Since its inception by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in 1994, the teacher-scientist partnership model of Project ASTRO has impacted tens of thousands of students nationwide through astronomer collaborations with local classroom educators to enhance student STEM learning.
Project ASTRO partnerships provide first-hand learning experiences in astronomy through inquiry-based classroom activities facilitated by the educator and astronomer. The goals of Baltimore Project ASTRO are to:
- Promote active learning methods in science classrooms that engage both teachers and students and improve student attitudes towards science.
- Offer role models for students by showing them working examples of who scientists are and what they do.
- Provide professional development for teachers through workshops, in-service training, and one-to-one partnerships with local content experts.
- Conduct concrete assessment of the program to disseminate to the Project ASTRO National Network and to improve our methods in the future.
Founded in 2008, Baltimore Project ASTRO serves our unique region with its high concentration of space science professionals and amateur astronomy groups. We create and foster partnerships between Maryland educators and professional or dedicated amateur astronomers associated with many different organizations. These partnerships provide authentic science learning experiences for K-9 students across the state. Baltimore Project ASTRO is a joint effort of Towson University, the Maryland Science Center and the Space Telescope Science Institute.
We are supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (AST-0952923). Past support has been provided by the NASA Maryland Space Grant Consortium and by the Towson University Fisher College of Science and Mathematics.