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Integrating Relevant Science Investigations into Migrant Children Education


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Integrating Relevant Science Investigations into Migrant Children Education

For three weeks in August, over 100 migrant children (ages 3-15) got to engage in hands-on activities involving blueberries, pollinators, and eDNA as part of their time with The Blueberry Harvest School (BHS). BHS is a summer school program for migrant children whose families work in Washington County, Maine during the wild blueberry harvest season. The program is hosted by Mano en Mano in Milbridge, Maine. This summer, University of Maine 4-H (part of the NASA Science Activation Program’s Learning Ecosystems Northeast team) was invited to deliver enrichment programs during the school day alongside a seasoned BHS employee – an educator from the Mi’kmaq community in what is now known as Nova Scotia.

The goal of BHS is to meet the needs of youth by providing “culturally responsive, project-based learning while preventing summer learning loss and compensating for school disruptions among students” (Mano en Mano). Migrant families come to Downeast from Mi’kmaq First Nation communities in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, southern states, and from within Maine, including Passamoquoddy communities in eastern Washington County and a Latino community in the western part of the county. Families stay to harvest blueberries anywhere from two to five weeks. With support from 4-H educators, youth surveyed the schoolyard for pollinators, investigated the parts of pollinators and flowers, and learned why blueberries are an important part of Wabanaki culture.

“BHS really becomes a home for the children while they are here. I think one of the reasons is because they are encouraged to be proud of their identity and who they are – they get to be their authentic selves. It’s a neat space where teachers and youth are speaking Mi’kmaq, Passamaquoddy, Spanish and English while supporting each other, and learning and experiencing new things.” — Gabrielle Brodek, 4-H Professional

“After completing my second year helping at Blueberry Harvest School, I loved seeing the returning faces of the kids who have been coming year after year – the kids remember you and hug you and are sad when the season is over and BHS ends.” — Jason Palomo, 4-H Professional

Resources and inspiration for these activities came from NASA Climate Kids, Gulf of Maine Research Institute’s Bees, Blueberries, and Climate Change learning module, National 4-H and ME Ag in the Classroom. On the last day youth experienced how to make a natural dye out of blueberries, a long-standing tradition in Native American culture. Our organizations continue to work together year-round, building stronger relationships and planning for Summer 2025!

The Learning Ecosystems Northeast project is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number NNX16AB94A and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn

Two youth sitting at desks with paper in front of them with an adult educator standing between them.
Educator assisting two youth with paper folding instructions.

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Last Updated
Nov 06, 2024
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      The Kirara incubator used for experiments in microgravity. United Arab Emirates/Sultan Alneyadi Insights from observations of an X-ray binary star

      Researchers used Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) to observe the timing of 15 X-ray bursts from 4U 1820–30, an ultracompact X-ray binary (UCXB) star. An X-ray binary is a neutron star orbiting a companion from which it takes matter. If confirmed with future observations, this result makes 4U 1820–30 the fastest-spinning neutron star known in an X-ray binary system and provides insights into the physics of neutron stars.

      NICER makes high-precision measurements of neutron stars (the ultra-dense matter created when massive stars explode as supernovas) and other phenomena to increase our understanding of the universe. NICER has monitored 4U 1820–30 since its launch in June 2017. A short orbital period indicates a relatively small binary system, and 4U 1820–30 has the shortest known orbital period among low-mass X-ray binaries.

      Animated image of a binary star system,NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris SmithView the full article
    • By NASA
      5 min read
      Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
      NASA’s EMIT collected this hyperspectral image of the Amazon River in northern Brazil on June 30 as part of an effort to map global ecosystem biodiversity. The instrument was originally tasked with mapping minerals over deserts; its data is now being used in research on a diverse range of topics. NASA/JPL-Caltech The imaging spectrometer measures the colors of light reflected from Earth’s surface to study fields such as agriculture, hydrology, and climate science.
      Observing our planet from the International Space Station since July 2022, NASA’s EMIT (Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation) mission is beginning its next act.
      At first the imaging spectrometer was solely aimed at mapping minerals over Earth’s desert regions to help determine the cooling and heating effects that dust can have on regional and global climate. The instrument soon added another skill: pinpointing greenhouse gas emission sources, including landfills and fossil fuel infrastructure.
      Following a mission extension this year, EMIT is now collecting data from regions beyond deserts, addressing topics as varied as agriculture, hydrology, and climate science.
      Imaging spectrometers like EMIT detect the light reflected from Earth, and they separate visible and infrared light into hundreds of wavelength bands — colors, essentially. Scientists use patterns of reflection and absorption at different wavelengths to determine the composition of what the instrument is observing. The approach echoes Isaac Newton’s prism experiments in 1672, in which the physicist discovered that visible light is composed of a rainbow of colors.
      Perched on the International Space Station, NASA’s EMIT can differentiate between types of vegetation to help researchers understand the distribution and traits of plant communities. The instrument collected this data over the mid-Atlantic U.S. on April 23.NASA/JPL-Caltech “Breakthroughs in optics, physics, and chemistry led to where we are today with this incredible instrument, providing data to help address pressing questions on our planet,” said Dana Chadwick, EMIT’s applications lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. 
      New Science Projects
      In its extended mission, EMIT’s data will be the focus of 16 new projects under NASA’s Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES) program, which funds science investigations at universities, research institutions, and NASA.
      For example, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service are exploring how EMIT can assess climate-smart agricultural practices. Those practices — winter cover crops and conservation tillage — involve protecting cropland during non-growing seasons with either living plants or dead plant matter to prevent erosion and manage nitrogen.
      Imaging spectrometers are capable of gathering data on the distribution and characteristics of plants and plant matter, based on the patterns of light they reflect. The information can help agricultural agencies incentivize farmers to use sustainable practices and potentially help farmers manage their fields. 
      “We’re adding more accuracy and reducing error on the measurements we are supplying to end users,” said Jyoti Jennewein, an Agricultural Research Service research physical scientist based in Fort Collins, Colorado, and a project co-lead.
      The USGS-USDA project is also informing analytical approaches for NASA’s future Surface Biology and Geology-Visible Shortwave Infrared mission. The satellite will cover Earth’s land and coasts more frequently than EMIT, with finer spatial resolution.
      Looking at Snowmelt
      Another new project will test whether EMIT data can help refine estimates of snowpack melting rates. Such an improvement could inform water management in states like California, where meltwater makes up the majority of the agricultural water supply.
      Imaging spectrometers like EMIT measure the albedo of snow — the percentage of solar radiation it’s reflecting. What isn’t reflected is absorbed, so the observations indicate how much energy snow is taking in, which in turn helps with estimates of snow melt rates. The instruments also discern what’s affecting albedo: snow-grain size, dust or soot contamination, or both.
      For this work, EMIT’s ability to measure beyond visible light is key. Ice is “pretty absorptive at near-infrared and the shortwave infrared wavelengths,” said Jeff Dozier, a University of California, Santa Barbara professor emeritus and the project’s principal investigator.
      Other ROSES-funded projects focus on wildflower blooming, phytoplankton and carbon dynamics in inland waters, ecosystem biodiversity, and functional traits of forests.
      Dust Impacts
      Researchers with EMIT will continue to study the climate effects of dust. When lofted into the air by windstorms, darker, iron-filled dust absorbs the Sun’s heat and warms the surrounding air, while lighter-colored, clay-rich particles do the opposite. Scientists have been uncertain whether airborne dust has overall cooling or warming effects on the planet. Before EMIT, they could only assume the color of particles in a region.
      The EMIT mission is “giving us lab-quality results, everywhere we need to know,” said Natalie Mahowald, the mission’s deputy principal investigator and an Earth system scientist at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Feeding the data into Earth system computer models, Mahowald expects to get closer to pinpointing dust’s climate impact as Earth warms.
      Greenhouse Gas Detection
      The mission will continue to identify point-source emissions of methane and carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gases most responsible for climate change, and observations are available through EMIT’s data portal and the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center.
      The EMIT team is also refining the software that identifies and measures greenhouse-gas plumes in the data, and they’re working to streamline the process with machine-learning automation. Aligning with NASA’s open science initiative, they are sharing code with public, private, and nonprofit organizations doing similar work.
      “Making this work publicly accessible has fundamentally pushed the science of measuring point-source emissions forward and expanded the use of EMIT data,” said Andrew Thorpe, the JPL research technologist heading the EMIT greenhouse gas effort.
      More About EMIT
      The EMIT instrument was developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California. Launched to the International Space Station in July 2022, EMIT is on an extended three-year mission in which it’s supporting a range of research projects. EMIT’s data products are available at the NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center for use by other researchers and the public.
      To learn more about the mission, visit:
      https://earth.jpl.nasa.gov/emit/
      How the new NISAR satellite will track Earth’s changing surface A planet-rumbling Greenland tsunami seen from above News Media Contacts
      Andrew Wang / Jane J. Lee
      Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
      626-379-6874 / 818-354-0307
      andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov / jane.j.lee@jpl.nasa.gov
      2024-159
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      Last Updated Nov 14, 2024 Related Terms
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