Giving is Good

Gordon Gecko was wrong. Greed is not good. Giving is Good. Sandy Eulitt Stellar Experiences is a socially responsible company. We like to think of ourselves as a Ben and Jerry’s or a Tom’s Shoes. We prove it every day through our Volunteering Requirement and Philosophy. Every one of our staff members gives back to the community in some way, with Sandy leading the charge. In the last five years alone, she has volunteered over 2000 hours to community outreach programs in space, astronomy and STEM Education; teacher training programs; and programs designed to increase math and science literacy. Sandy’s bio demonstrates her qualifications and commitment to furthering STEM Education and science literacy for people of all ages and backgrounds. This OECD Math and Science Skills report discusses the status of math and science skills in American schools against their International counterparts.

Your purchase from our online store or donation today funds:

• free or very low cost physics, math, chemistry and astronomy tutoring for low income students
• laptops and other instructional resources for socioeconomically disadvantaged learners of all ages
• Educational outreach and Informal Education events
• Community events, like Blood Moon eclipse, comet viewing and trips to Space Shuttle Endeavor in Los Angeles

Some of Sandy’s past Volunteer projects include:

Space Shuttle Endeavor

A lifelong space devotee, Sandy led groups to the September 2012 Space Shuttle Endeavor Flyovers and Landing events at LAX, as well as trips to the California Science Center to see it up close and personal. She answered questions on the future of NASA, the history of the space shuttle, history of the manned spaceflight program, the forthcoming Space Launch System (SLS) booster and Orion crew capsule, commercial spaceflight program, space tourism, NASA funding challenges, missions to Mars, the Moon and/or an asteroid, and much, much more, all just for the cost of getting there.

NASA GEN

The NASA Galileo Educator’s Network (GEN) is a NASA funded teacher professional development program managed by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Sandy served as assistant director and organizer for their training in May, 2012.

Project Astro

Project ASTRO™ is a national program that improves the teaching of astronomy and physical science by linking professional and amateur astronomers with local educators. Sandy’s involvement spans several years, serving as both professional astronomer, assisting a local teacher with the teaching of her physics and astronomy curriculum, as well as functioning as assistant director for the San Diego region, and one of the trainers.

Solana Santa Fe Space Sciences Day

Solana Santa Fe Elementary is a local school which conducts a Space Sciences Day each spring, at the behest of their beloved science teacher. They felt it was very important to have a woman representing careers in space science and STEM Education, and Sandy happily obliged, being the only female exhibitor there.

 

San Diego Air and Space Museum Space Day

San Diego Air and Space Museum, California’s official air and space museum and an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institute’s National Air and Space Museum, conducts Space Day each May, inviting local aeronautics and space related companies to conduct experiments and demonstrations designed to inspire students to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) careers. An astronaut is always part of the fun, and, in 2012, Sandy got to meet Astronaut Woody Springs

Julian Starfest 2009

SkyClops™ treated over 1200 attendees at the 2009 Julian Starfest Free Public Star Party to celestial delights not visible through most other telescopes. Those enduring the long lines and cold temperatures heard Sandy answer astronomy and space questions til well past midnight, helping each person on and off an 11 foot ladder, and explaining, often with humor, the science behind the Andromeda Galaxy, Whirlpool Galaxy, Jupiter and Galileo’s discovery and use of its four large moon in proving the Copernican model of the Solar System, and faint nebulae in Sagittarius, amongst others.

Transit of Venus

The June, 2012 Transit of Venus was the last opportunity in most of our lifetime’s to view this incredibly rare event. One was viewable in 2004 from Italy, and the next one will not occur for at least 100 years. Sandy took advantage of this rare celestial event by hosting a group of people at Lake Poway, near Poway, CA, providing her Celestron 25 x 100 astronomical binoculars, appropriate eyewear, lens coverings, and scientific background for observing the event. 

Saddleback College

Saddleback College is a community college located in Mission Viejo, CA. Over the years, Sandy has volunteered hundreds of hours to the observational astronomy semi annual field trips, “Teach the Teacher” training in observational astronomy, curriculum development and enrichment programs, physics, math, chemistry, and astronomy tutoring, organized planetarium shows, served as the Space Sciences Specialist for the Astronomy and Physics Club, and was an adjunct professor.

Solar Eclipse May, 2012

May, 2012 brought a partial solar eclipse to the skies of San Diego. Running around, handing out the special glasses to anyone who would take them, Sandy showed the partial solar eclipse to a group of people on Coronado Island, answering questions on space and astronomy related questions all the while.

San Diego Space Society

San Diego Space Society is a, now defunct, chapter of the non-profit organization National Space Society. Sandy served as Treasurer, Director of Development, as well as conducted hundreds of hours of education outreach events. Three of the major events were Stars in the Park at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, making her 28″ telescope, SkyClops™, available to the club for observing at the Julian Starfest Free Public Star Party, and the San Diego Science and Engineering Fair. In the latter, Sandy entertained a group of children for hours, by “air launching” their paper rockets. Not to be thwarted by their bicycle-pump launchers breaking, Sandy kept hundreds of children from disappointment by using her own lung power to launch their rockets. She encouraged them to change the fins and escape capsule on each rocket, and measure the distance each traveled with different changes. This taught them experiments, with one mother remarking that her daughter’s school had only 15 minutes per week for science, and that her daughter had learned more science in one afternoon with Sandy than in her entire school year.

Introductory Astronomy Education research, aka. Astronomy 101

Each year, over 250,000 college students nationwide, virtually all of whom are non-science majors, take an introductory astronomy class as a means of fulfilling their physical sciences requirement for graduation. A field of research and national organizations have evolved to determine the best practices of teaching Astronomy 101 to non-science majors. Two of these are Center for Astronomy Education, and Tim Slater, through the University of Wyoming’s Center for Astronomy and Physics Education Research. Sandy has both attended these workshops and, in conjunction with her position at Saddleback College, conducted valuable research in this field.

2 Scientists Walk into a Bar

A take off on an old joke, the Reuben H. Fleet Science Museum recently began conducting this event, pairing two local scientists up at a local watering hole with coasters, a sign, and encouraging people to just walk up, ask a question, and engage the scientist(s) in a conversation about whatever scientific topic is on his or her mind. Designed to increase science literacy and public engagement on science topics, Sandy has happily served as one of the scientists.

AIAA Engineers as Educators

Sandy became an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Certified STEM Emissary by completing the Engineers as Educators workshop and training. Incorporating the skills learned into all her Educational Outreach and Informal Education events has made Sandy a very high demand volunteer.

 

Again, part of the proceeds of every sale goes towards funding volunteer opportunities, tutoring, community events, and Educational Outreach events.  to help our communities gain the skills necessary for a 21st century global economy.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support.[ecwid widgets=”productbrowser minicart” categories_per_row=”3″ grid=”3,3″ list=”10″ table=”20″ default_category_id=”0″ category_view=”grid” search_view=”list” minicart_layout=”attachToCategories”]