Antarctic Treaty System includes protection of
seals and marine organisms and offers guidelines for the gathering minerals and
other resources.
Twenty-six countriesthe Antarctic Treaty Consultative Partiesoversee the Antarctic
Treaty System. These nations have always had an active presence in Antarctica,
and they maintain voting rights on Antarctic issues. Fifteen nations maintain
"observer" status. Observer countries attend the meetings but cannot vote.
Antarctica's international "government" is truly uniquewhat other area is totally
governed by an international panel? What other region is protected for scientific
investigationfor peaceful purposes only? I wonder why we can't use this model of
government across the rest of our globe!
Exploration in Antarctica today is vastly different from its beginnings. Perhaps most
notably, though the early explorers were all men from Western Europe, today, men
and women (including me!) of all nationalities investigate the secrets of this last
continent. Today's expeditions are founded on the discoveries made by earlier
explorers; they are also made possible with advances in technology, rigid safety
training and guidelines, and a cooperative international pursuit of understanding. And
yet, while all of this has advanced our ability to comfortably visit this remote
continent, the extreme conditions of the coldest, driest, windiest, highest continent,
the same conditions that challenged the earlier expeditions, still challenge explorers
today!