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| The Orientation Center includes two major activities. First, students tour the village through a combination of computer graphics and audio and video clips. Next, students try introductory activities that show how to use the facilities, tools, and resources. |
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| The Conference Room contains the 10 research questions that teachers may assign or students may select. |
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| The Observatory has a simulated telescope control panel to take images of various objects at a variety of wavelengths. It simulates observation from a variety of sites. Students can also browse through an archive of more than 300 images. |
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| The Library contains an electronic catalog and search tools, the illustrated COTF Times newspaper, and a collection of NASA publications on various aspects of astronomy. There are also 150 articles in the library. |
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| The Computer Lab gives students access to an image processing program, simulation program, simulated e-mail, and telecommunications program that connect students to the NASA Classroom of the Future™ and NASA SpaceLink. |
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| The Hands-On Lab contains directions for conducting experiments on and off the computer. There are more than 25 hands-on experiments that teach, illustrate, or reinforce astronomical concepts. |
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| The Auditorium provides students with 5 to 10 minute talks by astronomers, presented by means of audio recordings, illustrative computer graphics, video clips, and images. |
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| The Cafeteria is used by students to overhear astronomers informally talking about why they chose astronomy as a career, what being an astronomer is like, and what it means to be engaged in scientific inquiry. Many of the conversations, menus, and wall decorations are meant to be humorous. |
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| The Press Conference at the end of each investigation lets students answer questions from the press. Sometimes the simplest questions are the hardest to answer! |
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