Astronomy "ambassadors" help students to explore the heavens.
The Worldwide Telescope Ambassadors Program is the brainchild of astronomy Professor Alyssa Goodman, who has been working with Microsoft programmers for several years on their Internet-based Worldwide Telescope, a free program. The ambassadors program, cosponsored by Microsoft Research and WGBH, is run by Patricia Udomprasert out of Goodman’s Viz-e-Lab.
The ambassadors themselves are astronomy-savvy individuals, such as retired astronomers, astronomy hobbyists, researchers seeking to add an educational component to their work, and even Harvard undergraduates interested in the subject. In one year, the ambassadors program has grown from several ambassadors working with 80 students in one school to a dozen ambassadors and 400 students at two schools, Lexington’s Clarke Middle School and Prospect Hill Academy in Somerville, Udomprasert said. Goodman and Udomprasert said they hope the program will continue to expand as funding becomes available.
“People learn with this in a different way than they do with books,” Goodman said.
Read the entire story at: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2011/05/a-school-telescope-through...