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2009 Annual Science Report

Carnegie Institution of Washington Reporting  |  JUL 2008 – AUG 2009

EPO Activity: Exploring Ice in the Solar System CD ROM

Project Progress

A CD-ROM containing a series of 13 lessons on the theme “Exploring Ice in the Solar System” was produced in 2003 as part of Carnegie Institution’s EPO effort (described fully in the CIW team’s EPO report for 2002-2003). In 2006, the CD-ROM was submitted to the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies for NASA product review and was rated “Outstanding” by both science and education reviewers.
The CD-ROM is being used by five different NASA ROSES-funded International Polar Year (IPY) projects as the foundation for teacher training (reaching over 200 teachers directly and several-fold more through the “train the trainer” model employed by a number of these projects). Other NASA missions and teams using this series of lessons include MESSENGER and New Horizons.
In 2007 and 2008, NASA Headquarters distributed 16,000 copies of the CD in their Earth Science Week packet, 4,000 at conferences, and 5,000 at IPY workshops.
In 2008, the CD-ROM was modified so that it will be accessible by people with disabilities (Section 508 compliance).