The workshop will be conducted by Susan W. Morrison of Fresno, a retired teacher and current volunteer with the Solar System Ambassadors Program. According to Morrison, SSA volunteers “communicate the excitement of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s, or JPL’s, space exploration missions and information about recent discoveries to people in their local communities.”
The SSA is sponsored by the JPL, an operating division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and a lead research and development center for NASA.
At the workshop, Morrison plans to bring books about outer space that children and teens can use to find out information about Jupiter.
“We will use the books to find out what we currently know about Jupiter and then we’ll discuss what we don’t know about Jupiter and what the Juno mission hopes to find out,” she explained.
“After that, the children will be guided through construction of sturdy wooden models of the Juno spacecraft which they can take home,” she continued.
Towards the end of the workshop, Morrison said “we’ll fly our spacecraft to Jupiter following the mission’s trajectory of a Mars flyby, return to Earth flyby and finally on to Jupiter.”
Morrison said she will brings books for adults as well as children and cautions that children 10 and under should be accompanied by an adult or older sibling to help them with the finer assembly details of the probe model.
As an ambassador, Morrison continues to create hands-on exhibits highlighting NASA’s space exploration activities at six San Joaquin Valley museums and at a NASA Educator Resource Center; teaches classes about the solar system and space exploration in public schools and museums and writes about NASA’s accomplishments for her local newspaper.
This free presentation is sponsored by the Friends of the Oakhurst Branch Library. The workshop will be held in the library’s Community Room located at 49044 Civic Circle Drive. For more information, call (559) 683-4838 or visit: www.oakhurstfobl.com.
Visit solarsystem.nasa.gov/ssa/biography for more information about the presenter.
