NASA is funding four institutions to develop immersive learning experiences intended to develop STEM ... [+]
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is awarding more than $4 million to four institutions across the U.S. to spark interest in science-technology-engineering-math (STEM) subjects among middle and high school students who are traditionally underserved and underrepresented in STEM fields.
The new Space Grant K-12 Inclusiveness and Diversity in STEM (SG KIDS) program is intended to help students understand they can thrive in STEM subjects, building their confidence that they can successfully pursue STEM degrees and careers.
SG KIDS is a pilot program funded through NASA’s National Space Grant and Fellowship Project. Space Grant is a national network of colleges and universities working with affiliated organizations and institutions to expand opportunities for students to participate in NASA’s aeronautics and space initiatives. In fiscal year 2021, Space Grant awarded $44.5 million in grants to institutions across the 52 Space Grant Consortia located in each of the 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico.
The grants will enable the recipients to create regional STEM engagement projects for students not only in their home states but also for students residing in other states.
“Through Space Grant KIDS, we’ve asked the nation’s Space Grant consortia to deploy educational activities across state lines to share the excitement of NASA and STEM with students who otherwise might not have that opportunity,” said Mike Kincaid, NASA’s associate administrator for the Office of STEM Engagement, which administers NASA Space Grant. “We’re looking forward to seeing how these regional partnerships will make a lasting difference for the Artemis Generation.”
SG KIDS is also a response to a 2021 White House Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. In addition, it addresses NASA Administrator Bill Nelson’s focus on expanding STEM opportunities for K-12 students.
According to NASA’s press release, “the projects funded under SG KIDS will provide students with hands-on experiences and lessons that bring NASA’s missions to life, provide training and resources to the educators teaching those students, and boost the STEM ecosystem in these regions.”
Each of the following four grant recipients will receive approximately $1,050,000 to put their proposals into action during the next three years.
Old Dominion University Research Foundation, Norfolk, Virginia
The NASA Space Grant Plant the Moon Challenge will give students hands-on planetary science experience as they design experiments to grow plants in a simulated lunar soil.
Partners include the Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Puerto Rico Space Grant Consortia, as well as the Institute for Competition Sciences.
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
The Inspiring NASAs Next Generation through Building, Coding, and Machine Learning Missions (NASA ML-Bots) will give middle- and high-school students in Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and Tennessee firsthand experience in machine learning and artificial intelligence as they design and maneuver a robotic rover through an obstacle course.
Partners include the Alabama Space Grant Consortium; University of Tennessee Chattanooga; Morehouse College and the Atlanta University Center; Mercer University in Macon, Georgia; and the Hines Family Foundation.
Ohio Aerospace Institute, Cleveland
The Stepping Stars: A Multi-State Middle and High School Space Grant STEM Engagement Project will introduce middle and high school students to the concepts of biomimicry, an approach that aims to take natural selection solutions that have evolved in nature and translate them into principles and applications of human engineering
Partners include the Ohio, New York, and Nebraska Space Grant Consortia, as well as Akron Zoo, Girl Scouts of North East Ohio, Ithaca Sciencenter, the Nebraska Department of Education, and Nebraska's 21st Century Community Learning Centers.
University of Texas at Austin
Space Teams Labs: Engaging, Inspiring, and Training a Diverse and Inclusive Future STEM Workforce will immerse students in high-fidelity, interactive space mission activities using virtual reality technology. The project aims to provide and install hardware and software for at least 50 Space Team Labs in schools, museums, youth centers, universities, and other locations in Texas, New Mexico and Louisiana .
The SG Kids program was also highlighted by the White House on Friday as part of the second convening of the National Space Council Meeting with Vice President Harris.
