Stennis education specialists hosted a pair of recent workshops for area educators, focused on equipping teachers for classroom presentations.
Education specialists conducted a two-day NASA Beginning Engineering, Science and Technology (BEST) workshop June 10-11 for 11 kindergarten-through-sixth-grade educators. The workshop focused on engineering design projects using BEST materials and curriculum. Educators used scientific facts to solve real-life problems. Hands-on activities included designing, building and launching a satellite and egg vehicle, as well as programming a human robot for a mock space challenge.
Stennis specialists, a pre-college lead from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Palmdale, Calif., and a faculty member from California State College-Bakersfield conducted a two-day Weather Academy on June 16-17.
Twenty-one educators for grades 4-12 were introduced to engineering design process and computer programming. The workshop explored NASA’s role in understanding and forecasting of weather, climate, climate changes and their effects on Earth’s systems. Educators participated in classroom hands-on activities and learning strategies.
Workshop presenters included two members of the U.S. Air Force Reserve “Hurricane Hunters” team, who shared their experiences in the study of hurricanes and other major storms. A distance-learning session was held by a NASA Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) scientist to examine HS3-related science questions, including how storms form, what causes rapid changes in storm intensity and how much intensity change is controlled by the environment versus internal processes. A grant writing presentation was delivered, as well as information on learning tools in support of NASA STEM curricula.
Valerie Buckingham
Stennis Space Center
228-688-3898