Project ASTRO

Astronomers and Educators as Partners for Learning

A National Program to Improve Science Education in Grades 4-9 Sponsored by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific

Project ASTRO links professional and amateur astronomers with 4th - 9th grade teachers in their communities. After the astronomer-teacher partners are trained together at 2-day workshops, each volunteer astronomer "adopts" a class or youth group and makes at least four visits during the year. The main focus of the project is on hands-on, inquiry-based activities that put students in the position of acting like scientists - as they come to understand more about the universe (and science in general).

Begun (with support from NSF) as an experiment in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1993, Project ASTRO has now expanded to a dozen regional sites around the United States. Starting in mid-2000, the program is adding an additional focus on families, developing training workshops and materials to help families enjoy astronomy activities on their own. Please use the links below to learn more about the project, the cities or regions where it is operating, the teaching materials it has generated, and how you can get involved.

[ Project Astro Website ] [ More Project Astro Info (pdf) ] [ A Map Of Participants (pdf) ]