NASA Field Trip Inspires Future Careers in STEM & Space Industry
Club members from our River City Science Academy and Southwind Villas Boys & Girls Clubs recently enjoyed a unique STEM field trip to Kennedy Space Center. The Students To Launch educational program, sponsored by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) in collaboration with NASA, provided an opportunity for our Club members to hear from two astronauts, including Winston Scott who gave them signed autographs.
Through the expertise of NASA’s educators and curriculum, our young people also participated in two hands-on STEM activities designed to engage them in the engineering and technological aspects of rocket launches and to inspire them to pursue a career in the space industry or another STEM-related field.
In the first STEM activity, our Club members built rockets that they launched, with some reaching up to 165 feet! In the second challenge, our young people built a heat shield model to protect a piece of candy from melting from the heat of a hair dryer.
This amazing STEM field trip was planned to culminate in the launch of a real rocket. Although launch was postponed for Artemis I, NASA’s latest uncrewed Moon-orbiting mission, our young people were still able to visit the Banana Creek viewing area and see the launch site.
The following Club members are shown during their visit to Kennedy Space Center:
Ari'Ana C., Brianna C., Brooke C., Ciel A., Dylan G., Gavin C., Julian D., Kamyrn B., Maksym S., Matthew W., Micaiah L., Nicole C., Noahl D., Sofia K., Zahara M., and Zironi S.
About Students to Launch:
Students To Launch (S2L) is an AIAA-led STEM education initiative designed to engage thousands of students with the engineering and technological marvels of rocket launches, expose them to the challenges and triumphs of launching humans and payloads into space, and inspire them to pursue a career in the space industry or another STEM-related field.
Working with informal education institutions serving as hubs across the country, such as museums, science centers, youth-serving institutions, and libraries, S2L invites middle school students to participate in hands-on space-based STEM activities that relate directly to space exploration. This custom content introduces participants to the challenges and excitement of living and working in space while following core science standards for STEM-based learning.