20 freshmen to pilot new ‘Astrobiology’ course About 20 Brewer High School freshmen will be piloting a new freshman science course called Astrobiology this year. Tia Achey, now in her second year at Brewer High School, will teach one section of Astrobiology. Freshmen who don’t take Astrobiology will take either physical science or honors physical science. Ms. Achey says the students will learn about the different sciences—biology, physics, and chemistry—by studying space, stars, the earth, the moon, and other related subjects. “It’s very interdisciplinary,” she says. “It’s mostly physics and chemistry, but there’s also some biology and earth and space science. Basically, every scientific discipline you could think of is touched upon in the course.” Ms. Achey thinks Astrobiology will be “fun to teach” and interesting for students. “It’s set up in a way that I think students will get more of a broad view of science,” she says. “They’ll be more apt to like science in general, rather than just one or two [science] subjects.” Astrobiology was developed by TERC, an educational and development organization in Cambridge, MA., in collaboration with NASA and with funding from the National Science Foundation. TERC says the curriculum combines biology, chemistry, earth and space science and physics in a way that leads students towards scientific exploration of some of the intriguing questions surrounding the origin, search for, and future of life in the universe.The course exposes students to the unfolding story of the search for life beyond Earth. It also features technological tools that encourage inquiry and student research. TERC says the goal of the Astrobiology curriculum is “to engage kids in the process of scientific inquiry . . . by providing a structure for students to explore humankind’s place in the universe.” Ms. Achey has attended two training sessions for Astrobiology teachers at the United Technology Center (UTC) in Bangor. A third session will be held in mid-year to allow Astrobiology teachers from around the state to meet together and compare notes.HOME