What is Family ASTRO?
Family ASTRO is a program sponsored by Raritan
Valley Community College and Somerset
County 4-H. Our goal is to train educators, astronomers, youth
group leaders, and anyone else who is interested, to help children
and adults explore astronomy together. Family ASTRO is about making
science fun for the whole family!
Our way of involving families is to invite them to evening or
weekend Family events, where they will have fun doing astronomy
activities together. At the events, families get to try some activity
stations as well as a number of facilitated activities, and then
receive a game to take home. Each event is led by a Family ASTRO
Event Leader who is trained in how to organize Family ASTRO programs
and do astronomy activities.
Evidence of the impact of school, family and community connections
on student achievement has been documented by Ann T. Henderson
and Karen L. Map in a publication by the Southwest Educational
Development Laboratory. Click
here to view or download this study (1.2 MB).
How to become a Family ASTRO
Leader?
We have several upcoming Family ASTRO Leader Trainings.
At these
trainings we will introduce participants to two of the four Family ASTRO kits:
Night Sky Adventures ,
Race to the Planets,
Moon Mission, and
Cosmic Decoders.
We have several upcoming Family
ASTRO Leader Trainings, to be held at RVCC or 4H facilities in
New Jersey:
Thursday, February 28, 2008 - Monmouth County 4H
(Moon Mission and
Cosmic Decoders)
More Information
Download
a Registration Form
Tuesday, March 4, 2008 - Gloucester County 4H
(Night Sky Adventures and
Race to the Planets)
More Information
Download
a Registration Form
The fee is $150 per person. At the training you will receive 2
Family Leader Kits, supplies, breakfast and lunch. Teachers will
receive 6 hours of Continuing Education Credits.
After the training we are asking Family ASTRO Leaders to commit
to doing at least 2 family events with groups of 5 or more families
before the end of the 2007-2008 school year.
Take-home kits for families can be purchased at the training for
$12 per kit or can be ordered at a later date.
Contact Theresa Moody at Raritan Valley Community College Planetarium,
at 908-526-1200 x 8942 (email:
tmoody@raritanval.edu).
Family ASTRO is a program of Raritan Valley Community College
and Somerset County 4-H. It is developed by the Astronomical Society
of the Pacific, and funded by the National Science Foundation.
Family
ASTRO
