From: Sandy Dueck <sdueck@quest.arc.nasa.gov>
Subject: NEED HELP FINDING SCHOOLS TO PARTICIPATE (fwd)
Date: Mon, 6 Oct 1997 14:10:24 -0700 (PDT)
---------- Forwarded message ---------- ***Forwarded message from: fdust@v-town.com I teach science and mathematics at The Ilwaco Alternative High School. Our student are high schooler's who are unable to function at the regular high school because of raising children, homeless, or often too smart, too bored and not docile enough for the regular program. I teach 12 subjects so in order to teach effectively and efficiently I intergrate my math and science and do topical studies. My prealgebra students take a course called Astro-Math. Essentially it traces the history of astronomy. As you know astonomy was the first science because it provided the compass, clock and calendar to humankind's emergence from hunting and gathering. Astronomy is "hands off science" (you can't measure things directly) but definately "minds on science" . Because you can't directly manupulate Astronomy, you must use mathematics. Therefore we trace the origins of mathematics. We just are finishing up egyption math. We are starting a project that will trace the path of the sun on plastic hemispheres. We have small world globes that just fit inside the spheres. We want to send out about 15 of these celestial spheres to schools scattlered across the USA to track the sun's path on the upcomming eqinox. The discovery is that when the path is charted on the sphere (we will send instructions) and the world globe is placed inside with the path of the sun overlying the equator the zenith of the celestial shpere will exactly lay over the place on earth where the sighting took place. You can also do cool things like calculate the circumference of the earth. Sort of Eratosthanes on steroids. Can you suggest fifteen schools that would cooperate. We need to hurry as the equinox waits for no one. I hope this makes sense. Please E-mail me or give me a call at school or home. Fred Dust PO Box 514 Seaview Wa 98644 H (360) 642-8187 W (360) 642-1292 Fax (360) 642-1297 I have a lot of other things I do in AstroMath you might be interested in. Keep up the good work. Fred- ***End forwarded message