In 2018, this workshop has received funding from the National Science Foundation to support teachers. Scholarships will be available for full support of attendance, including travel, lodging, and meals for teachers whose districts do not support those costs. The only exception is the $100 registration fee, which we are unable to waive.
Teachers who teach in districts that serve students from traditionally underrepresented and underserved populations will be given first priority for all scholarship funds. Pennsylvania teachers who come from districts that are part of CIU#10 are particularly encouraged to apply.
Workshop Content:
- Final agenda (last updated 8 July 2018)
- Please complete the pre-course reading and pre-course work prior to arriving for the workshop. We will request that you submit answers either in hardcopy or electronic format when you arrive.
Resources from this year’s workshop:
- Box folder with resources (PDFs, for example) — password was shared at workshop
- Arbor Scientific gravity well — can purchase a duplicate of our spandex sheet demonstration
- Lecture Tutorials for Introductory Astronomy
- NASA Goddard Imagine the Universe
- Anatomy of a Black Hole guide (tinfoil balloon experiment)
- Chandra Observatory Education Resources page
- Stellar Cycles image organization activity
- phet.colorado.edu simulations
- Center for Astronomy Education Workshop materials, including lecture tutorials
- Top and lens demo supplies from Amazon:
- Jennifer Johnson’s Blog Post on her astronomical origin of elements Periodic Table
- NASA Black Hole Math problems book (PDF) — copy also in the box folder
- GPS and Relativity Lecture notes from Rick Pogge at Ohio State
- PBS NOVA Elegant Universe site for Brian Greene’s show that includes relativity
- SDSS Sky Server with educational activities
- SDSS Voyages with newer educational activities
- YouTube “Minute Physics” video “How Big Is The Universe“
- Chris’ free, open, on-line astronomy course notes for teachers
- Stellarium planetarium software
- Universe sandbox universe simulation software
- Discount price version for educators at Teacher Gaming (need to create an account to get the discounted price)
- AMNH Digital Universe free download for “fly through” of the Milky Way and Universe
- NASA Fermi Black Hole Educator’s resource page
This workshop is intended to introduce teachers to the predicted properties of black holes and the astronomical evidence for their existence. Along the way we will discuss modern ideas about the nature of space, time, and gravity. Some key topics to be covered include the following:
- What is a black hole?
- Predicted properties of black holes
- Stars and their fates
- How to detect a black hole
- Black holes in our backyard
- Gamma-ray bursts and their relation to black-hole formation
- The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy
- Supermassive black holes in galactic nuclei
- Black-hole pyrotechnics: Active galaxies and jets
- Feedback from supermassive black holes into galaxies
- Spinning black holes
- Hawking radiation: Are black holes really black?
- Singularities. What’s inside a black hole?
- Black holes and cosmology
The program for this workshop will include lectures on the subject material; discussions about pedagogical approaches; hands-on activities; examinations of curricular materials; nighttime observing; and guest presentations by Department members.
Workshop textbooks:
Gravity’s Fatal Attraction: Black Holes in the Universe by Begelman and Rees, Cambridge University Press, 2009
Black Holes and Time Warps by Kip Thorne, W.W. Norton, 1995
Here are links to the resources shared during past workshops:
- Perimeter Institute’s GR and Black Hole demonstrations
- Universe Sandbox2
- GEMS Guide “The Invisible Universe” (from NASA Swift Mission E/PO)
- Glenn’s Google spreadsheet for the “How Much Energy Is That?” activity
- Hubblesite Black Holes interactive and encyclopedia
- Andrew Hamilton’s movies of journeys into black holes
- Robert Nemiroff’s visualizations of black holes and neutron stars
In a category of its own:
Other resources that were mentioned but not demonstrated directly:
- Astronomy Picture of the Day
- NASA Goddard Science Visualization Studio
- Zooniverse.org citizen science activities
- PhD Comics – supermassive black holes explained
- ESO activity on measuring the mass of Sgr A*
- Link to the set of resources we collected the last time we ran the workshop: past workshop offering.