Supporting Space and STEM Education in the DC Region
Some of the initiatives recently financed by the Education Fund are highlighted below:
Giving Students and Teachers a Lifetime Experience – Attending Space Camp
WSBR has continued its successful partnership with The INSPIRE Project to send local middle school students and teachers to the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL. The Space Camp experience is a week of intellectually and physically challenging learning and fun. Campers develop science, math, and leadership skills and take away a sense of accomplishment and teamwork nearly impossible to replicate in a classroom. Space Camp makes an impact on students and teachers alike: shaping career aspirations and inspiring new teaching methods. Teachers return from Space Camp armed with innovative approaches to STEM education that they will apply for years to come. For students,
the lessons learned at Space Camp stay with them throughout their lives. A WSBR-sponsored team won the Outstanding Team Award at graduation of a past competition, and student, parent and teacher feedback on the experience has been enthusiastic.
In 2016, WSBR is continuing and expanding access to Space Camp for Washington-area participants: sponsoring students and a teacher to attend the Advanced Space Academy for Educators one-week program – and for the first time, supporting Maury Elementary, a public school in Washington, DC, to send an entire 5th-grade class to Space Camp.
Supporting the Challenger Center
WSBR has a multi-year commitment to support the Challenger Center for Space Science Education on an exciting project for the Department of Education’s Investing in Innovation (i3) program. The four-year, multi-million dollar grant enables Challenger Center to leverage its state-of-the-art technology to bring simulation learning opportunities into classrooms throughout the mid-Atlantic region. The grant includes teacher training, real-time assessment of students and third party evaluation of methodologies.
The Solar Systems Challenge – at NASA Goddard
One of WSBR’s biggest success stories is Thurman Jones, the President of the Patriots Technology Training Center in Seat Pleasant, MD, an organization whose mission is to empower students through technology. Thurman was inspired by his WSBR/INSPIRE-sponsored trip to Space Academy for Educators to create an annual, space-related competition for local students at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. WSBR has been proud to support this competition that has involved hundreds of students in space research projects over the last three years. We are proud to announce that we once again will be providing this year’s winning team of the annual Solar System Competition with a trip to Space Camp!
Supporting Rocketry Clubs – Partnering with Companies for Causes
To make sure we get the most leverage from our education fund, WSBR partners with other charitable organizations sharing similar missions. For example, we have joined with Companies for Causes in its mission to leverage corporate resources to improve educational opportunities in local communities. This year WSBR joined Companies for Causes to help bring rocketry clubs to schools within the Eastern High School community. This successful partnership is enabling Eastern and other schools to participate in the Team America Rocketry Challenge this spring. methodologies.
