Sarah Treadwell
2025 Limited Opportunity Seed Grant Awardee
Project Description
Ocean World's Roadshow
The Lost City and Icy Worlds: The Ocean World’s Roadshow aims to engage underserved communities with immersive planetarium shows that connect ocean research on Earth to space missions such as NASA’s Europa Clipper. Building on her previous success delivering planetarium shows to nearly 2,000 students, Sarah Treadwell will upgrade to a new portable dome system and partner with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Ocean Worlds Lab to enhance the outreach experience. This initiative addresses barriers to STEM education by bringing interactive shows directly to schools, libraries, nature centers, and other community spaces, particularly in economically disadvantaged areas where field trips are limited.
The project will be implemented in two phases. During the Staging and Preparation phase, Sarah will select and purchase a portable dome system compatible with OpenSpace, a NASA-supported visualization platform that showcases scientific data. Collaborating with JPL’s graphics team, she will integrate visual assets of research vessels and planetary environments into the planetarium show, ensuring an engaging and scientifically accurate narrative. Additionally, she will coordinate with JPL to align the show’s storyline with the Ocean Worlds Roadshow’s educational objectives, which highlight the search for life beyond Earth and the diverse career paths within planetary science.
The Roadshow Implementation phase will expand the reach of OpenSpace by integrating the portable planetarium into JPL’s outreach events at underserved schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. With over half of the district’s students classified as economically disadvantaged, these events will provide free STEM experiences that inspire students to envision themselves as future scientists. Each Roadshow event will include the dome show, live speaking engagements, and hands-on activities designed to make planetary science relatable and accessible. By showcasing the personal journeys of scientists from diverse backgrounds, the program will emphasize that anyone can pursue a career in STEM.
Target Audience Age
| 0-4 | 5-10 | 11-14 | 14-18 | 19-22 | 23-26 | 27-99 |
NASA Division
Planetary
Grant Status
Learning Context
Digital Learning
Neighborhood /
Community
Informal /
Out of School
Home / Family
Citizen Science
Formal Education
SME Bio
By creating immersive experiences that connect ocean research on Earth to the search for life on other worlds, we aim to ignite curiosity, inspire future scientists, and demonstrate that anyone can explore the universe- no matter where they come from.
Sarah Treadwell
Ocean World's Roadshow PI
PhD Student
University of North Dakota
Sarah Treadwell is a Ph.D. student in Communications at the University of North Dakota and a Science Communication Affiliate at the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science. Her passion for astrobiology and space exploration stems from a non-traditional path into science, which has fueled her dedication to sharing the wonders of science with diverse audiences. Sarah has experience as a Communications Officer on the JOIDES Resolution Expedition 399 to the Lost City Hydrothermal Field and as a Crew Journalist at the Mars Desert Research Station. Through her outreach initiatives, she aims to inspire future scientists and demonstrate that anyone, regardless of their background, can pursue a career in science.
SciAct Team
Infiniscope description
Funded in part by NASA, OpenSpace brings the latest techniques from data visualization research to the general public. OpenSpace supports interactive presentation of dynamic data from observations, simulations, and space mission planning and operations. OpenSpace works on multiple operating systems, with an extensible architecture powering high resolution tiled displays and planetarium domes, and makes use of the latest graphic card technologies for rapid data throughput. In addition, OpenSpace enables simultaneous connections across the globe, creating opportunity for shared experiences among audiences worldwide.
