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Fermi Telescope Teacher Resources

Educator Ambassadors

Fermi supports 8 Educator Ambassadors that help develop, test, and disseminate educational materials based on science from NASA's Astrophysics Division. There are now 16 Educator Ambassadors in the SSU E/PO program.

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Online Activities

  • Space Mysteries - Can you solve the mysteries? Two space mysteries featuring Fermi science.
  • Epo's Chronicles - A comic strip journey through space to figure out our origins and learn about the universe in which we live.
  • Fermi Pulsar Explorer - this interactive application includes an all-sky map that links to information about each of the 101 Fermi pulsars known so far, as well as video and background information on Fermi and gamma-ray astronomy.
  • Fermi Large Area Tracker Simulator - See what happens when gamma rays and particles enter the Fermi Large Area Telescope at different angles and with different energies.
  • Einstein@Home - a distributed computing effort that uses downtime on computers of volunteers to process astronomical data. In July of 2011, the project extended the search for gamma-ray pulsars to the general public by including Fermi LAT data in the work processed by Einstein@Home users.
  • Fermi LAT Simulator - a Flash-based interactive that demonstrates how Fermi's Large Area Telescope works.

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Printed Materials

  • Black Hole Resource Area - Learn about black holes! Watch the Fermi-sponsored PBS show "Monster of the Milky Way", find out the answers to frequently-asked-questions, black hole activities for the classroom and much more.
  • Fermi paper model (PDF 2MB, 508 Compliant Version PDF 2.1 MB). This is the final version of a model of Fermi that can be constructed out of paper. The PDF has complete instructions, definitions of Fermi components, and the model itself.
  • Supernova Educator Guide - The Fermi and XMM-Newton E/PO programs have developed a set of formal activities and background materials about supernovae.
  • TOPS Lessons Module - TOPS Learning Systems has developed a three-booklet series of activities based on the math and science of the Fermi mission. In the TOPS tradition, each booklet has activities which use simple, inexpensive household materials (such as coins, paper plates, thread spools, etc.) in clever ways.
  • Active Galaxies Education Unit - The Fermi E/PO team has developed a set of three activities to teach students about active galaxies. All three activities are aligned with the national science and mathematics standards.
  • Active Galaxy Pop-up Book - This short, innovative book for ages 8-12 has three separate activities, including a popup 3D galaxy showing its features, the "Tasty Active Galaxy" activity where kids can make their own edible black hole, and a whimsical story about supermassive black holes called "How the Galaxy Got Its Jets". Although designed for younger children, it can be enjoyed by people of all ages (especially eating the black hole).
  • Fermi Race Card Game — Who will be the first to build, launch and make observations with Fermi?

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Public

  • Fermi/GLAST Public Brochure (PDF 18.2 MB)
  • Fermi/GLAST Mission Poster (JPG 259 KB) - features an artist's drawing of the Fermi satellite in orbit
  • The Fermi/GLAST Cube - images and text from the Fermi/GLAST "magic cube"
  • Fermi Litho (PDF 2.3 MB, 508 Compliant Version PDF 1.1 MB) - The Fermi litho is a one-page litho that describes the science of NASA's Fermi mission, as well as providing an activity for students to do on the back.
  • Fermi Fact Sheet (PDF 1.1 MB, 508 Compliant) - The Fermi fact sheet is a four-page color brochure that describes the science of NASA's Fermi mission, as well as providing information on what Fermi has seen in its first year after launch.
  • Fermi/GLAST Media Guide (PDF 8.6 MB, 508 Compliant) - Science writer's guide to everything you ever wanted to know about Fermi and gamma-ray astronomy.
  • Fermi On WorldWide Telescope - Use a virtual telescope to look at location of gamma-ray bursts detected by Fermi.
  • Fermi On Google Sky (KML 22KB) - A virtual tour of Fermi in Google Sky (Download/install of Google Earth required to view file).

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Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope - Education and Public Outreach - Teacher Page