IGES Helps NASA Launch New Education Portal

As part of its work leading the NASA Earth Science Education and Public Outreach Forum, IGES has played a key role in the development of the new NASA Wavelength portal, which brings together hundreds of science education resources in one easy-to-use collection.

NASA Wavelength offers a pathway into a digital collection of Earth and space science resources for educators of all levels. Organized by topic or audience level – from elementary to college, to out-of-school programs – the portal features hundreds of resources that span the gamut of NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) research to advance our understanding of the Earth, Sun, solar system and the universe.

NASA SMD funds a national community of education and outreach professionals that develop and deliver resources for all levels of formal and informal education and public outreach activities using NASA content, expertise, and facilities.

IGES is no stranger to the work of this community. By managing the NASA Earth & Space Science Education Product Review, IGES brings together expert panels of scientists and educators to ensure that these education materials are of high quality and meet rigorous educational standards. NASA Wavelength features the 1,000+ resources that have been vetted through this process, in topics ranging from Earth history and mathematics, to the nature of science.

IGES teamed up with The Space Sciences Laboratory and Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Adler Planetarium to define, test and launch NASA Wavelength. Their goal was not only to ensure that educators could easily and quickly locate appropriate tools for their lessons, but also to provide them with ways to share resources and keep up-to-date with the latest in Earth and space science education.

Now in beta testing, NASA Wavelength is led by NASA SMD and its Education and Public Outreach Forums. The team welcomes comments and feedback so visit http://www.nasawavelength.org/ to check out the portal. Read more about the launch of the portal in this NASA news release. 

Image: In this November 2009 image, LaRaunce Fleming of the NASA Langley Research Center Outreach Office chats with Mariah and Jay Nolen about NASA, while Susan Cooper (in spacesuit) seeks out someone to talk to. Credit: NASA