ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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Colleagues,

Today NASA released a Cooperative Agreement Notice to fund NASA
Explorer Institute Focus Groups hosted by members of the informal
education community. Details of the CAN are found on the education
portal (http://education.nasa.gov) or directly at
http://education.nasa.gov/divisions/informal/overview/F_pathfinder_explorer_institute.html.

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The Informal Education Division is initiating a new national level
program called NASA Explorer Institutes (NEI). NEI will provide,
"...as only NASA can," engaging experiences, opportunities,
materials, and information to members of the informal education
community including, but not limited to, representatives of science
centers, museums, planetariums, libraries, parks, aquaria, nature
centers, botanical gardens, youth groups, and community-based
organizations.

The Goal of the NASA Explorer Institutes Program is to encourage and
support projects that:

Improve the public's understanding and appreciation of science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines to
enhance their scientific and technological literacy, mathematical
competence, problem-solving skills, and the desire to learn;
Establish linkages that promote new relationships between providers
of informal and formal education resulting in improved and creative
STEM education in all learning environments;
Excite youth, particularly those who are underrepresented and
underserved, about STEM disciplines;
Expand STEM informal education programs and activities to
communities/locations that have been traditionally underserved by
such opportunities;
Stimulate parents and others to support their children's learning
endeavors in formal and informal settings and to become informed
proponents for high-quality, universally available STEM education in
the home and elsewhere;
Encourage and implement innovative strategies that support the
development of a socially responsible and informed public who can
make responsible decisions about STEM policy issues affecting their
everyday lives.

NASA Explorer Institutes (NEI) Program objectives will enhance the
capabilities of the informal education community to inspire the next
generation of explorers by providing access to NASA staff, research,
technology, information, and/or facilities and by:

Engaging the informal education community in discussions about how to
involve the public in shaping and experiencing NASA-related missions;
Identifying NASA-related instructional content, resources, and
information, in collaboration with the informal education community,
that will enhance informal education program goals and objectives;
Providing NASA-related professional development opportunities for
members of the informal education community across the nation;
Facilitating the formation of collaborative partnerships between
informal and formal education communities.

Phase I of the program, NEI Pilot Professional Development Workshops
at NASA facilities for members of the informal education community,
is currently under underway. Six NEI Professional Development
Workshops were selected for funding and will be taking place in
September through December of this year.

Phase II of the program, NEI Focus Groups, was released on September
17, 2004. Notices of Intent will be due October 15, 2004 and the
proposals are due on November 12, 2004. The Cooperative Agreement
Notice (CAN) can be accessed through the following link:
<http://education.nasa.gov/divisions/informal/overview/javascript:openNASAWindow('http://research.hq.nasa.gov/code_n/nra/current/NNH04ZNI001C/index.html')>http://research.hq.nasa.gov/code_n/nra/current/NNH04ZNI001C/index.html.
This NASA Explorer Institutes (NEI) CAN will provide members of the
informal education community with an opportunity to compete for
funding support to host NEI Focus Groups. The purpose of the Focus
Groups will be to assemble experts from the informal education
community to further identify strategies and approaches that can be
used to effectively implement the NASA Explorer Institutes Program.

The Informal Education Division anticipates that up to ten (10) NEI
Focus Groups will be funded via this CAN at a maximum funding level
of $50,000 per project.

Jim Stofan
Director, Informal Education Division
Office of Education--Code NI

NASA Headquarters
300 E Street SW
Washington DC 20546-0001
202/358-1885
202/358-3032 (fax)
[log in to unmask]

www.nasa.gov

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