Author: Adrienne Provenzano
Affiliation: NASA Solar System Ambassadors
Country: United States
Title: NASA Solar System Ambassadors: How Empowered Volunteer Educational Outreach, Advances the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
NASA Solar System Ambassadors (SSA) is an education and public outreach program
run by JPL-CalTech. Astronomy is at the heart of the program. There are now 900 ambassadors representing all 50 states
in the United States, as well as in Washington, D.C. and several U.S. territories. The SSA program is a well-structured
and effective program which empowers individuals interested in NASA missions to learn and share information with the
general public, primarily through free programming involving hands-on activities. As of June 12, 2018, SSA’s had hosted
40,000 in-person events reaching 9 million people. During the Eclipse Across America event on August 21, 2017, there
were 374 SSA events, and both direct and indirect impact totaled over 2 million people.
Ambassadors receive free professional development regularly with experts working on NASA missions. Recent training
sessions have addressed accessibility issues as well as gender equity. The SSA program is a dynamic platform for
enabling inclusion, diversity, equity, and empathy as regards astronomy for society. The volunteers are a diverse
group of women and men of various ages committed to engaging the public regarding NASA missions.
In this presentation, I will share my personal experiences as an ambassador since 2014, as well as the efforts of
other SSA’s. I have directly experienced the impact hands-on outreach has on making astronomy education available
to a wide spectrum of people, through presentations at libraries, schools, performing arts centers, a nature center,
and a state park, as well as at national and international conference. I will share excerpts from my June 2019
presentation at the SciAccess conference at The Ohio State regarding the role of arts and humanities and the
International Space Station in advancing accessibility in science education and career development. Also included
will be details on the October 2017, UNOOSA and UN Office of Women’s “Space For Women” Expert Meeting focused
on the SDG’s of quality education and gender equity at which I spoke as an SSA about the value of the
arts and humanities in providing pathways for girls and women in STEM fields.