MESSENGER at the National Air and Space Museum

As part of the Venus 2 flyby activities a 1:5 scale model of the MESSENGER spacecraft built by carpenters at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., was hung in the Mercury exhibit in the Exploring the Planets Gallery of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum (NASM) in Washington, D.C.

Artisans Ron Prietz, Sr., Bill Kulp, and Bob Harter, from APL's Technical Services Department-along with supervisor Ted Hartka-were there to see their handiwork displayed. Several members of the MESSENGER science and engineering teams were also in attendance, including Principal Investigator Sean Solomon, from the Carnegie Institution of
Washington, and Project Scientist Ralph McNutt, Mission Operations Manager Andy Calloway, and Missions Systems Engineer Eric Finnegan, all from APL.

NASM's Exploring the Planets Gallery was opened in 1979 to highlight the history and achievements of planetary exploration, both by Earth-based observations and by spacecraft. This upgrade to the Mercury exhibit is part of MESSENGER's Education and
Public Outreach effort and is being led by Tom Watters, a senior scientist at NASM and a MESSENGER Participating Scientist. MESSENGER Co-Investigator Mark Robinson, at Arizona State University, made available for the exhibit scores of Mercury
photographs from Mariner 10.

"This is a work in progress, but especially if you have not visited the museum for a while, it is worth a stop if you are in Washington," says McNutt. "As the MESSENGER mission progresses, the exhibit will be upgraded to reflect the mission and new Mercury results; so watch this space."

MESSENGER Science Team Meeting

I'm at the MESSENGER science team meeting in Washington, DC. Tomorrow is my Education and Outreach update presentation...and today I'm catching up on the results of the MESSENGER Venus 2 Flyby. I decided to use my Twitter account (twitter.com/geosteph) to mini-blog on the meeting...posting some information about the instruments, with links embedded in the tweets.

Is this education and outreach?

Girls Scouts USA

I'm at the Edith Macy Conference Center in Briarcliff Manor, NY, participating in a STEM training for Girl Scout Council Staff. I'll be discussing Global Warming and NASA's role in monitoring climate change. Part of my challenge is to encourage the "what can I do" types of discussion and the other part is to bring science data into the mix.

Lunar Librarians and after school program providers too!

Through our work on education and outreach on LRO, we partnered with the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) and their Explore: Fun with Science project. From the website: Explore! Fun with Science is designed to engage youth in space and planetary science in the library and other informal learning environments. Through video explorations, related hands-on activities, and supporting resources, children of all ages are immersed in the wonders of rockets, space colonies, our solar system, how our planets were shaped, and more!

The LRO Spacecraft as envisioned by one of the participants of our Colorado workshop held at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science May 8-9.

LPI worked with our team to create the Explore: To the Moon and Beyond with LRO module. They have the expertise in developing materials and activities for library and after-school programs, and we have the content and cool images and visualizations. Together we have conducted two-day workshops for librarians in Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania. During the workshops we include hands-on activities designed for children and have LRO scientists and engineers talk to the participants about the upcoming LRO mission.

Lava Layers activity includes creating maps and simulating drill coring.