RICHMOND, Va. Virginia high school students can compete for a place on teams that will chart a mission to Mars this summer.
NASA Langley Research Center Director Lesa B. Roe today announced the creation of the Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars, an educational program with online coursework and an all-expense-paid residential summer academy open to high school juniors in the Commonwealth. The announcement highlighted Virginias annual Aerospace Day at the General Assembly in Richmond.
NASA is working now to take this country back to the moon and on to other points in the solar system. It will be our young people in school today who are the ones who will carry out this vision, said Roe. The skills Virginia students will learn and refine during this program are invaluable to a future workforce needed by the Commonwealth and the nation to address challenges in science and technology. NASA wants to provide an opportunity for students throughout Virginia to discover their talents and we want to shine a light on them as superstars.
Managed by the Virginia Space Grant Consortium (VSGC), with support from the Virginia Department of Education, the Virginia Scholars program uses a space exploration theme to enhance student interest and capabilities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines.
Offered via the Internet from April through June 2008, the interactive course consists of ten lessons and a final project that allow students to build their knowledge of NASA, Americas space exploration goals and key STEM skills. Master educators will work with students online, providing guidance and feedback on assignments, quizzes and each participants final project. Upon successful completion of the coursework, scholars will spend six days with educators, scientists, engineers and technology mentors at NASAs Langley Research Center, July 27 through Aug. 1, 2008. There they will divide into teams, challenged with solving how to get to, live and work on, and integrate a manned mission to Mars.
We are excited about this partnership with NASA that will allow Virginia students statewide to be considered for participation in the program, said VSGC Director Mary Sandy. Through the standards-based curriculum and summer academy experience, students will be immersed in the work of NASA and will interact personally with NASA engineers, scientists and technologists.
The pilot program is an outgrowth of a successful NASA-based initiative designed at Johnson Space Center in Houston. The Texas program and its Virginia counterpart demonstrate NASAs commitment to inspiring the next generation of explorers and to preparing the workforce of the future.
NASA is funding the pilot program and the VSGC is requesting that the Commonwealth of Virginia contribute funding to continue and expand the program in the next two years.
The Virginia Scholars program is open to high school juniors throughout Virginia. Forty students will be accepted. The application deadline is March 14, 2008.
For additional information on the Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars pilot program or to apply, visit:
Mary Sandy
Virginia Space Grant Consortium
757-766-5210, 218-4496 (mobile)
msandy@odu.edu
Marny Skora
NASA Langley Research Center
757-864-3315, 344-6111 (mobile)
marny.skora@nasa.gov
