Get Ready for the 2023 and 2024 Eclipses!
Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata reads Dr. Bennett’s book
“The Wizard Who Saved the World” from the International
Space Station for the Story Time From Space program.
The Opportunity
A visit from a top-rated author/scientist typically costs thousands of dollars, but astrophysicist/author Jeffrey Bennett is now making it possible for many schools and communities to reduce that cost to zero. Dr. Bennett is not only volunteering his time but in most cases will also pay his own travel costs. It’s all part of his mission to improve STEM education and, in particular, to help everyone prepare for the exciting eclipses coming to the USA: an annular eclipse on Oct. 14, 2023 and a total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.
Dr. Bennett plans to offer a free visit to approximately one community per month (within the USA) during the 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic years. Each visit will consist of some combination of school programs, teacher or community workshops, college faculty colloquia, and at least one public lecture over 1 to 3 days.
Note: Additional, shorter programs (e.g., morning school visit or evening public talk) are possible within Colorado, especially if you are within a drive of an hour or so from Boulder.
The Speaker
Dr. Jeffrey Bennett (Ph.D., Astrophysics, University of Colorado) is the author of seven children’s books, all of which have been selected for the Story Time From Space program; of critically-acclaimed books for the general public including A Global Warming Primer, What is Relativity?, and On Teaching Science; and he is the lead author of college textbooks in astronomy, astrobiology, mathematics, and statistics. Combined, his books have sold more than 2 million copies. Other career highlights include teaching at every level from preschool through graduate school, spending two years as a Visiting Senior Scientist at NASA Headquarters, proposing and co-leading the creation of the Voyage Scale Model Solar System on the National Mall in Washington, DC, creating the free app Totality by Big Kid Science (which he has donated to the American Astronomical Society), and creating a free, online digital textbook for middle school Earth and Space Science. He has been recognized with numerous awards, including the American Institute of Physics Science Communication Award. Dr. Bennett is an acclaimed public speaker for all ages. He has spoken at more than 200 elementary schools, at numerous middle and high schools, at dozens of colleges and universities, and for many groups of scientists, educators, and the public in the U.S. and internationally.
Requesting a Free Visit
Requests for free visits should be made by e-mail to Dr. Bennett (jeff@bigkidscience.com) and should include of the following:
- A proposed schedule for Dr. Bennett, based on the available programs listed below. A visit may last between 1 and 3 days.
- The expected audience size for each of the proposed programs.
- A short statement of how you intend to build community interest in the proposed visit; you are encouraged to include media outreach or other publicity.
- A short statement of how you intend to leverage the proposed visit for greater impact on STEM education.
Winning locations will be selected based primarily on on Dr. Bennett’s judgment of how much impact the visit will have on STEM education, with preference going to underserved populations. Other factors that will play a role will include the logistics and expense of the required travel for Dr. Bennett.
Note: Beyond the limited number of free visits that Dr. Bennett can afford, you may also request a paid visit if your community has budget available. Details on Dr. Bennett’s Events page.
Available Programs
In order to maximize the impact of these visits, Dr. Bennett requests that you plan a program schedule that keeps him busy and engages with as many people as possible. He is always open to new ideas (contact him by email as above), but generally speaking, the programs may include:
- Elementary Schools: Dr. Bennett typically presents two 45-minute assemblies, each consisting of an "interactive reading" of one of his children's books, in which he reads the book and interactively engages students with the science. The assemblies should include the entire school. Currently, he is focusing for grades K-2 on Max Goes to the Moon for grades and for grades 3-5 on his new book on eclipses, Totality! An Eclipse Guide in Rhyme and Science.
- Evening Public Lecture: Dr. Bennett will offer a public evening talk on the upcoming eclipses, designed both to explain the science of eclipses and to inspire everyone about seeing them. He requests that you work to get an audience of at least a couple hundred people, and encourages doing this at a local science center, college or high school auditorium, or theater. For a multi-day visit, you may request a second public talk on global warming, on Einstein’s theory of relativity, or on the scientific search for extraterrestrial life.
- Community Eclipse Preparation: Dr. Bennett can meet with community officials, school administrators, and others to talk about how to prepare your community for the upcoming eclipses. For example, what to expect on eclipse day, how to organize local events, how to make sure schools plan in advance for kids to see the eclipses, etc.
- K-12 Teacher Workshops: Dr. Bennett can offer teacher workshops focused around preparing for the upcoming eclipses along with general principles of science teaching.
- College Faculty Colloquia: Dr. Bennett can offer either or both of two faculty colloquia: (1) “Math for Life: Are You Teaching Students the Math They Really Need?” aimed primarily at faculty in mathematics and statistics; and (2) “The Race Between Education and Catastrophe,” aimed primarily at faculty in science and/or education.
- Other Programs: In addition to the above, Dr. Bennett can offer a variety of programs for middle or high school students, opportunities to meet with undergraduate or graduate students at colleges, talks for corporate audiences or a Chamber of Commerce, and more. See his Events page for more details.
In general, all visits should include at least 1 elementary school and at least 1 public talk. Beyond that, the schedule will depend on your emphasis, per samples below. Again, feel free to keep Dr. Bennett busy; in some past cases he has done as many as 7 events in a single day.
Exception: Within Colorado (and depending on driving time), Dr. Bennett can consider visits for a single event.
For illustrative purposes, here are samples of what a one-day visit might look like depending on if the focus for the day is on K-12 or college/university:
9-10:45am: Elementary School 1
11:30-1:15: Elementary School 2
3-5pm: Community Prep or Teacher Workshop
7pm: Public Lecture
College/University Emphasis
9-10:45am: Elementary School
Noon-1: Math Faculty Colloquium
2-3pm: Coffee Hour with Students
4-5pm: Science/Ed Faculty Colloquium
7pm: Public Lecture
The Fine Print
While there is no financial obligation at all for communities selected under this free visit program, Dr. Bennett requests that you will promote his books by displaying them at events and through your media outreach. Optional: You may work with a local bookseller to make books available for sale during events; schools may also purchase discounted books directly from Dr. Bennett or send home forms for students/parents/teachers to purchase autographed books.