Jul-Oct. 2010
Peter Pitman attended the Gemini Data Workshop at NOAO in Tucson in
July.
Over 140 White Bear Lake students have enrolled in Peter Pitman's
Descriptive Astronomy course for the fall semester. Several of these
students have shown an interest in continuing their study in the
Advanced Topics course of which the NITARP research studies are an
significant part. In addition, a new course will be offered to White
Bear Lake Seniors for the 2011-12 school year. I am currently writing
the curriculum and lesson plans for The Science of Aviation and
Spaceflight, an introduction to the history and engineering of air and
space travel and the career opportunities available after this course
of study. Following completion, students will be eligible to take the
practical exam for pilot ground school certification.
Peter Pitman will be attending the 2010 Teacher Research Experience
Conference in Washington DC, with Stephen Pompea of NOAO and Varoujan
Gorjian of JPL.
Jan-Dec. 2009
White Bear Lake Area High School student Bryant Richardson was an
integral part of the team presenting their research results and data
at the American Astronomical Society's annual meeting in Long Beach,
CA, in January. Upon his return to White Bear Lake, Bryant learned he
had been accepted to the class of 2013 at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
University in Daytona Beach, FL. When the committee on admissions was
notified of Bryant's effective participation in the Spitzer Space
Telescope Research Program for Teachers and Students (now NITARP) he
was deemed a high academic scholar and was given a scholarship to
attend the University. He begins his academic study in the fall of
2009.
The NITARP/Spitzer studies on Variability of Galaxies and Interacting
Cataclysmic Binaries have been integrated into the Advanced Topics
course at White Bear Lake Area High School. Much of my success in the
implementation of this curriculum can be attributed to my
participation in variety of teacher research experiences among which
are TLRBSE (Teacher Leaders in Research Based Science Education), an
NSF-funded teacher enhancement program and NITARP (NASA/IPAC Teacher
Archive Research Project). These nationally recognized programs have
provided me the opportunity to augment my knowledge and practical
application of leadership skills, pedagogy and authentic research with
the purpose to kindle studentsŐ fervor and passion for original
scientific research and to mentor new teachers in the field of inquiry
based science instruction. The number of students involved in
astronomy research at White Bear Lake has increased dramatically in
the past 24 months, with several graduating seniors now majoring in
Physics, the Space Sciences and Engineering in college.
In the spring of 2009, Astronomy students at White Bear Lake embarked
on a new project. Following their study of the Greek Astronomers,
WBLAHS has teamed up with the fabrication laboratory at Century
College to make a replica of the Antikythera mechanism, an antique
calendrical device discovered in the wreck of an ancient Roman ship in
shallow waters off the coast of Greece in 1901. We hope to present
this project as part of the 2009 International Year of Astronomy
Celebration.
October-December 2008
White Bear Lake Area High School student Bryant Richardson has been working diligently on the NGC 4051 data obtained while attending the analysis session at the Spitzer Science Center in August. He has remained in contact with several of the NGC 4051 team members and has provided valuable assistance and input
in the planning and development of our scientific and educational presentations. He has forwarded several pieces for inclusion in the two posters that will be presented at the AAS Annual meeting in Long Beach, CA, in January. Astronomy Teacher Peter Pitman has been re-writing the curricula for all of his courses in preparation for an administrative shift from a four period to six period school day. This shift results in a substantial increase in teaching time and he has incorporated the NGC 4051 Reverberation Study into his Advanced Astronomy course. The study will be presented this spring and will involve the entire class of honors students. White Bear Lake students have shown a tremendous increase in interest thanks to recent publicity regarding the Spitzer Project. As we move into 2009, The International Year of Astronomy, the NGC 4051 project is one of many that will be presented to White Bear Lake Astronomy students, all designed to increase their awareness and interest in the field.
July-September 2008
White Bear Lake High School science teacher Peter Pitman, together with seniors Bryant Richardson and Anders Larson, attended a data analysis conference at the Spitzer Science Center on the campus of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena from August 9-12, 2008. Working with students and educators from a variety of school settings and under the tutelage of Dr.Varoujan Gorjian, a research astronomer with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, this select group received their first glimpse of images taken by the Spitzer Space Telescope; the precious observing time being awarded to the teachers by the director of the SSC under a grant provided by the Spitzer Space Telescope Research Program for Teachers and Students. The project entitled "IRAC Monitoring of NGC 4051 for Interday Variability," offers participating White Bear Lake students the opportunity to conduct real-time authentic astronomy research and will become an important research component in Mr. Pitman's Advanced Topics in Astronomy course.
