Guest post from Sanlyn Buxner, Planetary Science Institute

Credit: Sanlyn Buxner

Out-of-school-time educators from across the United States are participating in a professional development training September 6–7, 2016, in Titusville, Florida, led by the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), which is operated by the Universities Space Research Association (USRA).

As part of their experience, participants will tour NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and view the launch of NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft on September 8, 2016.

The two-day training is providing informal educators from across the US with tools to engage audiences in NASA’s solar system science and exploration. Participants are receiving training on conducting hands-on activities, converse with NASA scientists, and collaborating with their peers.

Credit: Sanlyn Buxner

Activities and presentations are focusing on solar system formation and evolution, asteroids, meteorites, and how robotic space exploration provides answers to questions about our solar system’s origin. CosmoQuest provided supporting activities and introduced Vesta Mappers to the educators.