Informal Educators (Including Museum, Planetarium, Science Center, Library, and Afterschool Staff)
NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) has an essential role in NASA’s education mission “to inspire the next generation of explorers.” The discoveries and new knowledge from our missions and research programs consistently engage people’s imaginations, inform informal educators – such as museum and science center educators, librarians, and after-school providers – and excite children about science and exploration. Here you will find information that will allow you to:
- Find Programs for Informal Educators
- Find SMD Informal Education Resources
- Learn More about SMD’s Informal Education Working Group
- Propose an Education or Public Outreach Project to SMD
- Partner with an SMD E/PO Community Member
Find Programs for Informal Educators
New opportunities, such as availability of new out-of-school time materials or informal educator workshops, will be advertised through Community Announcements and in the Calendar. Please contact the correspondent listed.
Find SMD Informal Education Resources
The NASA SMD E/PO program has created a variety of source material, exhibits and shows, educational activities, and other resources for the informal science education community. These resources use the excitement of SMD’s scientific explorations of our Earth and the universe beyond to help you inspire wonder and curiosity about science with your audiences. You can access these resources through NASA Wavelength, an online “one-stop shop” catalog of SMD resources. New resources will also be listed in the Community Announcements section of this workspace.
NASA Wavelength is an intuitive and searchable database of SMD products and activities.
The Year of the Solar System provides a framework of thematically structured existing products and activities. Each topic highlights different aspects of our Solar System – its formation, volcanism, gravity, ice, life elsewhere? – weaving together activities, resources, news, and ideas that scientists, faculty, teachers, clubs, and organizations can use to engage audiences in exploring the big questions of Planetary Science.
To get started, visit NASA’s Museum Alliance.
If you are looking for a speaker for your program or event, consider contacting these networks of volunteers:
You may also want to visit these pages created by NASA’s Office of Education:
NASA’s Informal Education Page
Search NASA Teaching Materials
Learn More about SMD’s Informal Education Working Group
The Informal Education Working Group is tasked with providing NASA SMD and its four Forums (Astrophysics, Earth Science, Heliophysics, Planetary Science) with data, analysis, and access to expertise on informal science education audiences and initiatives. If you are interested in learning more about the Informal Education Working Group, examine the Informal Education section under “Documents.” Over the five-year lifetime of the Forums, this section will grow to contain a library of information about best practices in informal science education and the needs of the informal science education community with respect to the use of SMD content, expertise, and facilities.
Propose an Education or Public Outreach Project to SMD
SMD encourages informal educators to be involved in projects that will directly impact their audiences. If you have a great idea for an educational project, you might consider pursuing a grant offered by SMD.
Proposals for Education and Public Outreach in Earth and Space Science (EPOESS) are requested every two out of three years, as part of NASA SMD’s Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES). These typically are in the range of $100,000 annually for one to three years.
You may also find solicitations for other types of education and outreach projects from other NASA divisions at NASA’s clearinghouse for proposal information (NSPIRES).
Partner with an SMD E/PO Community Member
New opportunities for partnership are advertised through Community Announcements. Please contact the correspondent listed. If you would like to find a partner, please contact the Science Education and Public Outreach Forum that most closely aligns with your content interest; contacts are listed in the “About” menu under “Questions / Contact.”