Space Consortia In Idaho, Massachusetts, New Mexico And Wyoming
Selected For Education Programs
NASA is partnering with the Space Grant Consortia of Idaho,
Massachusetts, New Mexico and Wyoming in the Summer of Innovation
initiative to use the agency's missions and technology programs to
boost summer learning, particularly for students who are
underrepresented and underperforming in science, technology,
engineering and mathematics, or STEM.
"NASA is partnering with these states in a pilot program to
address our nation's critical science, technology, engineering and
math education needs," said NASA Administrator and former astronaut
Charles F. Bolden. "Summer of Innovation pairs the strengths of the
states with NASA's unique resources to engage more young people and
their teachers and inspire and equip them to excel in these
critical disciplines."
NASA intends to award four cooperative agreements that total
approximately $5.6 million. Awards have a period of performance of
36 months. Local programs are required to develop ways to keep
students and teachers engaged during the school year and to track
student participants' performance through 2012. Awardees are
encouraged to leverage the unique capabilities and resources of
program partners to ensure a sustainable effort following the
period of performance.
Through the Summer of Innovation program, NASA will engage
thousands of middle school teachers and students in stimulating
math and science-based education programs. NASA's goal is to
increase the number of future scientists, mathematicians, and
engineers, with an emphasis on broadening participation of
low-income and minority students. Details of the four pilot
programs for the Summer of Innovation are:
- The Wyoming Space Grant Consortium's proposal for "Powering
STEM Education in Wyoming with Wind Energy" will focus on a
state-wide, intensive, interactive program about climate change and
energy that culminates in the development of fully functional wind
turbines and weather stations with remote monitoring capabilities
for continued research. This project ties aeronautics and climate
change together with wind turbines and provides students with an
understanding of the impact of climate change locally and
globally.
- As part of the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium's proposal for
"Launch and Learn," participating middle school teachers and
students will design and build experiments that study science and
engineering problems in suborbital space. Students will launch
their experiments on a sounding rocket from Spaceport America in
Las Cruces, N.M.
- The Idaho Space Grant Consortium's proposal is a "NASA
Education and STEM Program for Underrepresented Populations." The
program has a strong emphasis on physics and a focus on cultural
relevance and sensitivities. Middle school students in Idaho,
Montana and Utah will be exposed to NASA's planetary science,
robotics, space exploration and aeronautics materials. The
participating students will be from schools on tribal reservations
in Idaho, Montana and Utah, as well as three locations in southern
Idaho.
- The proposal from the Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium will
focus on providing NASA's robotics, Earth and space science,
astrophysics and engineering missions to nine Massachusetts
educational institutions and industries that serve middle school
students and teachers. The project uses innovation in extensive
partnerships to reach a broad and diverse population of students
through intensive summer engagement programs.
The Summer of Innovation will be conducted in a multifaceted
approach that will allow NASA to assess the viability, scalability
and success of the pilot programs. After the Summer of Innovation
concludes, NASA will conduct an analysis to determine the best
practices to build capacity to implement a comprehensive project in
the summer of 2011 and beyond.
NASA used the agency's National Space Grant College and
Fellowship Program to implement the Summer of Innovation pilot. The
Space Grant national network consists of 52 consortia in all 50
states, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico. The network includes 850 affiliates from universities,
colleges, industry, museums, science centers, and state and local
agencies supporting and enhancing science and engineering
education, research and public outreach efforts for NASA's
aeronautics and space projects.