kansas association of teachers of science

Register here.

President's Note--

We want teachers to have fun as scientists and experience the cosmosphere as well as have the opportunity to engage with pedagogy with their peers. The cosmosphere confirmed that these simulators & interactive exhibits are exclusive to school tour groups so it's very exciting that we get to experience them! The department head of our USD 383 (my school district) is making plans to pull their trailer up that Friday night and having a campout nearby. If you're interested let me know and we can try to add your tent onto the RV site.

Families are welcome! We're just asking that when you register, you pay for their lunch. There will be an option for that registration which is $10. The schedule will have options built in for family members. Recommended age for children to attend is 10+ though there are lots of fun things like a salt mine tour which are also in the area for the day.

KATS will have 4 sessions per the request of the cosmosphere. The Kansas Geological Survey has already signed up to be a presenter. 

Sincerely,

Robert Hamilton

P.S. Here are the cosmosphere session descriptions again in case you're colleagues need some cajoling. I'm SUPER pumped for these!

1. Rube Goldberg 1.5 - 3 hours.  Build a Rube Goldberg Machine that plants a flag into the lunar surface.  6 simple machines must be incorporated, and the machine with that runs for the longest time wins.
2. Past, Present & Future Missions to the Moon 1 hour.  Mission control must communicate to the astronauts the solution to fixing the carbon dioxide filter.  Based on the Apollo 13 disaster.  Will you be able to fix it before time runs out?
3. Simulated space mission in the Astralis Capsule 30 minutes/team of 5 (we can only run up to 5 people at a time during a mission.  For 20 people, this would take 2 hours).  Run a simulated mission to low Earth orbit in our Astralis capsule. 
4. Astronaut Training Simulators 1 hour.   Train like an astronaut in our 4G centrifuge and feel the change in Gs that an astronaut would experience during a typical rocket launch.  Feel what it would be like in an out of control tumble in a spacecraft in our Multi Axis Trainer.  Learn some basic Russian and use the same Soyuz simulator used by former astronauts to train for their own missions.
5. Lunar Landers 1 hour.  Build a model of a lunar lander that houses 6 astronaut marshmallows.  Your goal is to design a lunar lander that will help these astronauts land safely on the surface after a very long drop.
6. Battery Challenge 1 hour.  Experiment with building a battery using different types of metals and electrolytes.  Test to see the best combination in a battery modeled after Volta's very first battery.
7. Battlebots 1.5 hours.  Use EV3s to battle it out in the ring.  Will you build an offensive or defensive robot?  Last robot in the ring wins.
8. Museum Scavenger Hunt 1 hour.  Take pictures and find clues in our museum to solve a puzzle.
9. Museum Tour 1 hour.  Guided tour through our museum with a focus on the Space Race.
10. Drones 1.5 - 3 hours.  Learn the basics of flying a drone, and practice drone photography.