Last year, for the first time ever, PeachStar brought you the JASON project, a National Science Center/Fort Discovery endeavor. Through a series of pre-recorded broadcasts, students and teachers across the country explored the rich wilderness of Hawaii right from their classrooms.
This year, PeachStar brings you JASON XIII: Frozen Worlds, an exploration of some of the colder regions of our planet and solar system that examines current research in geology, glaciology, biology, astrobiology, oceanography and climatology. Additionally, it will focus on amazing plants and animals that survive in these frigid environments, from the largest marine mammals to the smallest microbes.Alaska and the Polar Regions will serve as comparative venues, and the laboratory for examining JASON's three main research questions:
* What are the dynamic systems of Earth and Space?
* How do these systems affect life on Earth?
* What technologies do we use to study these systems, and why?
The JASON Project offers students and teachers in grades 4-9 a comprehensive, multimedia approach to enhance teaching and learning in science, technology, math, geography, and associated disciplines. The project delivers its educational content through a print curriculum, videos, fully interactive Internet programming, and satellite "telepresence" broadcasts.
The middle school, expedition-based curriculum is composed of core science and process skills. It is designed to guide teachers in presenting a science program that is inquiry-based and content rich. JASON XIII: Frozen Worlds addresses a variety of themes embedded in the Georgia science curriculum:
* Geography of polar and sub-arctic regions
* History of human exploration and adaptation
* Culture of Native People of Alaska
* Tools and methods of scientific research
* Marine and terrestrial ecosystems of polar and sub-arctic regions
* Life forms living in severe, typically non-life-supporting conditions on Earth
* Climatology and global climate change
* Watershed studies
JASON XIII goes even further than science curriculum. As you and your students travel through the wilderness of Alaska, you will also touch upon mathematics, geography, history and culture, language arts, and fine arts themes.
JASON XIII will air on PeachStar 1 PM weekdays from January 29 until February 8. Tune in with your class and experience the Alaskan countryside firsthand!
For more information about JASON XIII: Frozen Worlds, contact the National Science Center's Fort Discovery at 1-800-325-5445 ext. 5575 or visit the NSC website.
