Outreach & Media     

DR. TRACY M. BECKER, PLANETARY SCIENTIST
  • Home
  • Research
  • Media
  • Outreach
  • CV
  • Contact
  • RSO

Astronomy on Tap, San Antonio

​I co-founded and co-organize  Astronomy on Tap SATX events with Dr. Vincent Hue each month in San Antonio since 2017. We host 2 public astro talks, discuss the latest astronomy in the news, and do space trivia, all while drinking beer! These events bring scientists and science fans together over drinks.
 
​Astronomy on Tap is global: find one near you!
Picture
Vincent Hue, me, and Sam Toback, AoT organizers at AoT SATX #5, April 2018.

Picture
AoT SATX #13 at the Witte Museum. February, 2019
Picture
The AoT SATX team with Space Shuttle Commander Col. Eileen Collins after the AoT event celebrating the Chandra X-ray Observatory, launched by STS-93.

girls stem summit 2019
scobee education center

Picture
Picture
Equipped with hand-held spectrometers, these middle school girls measured and plotted the spectra of various colored folders. We talked about how scientists use different wavelengths of light to study objects in space and the destinations of some exciting upcoming NASA missions.

super spring break 2019

Picture
Together with families, we built a bunch of "comets" at the  Witte Museum during Spring Break in their temporary exhibit Planet Pioneers! The kids loved getting their hands dirty and I always have fun playing with dry ice and talking about space!

Skype A Scientist

Picture
Skype a Scientist session with a classroom in Missouri! Most difficult question from a 5th grader: "What is the next step for you in your career?"
Several times a year I participate in the Skype A Scientist program, which connects me to classrooms across the continent, giving students a chance to ask me their questions about a career in STEM and everything they want to know about space.

Día de la Física 2018

Día de la Física is a one-day conference hosted by the National Society for Hispanic Physicists during the annual SACNAS meeting. I lead the local organization for the 2018 event, hosting ~80 undergrads at SwRI for fascinating talks, lab tours, and networking events!
Picture

AGU Voices for science

Picture
AGU Voices for Science program at the AGU Fall Meeting in Washington, DC, Dec. 2018
I am a member of the first American Geophysical Union's Voices for Science program, a program dedicated to supporting and fostering science communication and science policy advocates. 

"Science expert" for britannica kids' encyclopedia

Picture
In 2019-2020, I was a consultant - or "science expert" - on some of the space-themed articles in the new Britcannica Kids' Encyclopledia. If interested, you can already pre-register for it.*
*Note that I do not receive any proceeds/profit from sales.

Lunar Eclipse 2022
Scobee education Center

Picture
The total lunar eclipse on May 15th drew hundreds of people in San Antonio to the top the San Antonio College parking garage to experience the  celestial event together.  As a Solar System Ambassador and advocate for the exciting science at SwRI, we were there to talk about NASA and ESA missions, the moon, craters, and meteorites.

Texas public radio:
think science & Discovery

On August 10th, Texas Public Radio hosted a science-themed day with hands-on experiments presented by science institutions from across San Antonio. We represented SwRI with meteorites, NASA stickers, and build-your-own New Horizons spacecrafts! 
Picture

Evacuate earth - Nat geo

Picture
In 2011 the National Geographic movie "Evacuate Earth" filmed its actor portrayal snippets at the Robinson Observatory at UCF.  My speaking lines in this are in Spanish - its fun to watch.

​NASA
​Solar system ambassadors

Picture
As a NASA Solar System Ambassador, educators from schools, museums and planetariums  can contact me to request talks and presentations about current and past NASA missions. Through this program and others, I regularly give science presentations at schools, Boys & Girls clubs, astronomy events, and even retirement homes! I also provide laboratory tours of SwRI for classes, girl/boy scouts, robotics teams, and physics camps.
Picture

Young engineers & Scientists (YES)

Picture
The Southwest Research Institute has hosted the Young Engineers and Scientists (YES) program every summer for over 25 years. 
This program brings ~20 advanced high school students to our campus for 2.5 weeks, where they experience many facets of the science and engineering work at SwRI. The students also select mentors for the following school year. 3 years ago, I co-developed and continue to implement a spectroscopy section, giving the students a hands-on project to learn about remote sensing. 
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Research
  • Media
  • Outreach
  • CV
  • Contact
  • RSO