On January 24, 2012, Cheryl Lani Juárez, the Museum’s Sr. Director of Professional Development, was invited to speak with Univision’s highly popular national radio host Dr. Isabel Gómez-Bassols. The interview focused on the role science centers and museums play in engaging families in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) during out of school time learning.

Ms. Juarez talked about some of the Miami Science Museum’s educational programs as examples of how science museums can reach learners of all ages in their communities. For example, the Miami Science Museum developed ECHOS (Early Childhood Hands-On Science), a preschool science curriculum and professional development model that is currently being tested with Head Start teachers and children in classrooms throughout Miami-Dade County. The Museum also developed APEX (Afterschool Program Exploring Science) for K-5 students. Dr. Isabel was especially interested in the Museum’s Upward Bound Math and Science program, which has helped prepare over 500 low income, first-generation college bound students for postsecondary study in STEM fields.

Dr. Isabel’s  program is part of Univision’s national education campaign, entitled Es el Momento and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Univisión is committed to disseminating educational information through all their media platforms including television, radio and web, to raise general awareness of resources available to address the Latino education crisis in STEM fields.

A summary of the interview, titled “Más ciencia para una nación mejor” (More Science for a Better Nation) can be found on the Es el Momento section of Univisión’s website at http://vidayfamilia.univision.com/es-el-momento/doctora-isabel/article/2012-01-24/ciencia-educacion-futuro-nacion

Where on Earth could you really prepare for the challenges of space? As it turns out, it’s right in our back yard. NEEMO (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations project) sends NASA employees to live in Aquarius – an underwater laboratory right off the Florida Keys, to prepare for space travel. Aquarius is located 3.5 miles off Key Largo, and 62 feet under the surface of the water, and NEEMO crewmembers live there for up to 3 weeks at a time. NEEMO missions include astronaut training and testing equipment required for exploring asteroids.

Now use your imagination. Think about trying to accomplish a task that would be pretty simple on land. Shoveling sand. Inserting a screw into machinery. Holding still. Picking up a rock. Breathing. Now imagine doing those tasks underwater (or in space). All these things that we take for granted in our every day lives become much more difficult in space, and trying it out underwater is great practice.

On Saturday October 22^nd, 85 participants attended an event that featured a live webcast with NEEMO crew, in which they learned about NEEMO missions first hand. Participants included 16 teachers who were attending a professional development training for APEX (After-School Program Exploring Science), and 69 high school students (11 students from the Digital WAVE: Warming Winds and Water program, and 58 students from the Upward Bound Math & Science program). During the Q&A with NEEMO crew, participants asked about the challenges of asteroid exploration, and how astronauts train for it. During the daylong event, students also participated in activities stationed throughout the Museum related to asteroid composition, gravity and buoyancy, and projectile motion. And of course, what day would be complete without being able to make and analyze your own impact craters?