Activities

Overview of GRASP Activities 2006 to 2007:

GRASP activities are incorporated into the middle and high school academic year and summer sessions that are part of the NASA Science, Engineering, Mathematics and Aerospace Academies at the two partner institutions. These two SEMAA programs are located on the campuses of Tennessee State University in Nashville Tennessee and at the Oglala Lakota College located on the Pine Ridge Reservation in Pine Ridge, South Dakota.

GRASP Students Participate in Developing the Geoscience Component for ASC --Astrobiology in Secondary Classrooms Project:

TSU GRASP students will analyze soil and rock samples sent from South Dakota and OLC students will analyze samples sent from TSU. These samples will be analyzed for mineral and organic components using the ALTA Reflectance Spectrometer®. This hand-held devise is a classroom instrument designed to allow students to learn about visible light, invisible light, the origins of color, and the value of reflection spectroscopy of light in remote sensing applications. Using the ALTA, students themselves can measure the reflectances, i.e., the proportions of incident light that are reflected, from their own soil and rock samples.

Students in the GRASP program will participate in pilot-testing the modules from the Astrobiology in Secondary Classrooms curriculum. They will participate in the activities that focus on geoscience. NASA and the National Science Foundation fund the ASC curriculum development project.

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