NASA Explorer Schools (NES) are handing out extra-credit assignments. The agency selected eight education-related proposals for NES teams. They will provide additional professional development opportunities, instructional materials and technology tools for NES administrators, teachers, students and their families.

NASA solicited proposals from education organizations to improve classroom management and safety; design NASA-related mathematics activities; or provide tools to support the design and development of technology applications to support classroom learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

“These proposals personify NASA’s commitment to foster new learning environments and techniques to spark the interest, inspiration and imagination of students and help them seize opportunities to venture to the moon, Mars and new worlds beyond,” said NASA’s Chief Education Officer, Dr. Adena Williams Loston.

NASA received 34 proposals. Each selected proposal will receive funding of up to $500,000 over the two-year grant period. Selected proposals:

  • “NASA Explorer Schools Pre-Algebra” by The Collaborative for High Education, San Jose, Calif.
  • “Math to the Moon…and Beyond” by Cislunar Aerospace, Inc, San Francisco
  • “Visual Instruction Support for Inquiry-based Odysseys in the NASA Explorer Schools” by Center for Image Processing in Education, Tucson, Ariz.
  • “Sustained Professional Development for NASA Explorer Schools” by Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley; Berkeley, Calif.
  • “Live, Short Courses for NASA Explorer Schools” by U.S. Satellite Laboratory, Tarrytown, N.Y.
  • “Retool and Enhance” by West Liberty State College, Wheeling, W.Va.
  • “Institute Symposia: Maximizing NASA Explorer Schools Professional Development Opportunities” by National Science Teachers Association, Arlington, Va.
  • “Space Academy for NASA Explorer School Teachers” by U.S. Space & Rocket Center Foundation, Huntsville, Ala.

The NES Program is a three-year partnership between NASA and selected schools that offers opportunities and materials for teachers to spark student interest in science and math. Students, parents, teachers and education administrators from diverse communities in 46 states and the District of Columbia have participated. The NES program has provided more than 80,000 U.S. elementary, middle and high school students with information and interactive activities about future careers to pursue the fulfillment of the Vision for U.S. Space Exploration.

The Vision for U.S. Space Exploration is a bold new course into the cosmos. It is a journey that will return the Space Shuttle safely to flight, complete the construction of the International Space Station, take humans back to the moon and eventually to Mars and beyond.

For information about the NES on the Internet, visit:

http://explorerschools.nasa.gov

For information about NASA education programs on the Internet, visit:

http://education.nasa.gov

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov