The Educational Collaborators for the Planck Mission in North America are developing materials for use in elementary science education, introductory college physics, as well as public outreach and general information about the mission. These materials are designed to be easily accessed by teachers and studnts, to give a clear understanding of how we learn about the conditions which prevailed in the very early Universe, as well as fundamental physics, by carefully measuring the minute fluctuations in the temperature of space.

Our focus as professors of physics, astronomy, cosmology, and education, is to bring not only information about this exciting mission to the education community, but to develop curricula in both observational astronomy and contemporary physics, that will provide the education community with the conceptual foundation to truly understand the important results of this mission.

In addition, this page will be updated with information for teachers and students about the launch, which is expected in mid-January, 2008, as well as information about workshops and public talks within the continental U.S. which may be attended by teachers and students for FREE.

• The Universe Adventure at U.C. Berkeley

  A beautiful tutorial about cosmology, patterned after the Particle Adventure, developed at the University of California, Berkeley. Suitable for beginning students in cosmology of all ages, and for teachers who want to develop easy-to-implement classroom activities.

• Planck General Educational Materials at U.C. Santa Barbara

  General overview of the mission: science objectives, orbital parameters, and scientific instruments, followed by a tutorial on understanding the CMB Power Spectrum and Polarization.

• Labs for a Lambda-Dominated Universe at U.C. Santa Barbara

  This is a set of activities designed to teach students about the basics of cosmology, with readings, references, modeling exercises, and image processing activities. Suitable for undergraduates with some physics background, for advanced high school students, or for teachers who want to develop a more in-depth knowledge of the subject.

• Symmmetry and Aesthetics in Contemporary Physics at U.C. Santa Barbara

  This is the first quarter of an introductory interdisciplinary physics course that is based on symmetry and contemporary physics, and provides a good foundation for a more in-depth treatment of cosmology.

• Observing the Universe at Purdue University

  This unit was developed by undergraduate physics and education majors, with Professor Laura Cayon of Purdue University, for third grade students and teachers. Here you will find lesson plans, lab activities for observing the universe with "naked eyes" and evaluation tools for teachers.

• Cosmology "at" Home at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagne

  Contribute to CMB research with your own PC! Download software which will allow your computer to be used to calculate CMB power spectra with varying model parameters. When you are not using your computer, you can lend its CPU time to this distributed computing project. Join a team or form your own, and collaborate with others. It's free, fascinating, fun, and educational!