Chelen Johnson
I enjoyed meeting the students from the other schools. They were polite, articulate, and intelligent. I thought the teachers and parents had done a great job raising these kids and preparing them for the meeting. I hope my students are half as good.
[...]that provided a wonderful window into the student’s perspective of the NITARP experience. I loved how they talked about seeing math as a way of communicating and for checking data…not as THE right answer type computations. Many then said that concept was new and they really appreciated it.
My ideas about astronomy has changed significantly, thanks to NITARP. Quite simply, I didn't understand the role of archival data in modern astronomical research. Previously, I considered it an intellectual exercise, work suitable for a reference librarian, but not real research. I now know it to comprise the future of astronomy, and the very picture of MOST of tomorrow's scientific research.
