The University of Chicago Yerkes Observatory and a host of education, science, business and community partners will combine resources to implement the Yerkes Astrophysics Academy for Young Scientists. Collaborators include the George Williams College -Aurora University, Consortium of Geneva Lakes Schools, Wisconsin Center for Blind and Visually Impaired, Wisconsin School for the Deaf, National Federation of the Blind, Williams Bay Business Association, Geneva Lake Environmental Agency, Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, Science Museum of Tokyo, Hands-On Universe at the Lawrence Hall of Science, and the Astronomy Resources Connecting Schools (ARCS) teachers of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Partnerships. This project targets students in grades 3-8 in southern Wisconsin by providing them with year-round activities under four themes: Observing the Sky; Investigating Light and the EM Spectrum; Using Telescopes, Imaging, and Data Collection Display and Analysis; and Building Instruments. Over 100 students in elementary and middle school will receive 150 hours of out-of-school time programming as they engage in after school activities, observing sessions, field trips, and a week-long summer camp. The summer camp will enable students to build a tabletop projection solar spectrograph. Teacher professional development will be provided by Aurora University's College of Education and emphasize teaching as a scientific process, the relationship between learning and the brain, effective teaching models, the use of technology, and models of universal design. The twenty participating teachers will also learn physics and astronomy content while working with scientists and educators at the Yerkes Observatory. A research and evaluation plan will assess the effectiveness of the comprehensive partnership in achieving project outcomes, as well as the impact on student STEM learning and teacher knowledge and pedagogical practices. This project brings together the talents of scientists, educators and engineers to provide students, including those with sensory disabilities, with the opportunity to make scientific observations, build scientific equipment, and collect and interpret data.
