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WISE Education & Outreach
The science investigations of WISE range from asteroids to the entire Universe, and there are therefore many opportunities to bring them into the classroom. Understanding star formation, galaxy collisions, extra solar planets, and black holes requires understanding of more basic concepts in the physical sciences and mathematics. The WISE E/PO program will be developing several classroom lessons that will address concepts in physics, chemistry, and math as well as more advanced lessons that will use actual WISE image data. Until those are created we have selected a number of links to other related NASA classroom resources. Each lesson is tied to National Science Education Standards.

All Grades

WISE in a Box WISE in a Box
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Create a 3D model of the WISE spacecraft.

Space Science Education Resource Directory Space Science Education Resource Directory
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SSERD is a growing collection of all NASA Space Science classroom resources organized and searchable by grade level and topic.

Cool Cosmos Cool Cosmos
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This website from the Spitzer Space Telescope gives an in-depth look at infrared astronomy. It includes classroom lesson, images, movies, and online tutorials.

 Multiwavelength Milky Way Multiwavelength Milky Way
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This website brings together several sets of image data of the Milky Way Galaxy in different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. Some tutorial pages explain the nature of light, the structure of the Milky Way, and how maps of the Milky Way are made from Earth.

Accessing WISE Images: Tutorial
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This tutorial explains how to navigate the WISE Archive.

WISE mosaic of the Soul Nebula.  Clouds of all colors surround clusters of stars. Making Color Images: Tutorial
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This tutorial explain the basic processes for creating a color picture using images downloaded from the WISE Science Data Archive.

Grades 6-8

Invisible Universe Invisible Universe
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In this GEMS guide, developed in partnership with NASA's Swift Gamma-ray Burst mission and the Lawrence Hall of Science, intriguing activities deepen student understanding of the electromagnetic spectrum, enabling students to detect and consider wavelengths other than visible light. Activities feature energy stations, including infrared (TV remote); microwave (pager); ultraviolet (black light) and other devices. Students come up with their own tests to see what blocks each wavelength, and what does not. They learn how these other wavelengths can be used to "see" things we cannot see with our eyes–allowing space scientists to detect and image objects, phenomena, and sources of energy far off in space. Colorful examples of these images are included in the guide.
     
Inverse Square Law . The Inverse Square Law of Light
.Download PDF (728KB)
We all know that a light, such as a candle or a streetlight, looks dimmer the farther away from it we get. This classroom activity gives an easy way for students to measure the relationship between distance and brightness. Once students discover the relationship, they can begin to understand how astronomers use this knowledge to determine the distances to stars and far away galaxies.

Grades 9-12

Active Astronomy: Classroom Activities for Learning About Infrared Light
Active Astronomy: Classroom Activities for Learning About Infrared Light
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A set of four activities from NASA’s SOFIA mission that focus on improving student understanding of infrared light. These hands-on and demonstration activities are designed to complement instruction on the electromagnetic spectrum for middle and high school students; they are not a complete curriculum. Each activity has been designed to take 1-2 class periods.

Modeling the Universe
Modeling the Universe
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This is a workshop for teachers of grades 8-12 about the current scientific model for the structure and evolution of the Universe and the evidence that supports that model. It is a collaboration of several NASA outreach programs, including WISE, and is being presented nationally at conferences of science educators. As part of the workshop many different lessons are presented. You can find each of those lessons at this website.
     
Modeling the Universe
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Size & Scale of the Universe 

The Universe is very, very big. One cannot reasonably create a scale model of the Universe that includes all of its components—from people to superclusters—and simultaneously scales their distances and sizes. This activity attempts to overcome that difficulty by examining the Universe at different realms.

arrow Realms of the Universe Activity (pdf)
arrow Size and Scale Glossary (pdf)
arrow Size and Scale Presentation (pptx)
arrow Realms of the Universe Activity Worksheet (pdf)
arrow Room Size Conversion Calculator (xlsx)


Other Education Resources

SEGway Education Page
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A web site where you can find over 20 lessons covering Earth Science (e.g. Surfing for Earthquakes and Volcanoes) to Space Science (e.g. The Light Tour) at grade levels from K-12.

Amazing Space
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Located at the Space Telescope Science Institute this interactive online K-12 Curriculum provides interdisciplinary activities entitled: Star Light, Star Bright, Solar System Trading Cards, Hubble Deep Field Academy, Student Astronaut Challenge, and Galileo to the Hubble Space Telescope.

Central Operation of Resources for Educators (CORE)
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This web site hosts the worldwide distribution center for NASA-produced multimedia materials that can be used as curriculum supplement materials.



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