NGC 4051, a Seyfert I galaxy found in Ursa Major, is known for its extremely bright galactic center, referred to as an Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), the center of which contains a supermassive black hole. Having been provided with a comprehensive package of background information and journal articles, the students/teachers were well prepared for their four-day work session at the SSC. Upon arrival in Pasadena, the students first examined digital visible light images of NGC 4051 taken by educators/students from several earth-based optical telescopes during a ten-day period in June, which will be used as a standard by which further comparisons of images taken by Spitzer's IRAC camera would be made. Using an Aperture Photometry Tool, specifically designed by researchers at CalTech, the students developed a protocol by which they would use to compare the sets of digital images. Once the procedures had been established, the students were charged with the responsibility of using their skills to detect reverberation, subtle changes in the brightness of the inner structure of the AGN.
Students Bryant and Anders continue to work on the data analysis. They have shown an amazing ability to tackle a relatively difficult project and proceed with the image analysis in a straightforward, methodical manner. The students have remained in contact with several other participants from the group to not only assist with the data reduction but to become involved in the planning and development of scientific and educational presentations. The students intend to discuss the project and reveal their findings at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) annual meeting in Long Beach, California in January.
January-June 2008
White Bear Lake Area High School was accepted to the Spitzer Teachers Program in December of 2007 and will be making its first trip to the Spitzer Science Center this coming August. Two students (Bryant Richardson and Anders Larson) and one teacher (Peter Pitman) will initially be involved in the IRAC Monitoring of NGC 4051 project with Dr. Varoujan Gorjian. White Bear Lake High School currently offers two Astronomy courses; a general level descriptive course and an advanced research based course. This project will dovetail nicely into the advanced course and will join our Variable Stars project (NOAO), which we began two years ago. In preparation for this addition, advanced students have been given coursework on infrared light and the functionality of the Spitzer Space Telescope. Inasmuch as our school was originally working with Steve Howell's group on Cataclysmic variables and accretion disks that form in binary systems, we spent part of the spring term preparing for participation in that endeavor. However, when we learned we had been offered a position with Dr. Gorjian's AGN team, we focused on Seyferts during the last week of the term. Background information has been provided to Bryant and Anders in preparation for their visit. We will be working in collaboration with the rest of the group to be sure we will be up to speed upon our arrival in Pasadena. Upon our return from the SSC, the White Bear Lake group will continue to work on the data and present the results of our visit to the White Bear Lake School District. We are in the process of making plans of presenting our preliminary findings at the Minnesota State Science Teachers Meeting in October and the Minnesota Astronomical Society in the winter. We also have been in contact with two other AGN group members to join with their districts to make preparations to present our findings to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and at the NSTA annual convention. Following our work this summer, I will write lesson plans that will be introduced in Advanced Astronomy next spring. No doubt this will inspire other White Bear Lake students to continue the work that Bryant and Anders have begun.
Jeff Adkins
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John Blackwell
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Jacqueline Barge
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Christopher Border
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Kareen Borders
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Robert Bonadurer
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Merrill Butler
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Lauren Chapple
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Joseph Childers
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Howard Chun
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Wendy Curtis
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Richard DeCoster
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Stacy DeVeau
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Harlan Devore
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Cris DeWolf
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Velvet Dowdy
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Thomas Doyle
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Dean Drumheller
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Debbie Edwards
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Mike Ford
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Debbie French
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John Gibbs
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Peter Guastella
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Rosa Hemphill
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Ardis Herrold
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Vivian Hoette
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Chelen Johnson
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Virginia Jones
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Adam Keeton
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Susan Kelly
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Marcella Linahan
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Thomas Loughran
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Carolyn Mallory
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Anthony Maranto
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Christoper Martin
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Kevin McCarron
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Matthew McCutcheon
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David McDonald
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Shefali Mehta
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Cindy Melton
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Kate Meredith
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Lauren Novatne
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Kathryn O'Connor
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Caroline Odden
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Jeffrey Paradis
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Vincent Pereira
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Helen Petach
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Peggy Piper
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Peter Pitman
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Elizabeth Ramseyer
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Steve Rapp
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Theresa Roelofsen Moody
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Denise Rothrock
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Diane Sartore
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John Schaefers
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Sally Seebode
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Babs Sepulveda
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Timothy Spuck
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Darryl Stanford
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Linda Stefaniak
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Dwight Taylor
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Jennifer Tetler
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Beth Thomas
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Cynthia Weehler
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Lynne Zielinski
