Some Public Astronomy in China
MSU’s GK-12 Project:Expedition 2008
To Beijing and Xi’an
Goals
• Connections to university researchers
• Connections to school administrators
• Connections to public schools
• Sightseeing
People in the group
• 6 university faculty• 1 school district superintendant• 3 middle school teachers• 6 GK-12 Fellows (graduate students)• 1 spouse
Research Connections
• Beijing Jiatong Technical UniversityPhysics Colloquium, The Active Sun (MLW)
Physics Demo Equipment
• Students in introductory physics try ~100 demos each semester.
To “see” waves in a guitar’s strings
The red tubes climb the steps
Beijing Ancient Observatory
• Beijing city wall was built in the 1400’s against the Mongols
• In 1442 the Ming and Qing dynasties began to put astronomical instruments on the wall
• In 1600’s and 1700’s robust instruments
Equatorial armilla and sextant
Ancient earthquake direction indicator
Schools: Mr. Bernstein teaches 8th graders a human number line
Mary Lou teaches astronomical numbers
Natural Selection game
Jigsaw in shop class
Principal accepts MSU gifts
Middle school science teachers
Great Wall from the airplane
Climbing the Wall
Yes, it really is steep
Terracotta Warriors, Xian
Chariot wheel impression
Xian Wall at night
Chinese food is great!
The Olympics is coming
Parking at the university
Double sided quilt