Informal Education & Lifelong Learning

1. Informal Education & Lifelong Learning "Colliding Black Holes"Credit:National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) Fred Raab, LIGO Hanford Observatory

2. National Science Foundation: America’s investment in the future… • NSF’s charge is to build the science & technology base for the next century • LIGO is on the forefront of international science • detection of 1st traveling space warps from black holes and other exotic objects will be a signature event in science, comparable to the invention of the telescope, the microscope, or the dawn of flight • LIGO aims to be on the forefront of education • this science is so exciting, it must be shared with the public • start with our local communities in the Northwest and in the Gulf states, where observatories are located Raab: Informal Education & Lifelong Learning

3. Why are informal ed & lifelong learning important to a community? • Informal ed is learning outside traditional classrooms • Most people are not in classrooms • Income generation & quality of life benefits • Human capital: lifelong learning will be increasingly important; typical person entering work force today will change careers several times before retirement  We should strive to foster lifelong learning skills at a early age, and nurture them throughout the formal ed years, into adulthood and on to retirement. Raab: Informal Education & Lifelong Learning

4. Marketing: what does the customer need? LIGO Hanford Observatory’s Local Educator Network Top request: Get our youth excited enough by the science to put the GameBoy down and yearn to learn; bring Mom & Dad too! Raab: Informal Education & Lifelong Learning

5. Top priority activities recommended by LEN • Bring public out to “touch and see” science in the making • Help our schools with teacher training, internships and school tours • Help us integrate science research into science teaching • Help the public to value the richness of science Raab: Informal Education & Lifelong Learning

6. LIGO Public Outreach Last Year LIGO Hanford Observatory had 3000 visitors in 2003, for tours, star parties, workshops and other programs. LIGO Livingston Observatory had comparable number of visitors, but mostly teacher workshops and school visits. Raab: Informal Education & Lifelong Learning

7. Public Tours Workshops Star Parties Public Lectures Exhibits International Media Relations US News, All Things Considered, Asahi Shimbun, BBC Radio, etc. LIGO Video School tours Teacher Workshops Web resources for teachers Research-based teaching for High Schools Internships for teachers Internships for students Jobs for aspiring scientists and engineers LIGO Hanford Observatory Outreach Products Raab: Informal Education & Lifelong Learning

8. Multiplying efforts with strong partners… • NSF is awarding $5,000,000 to establish a LIGO Science Center in Livingston, LA • Capitalizes on strong school interest in LIGO in Louisiana and strong partner institutions • School of education at Southern will integrate LIGO Science Center into its pre-service and in-service teacher training program • Exploratorium -- nation’s premier designer of exhibit-based science teaching -- will supply exhibits and teacher training • Board of Regents will ensure state-wide visitation by schools, with emphasis on teachers and schools with greatest needs Raab: Informal Education & Lifelong Learning

9. Could our community foster a regional science center for inland NW? • Potential partners: • WSU-TC, through MESA and Department of Teaching & Learning – tight connections to K-12 system, students & parents • Columbia River Exhibition of History, Science & Technology (CREHST) – regional history and K-6 science programs • Alliance for the Advancement of Science Through Astronomy (AASTA) – awesome observatory atop Rattlesnake Mountain for eventual remote control • B-Reactor Museum Association (BRMA) – first production nuclear reactor and the people who built it Raab: Informal Education & Lifelong Learning

10. Columbia River Exhibition of History, Science & Technology • During the 2002-03 school year ~ 36,000 students participated in CREHST sponsored programs • During Smithsonian exhibit, March 20 – April 30, 1,500 students visited the museum in school tours • volunteers have years of Hanford technical experience • one of 20 museums in the nation selected to participate in the Franklin Institutes’ Nano Science program • awarded a National Science Foundation career exploration program in partnership with the Chabot Space and Science Center and the American Museum of Science and Energy Raab: Informal Education & Lifelong Learning

11. Alliance for the Advancement of Science Through Astronomy • Tax-exempt charitable organization founded in 1996 • Dedicated to renovation of Rattlesnake Mountain Observatory (RMO) for hands-on education, training, research, & outreach • largest telescope in Washington State inside a 24-foot dome • installed in 1971, owned by Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio • Short term goal accomplished -- reactivating observatory and performing refurbishments to allow onsite control and use • Second (more challenging) goal -- remote access to telescope via Internet and automation without personnel in observatory Raab: Informal Education & Lifelong Learning

12. B Reactor Museum Association • Hanford’s B Reactor is unique and nationally recognized for its special role in world history • Construction & operation during Manhattan Project was an incredible scientific and engineering feat • B Reactor building has been preserved in near-original condition • BRMA organized in 1991 as a non-profit corporation to preserve B Reactor as a public-access historical museum representing the entire Hanford Site • B Reactor Museum concept complements the development of visitor facilities that now is under way for the Hanford Reach National Monument Raab: Informal Education & Lifelong Learning

13. In summary… • Informal education & lifelong learning enrich a community in many ways • LIGO is dedicated to informal ed and interested in forming partnerships to advance goals • Tri-Cities is fortunate to be immensely rich in science education resources if we can grow what we have • The better our community exploits current resources, the more likely we can attract new resources Raab: Informal Education & Lifelong Learning

14. LIGO-related faculty in WA Sukanta Bose, WSU, Pullman LIGO-related faculty in LA Joseph Giaime , LSU Gabriela Gonzalez , LSU Warren Johnson , LSU Jorge Pullin, LSU Joel Tohline, LSU Ed Seidel, LSU Stephen McGuire, Southern U. Sanichiro Yoshida, SLU John Whelan, Loyola Natalia Zotov, LA Tech Can LIGO’s science and education missions leverage 4-yr college effort? Washington higher education has not yet fully exploited LIGO’s presence. Why not in our backyard? Raab: Informal Education & Lifelong Learning