The Virginia Space Coast Scholars (VSCS) program returned to Wallops Monday, Aug 10, for the second and final weeklong Summer Academy session of 2015 with 42 students.
The first session also had 42 students and ran July 27 – 31.
Designed through a collaborative program of the Virginia Space Grant Consortium and NASA, VSCS is funded by the Commonwealth of Virginia’s General Assembly to provide free, unique, two-phased experiential learning for qualifying high school sophomores interested in pursuing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers.
The first phase is an on-line program presented January – April where students learn about NASA earth and space science missions and develop project management skills. Based on performance in this phase, select students are invited to the second phase: a residential Summer Academy at Wallops where they are work on an engineering design project with NASA mentors.
“We assemble mentors across many disciplines at Wallops who support the students with special activities,” stated Patricia Benner, Wallops VSCS liaison. “These include ‘Lunch and Learns,’ where they are guided by experts on how to polish their team presentations and how to apply for high school and college internships as well as tours of Wallops Range Control Center and the rocket launch pads at Wallops Island.”
Each Summer Academy session culminates with student teams presenting capstone “Mega Mission” projects and participating in a panel discussion. The NASA Wallops Visitor Center then hosts the VSCS Academy students and their families for a closing ceremony and capstone project exhibition on the final day of each Summer Academy.
The VSCS website has additional information on the general requirements for the program and information for future opportunities: www.vscs.spacegrant.org.
This is the program’s third year at Wallops.
Anne Garcia
757-824-1298
anne.l.garcia@nasa.gov