FROM PARI

“The January SciGirls program will connect with the ‘Robots to the Rescue’ PBS TV episode,” said Christi Whitworth, PARI education director. “PARI SciGirls will explore the definition of robots and then dive into computer hardware, software and programming challenges. We’ll also learn about a special ‘robot’ at PARI, our 4.6m radio telescope named Smiley that is remote-controlled over the Internet. The girls will be able to control the telescope and gather data on objects in our galaxy.”

PARI hosts a SciGirls event the last Tuesday of each month. The participation fee is $10 per student and all girls ages 9-14 are eligible. Program details, specific hours and registration details can be found on the PARI web site, www.pari.edu. Area teachers and parents are asked to encourage girls who may be interested.

The national SciGirls web site is http://pbskids.org/scigirls.

About PARI The Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI) is a not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) foundation established in 1998. Located in the Pisgah Forest 30 miles southwest of Asheville, NC, the PARI campus is a dark sky location for astronomy and was selected in 1962 by NASA as the site for one of the first U.S. satellite tracking facilities. Today, the 200 acre campus houses radio and optical telescopes, earth science instruments, 30 buildings, a fulltime staff and all the infrastructure necessary to support STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education and research. PARI offers educational programs at all levels, from K-12 through post-graduate research. The institute is a member of the NC Grassroots Science Museums Collaborative, a partner in NC OPT-ED and is affiliated with the 16-campus University of North Carolina system through PARSEC, a UNC Center hosted at PARI. For more information about PARI and its programs, visit www.pari.edu.Read the full article