MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011


Contacts:
JPL--Jane Platt   (818) 354-0880
Virginia Space Grant Consortium--Amy Dawson  (757) 865-0726
Space Explorers, Inc.--Eric Brunsell   (920) 339-4600

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                            March 20, 2000

JPL TO TEACH 'RITHMETIC AND ROCKET SCIENCE

     NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory will train 33 educators
from 22 states to inspire and educate other teachers to share the
wonders of the solar system with students during a Solar System
Educators Institute at JPL March 26 through 29.

     The educators, taking part in the Solar System Educator
Fellows program, will learn techniques for training other
teachers to use current space missions to help kids learn math
and science.  Back in their home states, each educator will train
approximately 200 additional colleagues.

     "It's exciting to share the information I've learned to
reach more people and help get them excited about space," said
Julie Taylor, who has been serving as an educator fellow for the
Cassini mission to Saturn.  Taylor, a fifth grade teacher at
Desert Trails Elementary School in Adelanto, CA, says her JPL
training benefits her students, including ten-year-old Mallery
who said, "This year, science has been fun.  It's something we'll
enjoy for the rest of our lives."

     NASA/JPL missions participating in the institute include
Cassini to Saturn, the Stardust and Deep Impact comet missions,
the Galileo mission to Jupiter, the Mars Exploration Program, the
Outer Planets/Solar Probe program, and the Deep Space Network of
ground-based antennas that communicate with spacecraft.  The
institute is also supported by NASA's Solar System Exploration
Education and Public Outreach Forum.

     Twenty-five additional educators will be selected to take
part in another Solar System Educators Institute at JPL on August
1-5.  Further announcements will be posted on the Solar System
Educators web site at http://www.ssep.org .

     The Solar System Educators Institute program is managed by
Space Explorers Inc., DePere, WI, and the Virginia Space Grant
Consortium, Hampton, VA., as an element of  NASA's Office of
Space Science Education and Public Outreach Program, NASA
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.  Stardust, Deep Impact, Galileo,
Cassini, Mars Exploration, Outer Planets/Solar Probe, and are
managed by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington,
D.C.  The Deep Space Network is managed by JPL for NASA's Office
of Space Flight, Washington, D.C.

Teachers and educators who were selected for the project include:

Sherry Hair	Russell Math & Science Center	Birmingham, AL
Julie Taylor   	Desert Trails School		Adelanto, CA
Adair Teller   	Alan B. Shepard School		Hawthorne, CA
Diane Lether 	LA Unified School District    	Los Angeles, CA
Alan Landever 	Education Connection		Litchfield, CT
Diana Yoder	University of Central Florida 	Orlando, FL
Kathy Chock 	Kamehameha Elementary School	Honolulu, HI
Nancy Tashima  	Onizuka Space Center		Kailua-Kona, HI
Christopher Soldat Mid-Prarie Middle School  	Kalona, IA
Martin Horejsi 	Idaho State University		Pocatello, ID
Kevin Cole	Cernan Earth & Space Center	River Grove, IL
Michael Ford	Unified School District		Holton, KS
Jennifer Linrud Wichita Collegiate School	Wichita, KS
Terri McManus	Williams Science & Fine Art	Topeka, KS
Liliana Klass	Fort River School		Northampton, MA
Donna Young	The Wright Center		Medford, MA
Ardis Maciolek	Grosse Pointe High School	Grosse Point, MI
Ken Gagner	Morris Area Elem. School	Morris, MN
Dee McLellan	Meadow Creek Christian School	Andover,MN
Bob Riddle	Southwest Charter School	Kansas City, MO
Byron Montross  Wingate Elementary. School      Fort Wingate, NM
Malcolm Cameron Christa McAuliffe Planetarium 	Concord, NH
Karen Sinex	Pacific University		Eugene, OR
Dan Malerbo	Carnegie Science Center		Pittsburgh, PA
Louis Irwin	University of Texas/El Paso	El Paso, TX
Carol Lutsinger	Brownsville School District  	Brownsville,TX
Shannon Miller	Llano Junior High School	Llano, TX
Peggy Donahe	Aneth Community School		Montezuma Creek, UT
George Hastings	VA Math & Science Center	Richmond, VA
Anne Ireland	Challenger Center		Alexandria, VA
Ellen VanPay	Green Bay Public Schools	Green Bay, WI
Sandra Bast	Space Explorers, Inc.		DePere, WI
Scott Mecca	Cheyenne Central High School	Cheyenne, WY