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The Earth and Space Science project website has not been significantly updated since 2012. We are preserving the web pages here because they still contain useful ideas and content. But be aware that the site may have out of date information.

Earth and Space Science - 2012 Course

A summer course for middle and high school teachers
Taught at UMass Amherst
and sponsored by the NSF and the STEM Education Institute at UMass Amherst

  • Tuesday and Wednesday, August 14 – 15, 2012 at U Mass Amherst
  • 9:00 to 3:30 each day
  • $80/day stipend ($160 total) and materials provided to each teacher
  • Free PDPs (no graduate credit)

Earth and Space Science will develop an understanding of planetary accretion and evolution and the place of the Earth in the solar system.

  • Making a planet: From elements to dust to planetesimals
  • Why there are volcanoes
  • What shapes the crusts of planets; what do we see in NASA photos?
  • Comparative planetology using maps
  • What is the lifetime of a planet?

Along the way we will cover pertinent topics in mathematics, including:

  • Units and converting units
  • Scale and dimensional analysis
  • Scientific notation and significant figures

After the course, participants are encouraged to develop curriculum units that will be uploaded to the course website, edited as a group, and piloted during the school year. This material will be available for other teachers to use (with the writer's permission) via a course website.

Application process

If you are interested in participating in the 2012 class, please use the application form to tell us about yourself.

Application Deadline - April 1, 2012

For more information, contact Dr. Lindy Elkins-Tanton, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington DC:ltelkins@dtm.ciw.edu; 202-478-8828


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