nwaym and imagine childrens museum

Becky JaramilloNational Institute of Aerospace

The National Institute of Aerospace (NIA)

NASA web sitewww.nasa.gov/education/nasaeclips

Bert and Ernie turn 40!

Children today have always known blue Jello, but most have never actually made it; they buy it pre-made in plastic cups!

Beloit College Mindset List, 2013, http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2013.php

• In 2009, there were approximately 74.6 million children in the US– 25.5 million ages 0-5– 24.3 million ages 6-11– 24.8 million ages 12-17

• 81% of these children live in cities• Only 49.5 million children live in families where parents are

married to each other• 14.1 million children live in single-parent homes• 5.2 million children are being raised by their grandparents• 47.3 million children have no grandparents

US Census Bureau, 2009

• 1 in 150 children demonstrate characteristics on the autism spectrum

• 1 in every 50 children is home schooled

• 709,000 children in US live in foster homes

• Average size yard for children to play is less than 20’x20’

US Census Bureau, 2009http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam/cps2009.html

So what does that mean for us . . .

• “It turns out that all that time spent playing make-believe actually helped children develop a critical cognitive skill called executive function. Executive function has a number of different elements, but a central one is the ability to self-regulate. Kids with good self-regulation are able to control their emotions and behavior, resist impulses, and exert self-control and discipline.”

American Academy of Pediatrics, 2007

PRIVATE SPEECH = IMPROVED EXECUTIVE

FUNCTION

• Poor executive function is associated with high dropout rates, drug use and crime.

• Good executive function is a better predictor of success in school than a child's IQ. Winsler, 2008

STAR COUNT

Scientific protocol to gather and record data about stars …

Be a NASA Citizen Scientist!

S’COOL

Scientific protocol to gather and record data from ground observations of clouds …

The Milky Way . . . how big is big?

If our entire solar system could be shrunk down to the size of a quarter, the Milky Way Galaxy, which is approximately 10,000 light- years in width, would be the width of the continental United States!

M51 Hubble Remix

Little Galaxy with a Tail

http://www.bradley.edu/las/phy/solar_system.html

WORLD’S LARGEST SOLAR SYSTEM MODEL