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Summer Visit - 2017 - SIRXS-DEEP

The summer visit to Caltech is 4 days long and is the only time during the year of work when all the participants on the team come together in person to work intensively on the data. Generally, each educator may bring up to two students to the summer visit that are paid for by NITARP, and they may raise funds to bring two more. The teams work at Caltech; the summer visit typically includes a half-day tour of JPL, which is a favorite site for group photos. Reload to see a different set of quotes.

The SIRXS-DEEP team came to visit in June 2017. The core team educators attended, plus 8 students.

Quotes

  • I really think it is important the students see the astronomers and other people working at JPL and Caltech as people and that they see themselves participating in research in a real way. Unless they have been exposed to working scientists as part of their daily lives it seems that they have a different view as to what an astronomer is or should be – not even a full misconception as much as a missing conception. The time during the week and the talk by the visiting Caltech folks helps fill in that context.
  • [student:] After this trip, I really do look at astronomy differently. Before I honestly did not think it was this complex and interesting. I know now that it takes a lot of time and knowledge to be a good astronomers.
  • [student:] The work we carried out at Caltech would be plain confusing to do on the internet, especially learning NASA terms and getting to understand our assignment. [...] Overall, I think meeting together in LA was worthwhile by a mile. We would not have been as engaged in our work without the LA trip.
  • The energy, commitment, and teaching ability of the NITARP mentors is amazing. Luisa and Varoujan are the heart and soul of the experience and make NITARP such a great program. In addition, our team of educators has become very tight and we all are committed to working hard on our SIRXS-Deep project.
  • I love the connections and sharing that happen between teachers, students, and mentors. This is the part that I believe makes a successful PD or E/PO project very successful – the interactions and networks that are formed between participants at all levels. It builds a working comfort level and common ground that helps drive and support further collaboration and communication.

Related Teams

Summer Visit - 2017 - SIRXS-DEEP