Report from Headquarters
Space Foundation Inspires Kids at STEMapalooza
Written by: developer
The Space Foundation headed north to Denver last month, taking some favorite educational activities for children in kindergarten through 12th grade to STEMapalooza. The two-day event, free and open to the public, Oct. 16 and 17, at the Colorado Convention Center, featured more than 100 exhibitors from around the state of Colorado, supporting science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs for students and educators.
The event was sponsored by the Colorado Convention Center, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, the Colorado Workforce Development Council, Lockheed Martin, The Center for Applied Science and Mathematics for Innovation and Competitiveness (CASMIC), and Girls Exploring Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (GESTEM).
Approximately 7,500 participants attended, including 4,500 students of all ages from around the state. Friday’s events included a luncheon with keynote speakers, former NASA Astronaut and NASA Deputy Administrator Col. Fred Gregory, USAF (Retired), and Colorado Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien.
STEMapalooza gave students, parents, and teachers an opportunity to explore hands-on, minds-on activities, including fast-track racing, robotics, gaming, film production, staging, and rocketry. The event also provided businesses with a setting to network with other industry leaders, engage policy makers in discussion, and learn more about STEM initiatives throughout Colorado.
The Space Foundation offered activities for elementary through high school grade levels, including:
- Stomp Rockets, air-powered rockets for children in kindergarten through second grade
- Spacesuit Design Challenge, for third through fifth graders
- Build a Space Station, for fifth through eighth graders
- Build a Satellite Activity, for high schoolers
On Saturday the team offered an activity for all ages: Glovebox Experiments, similar to the manual dexterity tasks on the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station.
Read more about Space Foundation education programs here.
This article is part of Space Watch: November 2009 (Volume: 8, Issue: 11).