Fairmont, WV – Now Calling All West Virginia Teachers, Coaches and Students: Register for the Annual Real World Design Challenge
On Saturday, September 25th, from 12-3 pm, West Virginia is kicking off the “Governor’s Challenge” at an information and training session to be held at Cabell Midland High School (CMHS), in Ona, WV.
The Real World Design Challenge is FREE! The Challenge is free to teachers and students. Each teacher gets $1 million in professional engineering software and free training, and teams get access to professional mentors. In West Virginia, the competition is endorsed by Governor Manchin, organized by the NASA IV&V Facility Educator Resource Center, and supported by the Mid Atlantic Aerospace Complex (MAAC), the National Energy Technology Laboratory, and the June Harless Center for Rural Educational Research and Development. The winning WV team will receive a free trip to Washington D.C. to compete in the national challenge.
The goal is no less than to transform STEM education in the United States by engaging students in an authentic problem-based learning experience and providing them with professional engineering resources, connecting them with local experts and mentors, and holding the bar high to see just how far they can take the project. Each year teams design components of an aircraft (wing, tail, fuselage, etc.) using 3-D CAD software, conduct virtual wind-tunnel testing, perform an analysis of their design using tools from NASA, and learn firsthand how the engineering design process is applied in real life. The annual high school competition is run by a public-private partnership with the goal of sustainably increasing the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce.
The annual Real World Design Challenge is now accepting teams. On Saturday, September 25th, from 12-3 pm, West Virginia is kicking off the “Governor’s Challenge” at an information and training session to be held at Cabell Midland High School (CMHS), in Ona, WV, for teachers, coaches. (Young people may attend with their teachers and/or coaches. You will be given free software for your school for use in any STEM project. Last year’s winning team from CMHS will present its research and design, a MAAC education specialist and engineer will provide a brief training on how to use the free CAD tools, and the state coordinator will provide copies of the coach’s guide and software, and will also demonstrate how to register your team, request a mentor, and access the online training materials. For this kick-off event, please bring a PC laptop you can install the software onto.
Pre-Register NOW for the Kick Off Event! Contact the NASA IV&V ERC to register by email (todd.ensign@ivv.nasa.gov) or phone 304-367-8438
Register Your Team Today! You may register a team by visiting www.realworlddesignchallenge.org and clicking on Teachers/Coaches.
For more information about NASA IV&V, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/ivv/home/index.html
For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
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Kat Millson, Public Affairs Officer
NASA Independent Verification and Validation Facility
Fairmont, West Virginia
kathleen.m.millson@nasa.gov