Chelen Johnson
The HIPS AGaiN (Hidden in Plain Sight AGaiN) team will be using archival surveys for stellar variability to detect variability in active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the background.
I hope other teachers get to keep experiencing this program forever, because this is the single greatest professional development opportunity I have ever experienced, and I'm a junkie. I was a master teacher for a nationwide pre college and engineering program for 18 years. I've run non profits for 20 years. This is the best PD experience for teachers I've ever experienced, because it is authentic from beginning to end.
Our kids did a fantastic job of interacting with the many astronomers and educators that came to see our poster. They were poised and knowledgeable and handled questions with ease. I heard many compliments not only about the students explanation of our work, but also about the great job they did constructing their poster.
It was very special to be in the room when the announcement of planet Kepler 10b (an estimated 1.4 X the size of the Earth) was discovered. I turned to my student Inga and asked, "How does it feel to be one of the first people on planet Earth to know about this discovery?" She replied, "I never thought of it like that ... it's pretty cool."
