EDUCATION: BASIC INFORMATION
Students! Have You Considered a NASA Summer Internship? There are many available! Check out the opportunities at: https://blogs.nasa.gov/interns/2023/07/27/the-many-routes-to-a-nasa-internship and https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/internship-programs!
JPL’s Theodore von Kármán Lecture Series is an outstanding educational resource. One recent lecture was “Shake & Bake: How Spacecraft Are Tested to Handle the Harsh Environment of Space,” mentioned below. JPL has posted 115 past von Kármán lectures, covering a wide range of topics; for more on the lecture series, see: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/jpl-and-the-community/lecture-series.
NASA Aeronautics Monthly STEM Newsletter: See the June newsletter here.
NASA eClips: (I love this name!) The NASA eClips program provides “educators with standards-based videos, activities, and lessons to increase STEM literacy, through the lens of NASA.” They have produced materials for grades 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, Student Productions, and more. So, if you are a teacher, or a care-giver looking to supplement your charges’ learning, or even someone wanting to get up on the latest NASA science, by all means check this program out! See: https://nasaeclips.arc.nasa.gov. The eClips website hosts student-produced educational videos created under the Spotlite Design Challenge; for more information about this really cool opportunity, see: https://nasaeclips.arc.nasa.gov/sdchallenge/home! See the latest eClips Newsletter in the Archive: Other Stuff section.
Check out NASA’s Explore Flight “Museum in a Box!” For everyone, especially students in grades 5-12: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/museum-in-a-box-combined-lessons-02-09-11.pdf
Check out the JPL STEM Education website: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu! It has sections aimed at teachers, K-12 students, college students, and getting an internship at JPL. The “Learn” section has a LOT of really good learning activities for your (grand)children and students, and the “Teach” section has a LOT of resources for K-12 teachers and (grand)parents. Don’t miss the “Events” section, either. The JPL team had done a great job in creating wonderful on-line resource for learning at all levels!
NASA Has a First “A” and the mission directorate concerned with “aeronautics” has a number of teacher and learning resources; see: https://www.nasa.gov/aeroresearch/resources.
See also: Ferguson, Robert G., 2013, NASA’s First A: Aeronautics from 1958 to 2008, from the NASA History Series, SP-2012-4412. ISBN 978-1-62683-010-3. It’s available as a free download at: http://www.nasa.gov/ebooks!
NOTE: The latest monthly NASA Aeronautics STEM Newsletter is posted on the A+StW website’s “Archive: Other Stuff” page, see here. Sign up to get your own monthly NASA Aeronautics STEM Newsletter here.
NASA STEM Resources
For Teachers: https://www.nasa.gov/stem/foreducators/k-12/index.html; NASA EXPRESS Newsletter: https://www.nasa.gov/stem/express
For Students: https://www.nasa.gov/stem/express and chat with other students and NASA experts at the NASA STEM Stars page; see: https://www.nasa.gov/stem/nextgenstem/nasa-stem-stars/index.html
For the Media: https://www.nasa.gov/news/media/info/index.html
EXPLORING NASA STEM
Join NASA’s Museum and Informal Education Alliance! For more information, see: https://informal.jpl.nasa.gov/museum/About
NASA has made a major investment in the advancement and promotion of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education. You can check out their offerings at https://www.nasa.gov/stem. See browsing tabs for students and teachers at different grade levels.
STEM for Educators: https://www.nasa.gov/stem/foreducators/k-12/index.html
The NASA Mars 2020 STEM Toolkit could be a valuable resource for teachers, and for lifelong learners as well. See: https://go.nasa.gov/mars-stem-toolkit.
NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement offerings under their NextGen STEM Program:
Small Steps to Giant Leaps: https://www.nasa.gov/stem/nextgenstem/ssgl/index.html
Commercial Crew Program: https://www.nasa.gov/stem/nextgenstem/commercial_crew/index.html
Moon to Mars: https://www.nasa.gov/stem/nextgenstem/moon_to_mars/index.html
STEM on Station: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/stem_on_station/index.html
NASA Aerospace Education Resources
Join NASA’s Aeronautics for Educators Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nasaaeronauticsforeducators
Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate Education Resources: https://www.nasa.gov/aeroresearch/resources
Leveled Readers: https://www.nasa.gov/aeroresearch/resources/leveled-readers
Museum in a Box: https://www.nasa.gov/aeroresearch/resources/museum-in-a-box
NASA Aeronaut-X STEM for Next Gen: https://www.nasa.gov/stem/nextgenstem/aeronaut-x/index.html
STEM Modules for Aeronautics for K-4: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/aero-prek.pdf
STEM Module: Quiet(er) Supersonic Flight: https://www.nasa.gov/aeroresearch/stem/X59
STEM Module: “Seeing” Sound (Educator’s Guide): https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/chevrons-educator-guide-v6.pdf
STEM Module: X-57 Electric Airplane: https://www.nasa.gov/aeroresearch/stem/X57
STEM Module: Advanced Air Mobility: https://www.nasa.gov/aeroresearch/stem/AAM
Astronomy Teaching Aids for the Visually Impaired: NASA recently released the digital files for 3-D printing of tactile models of the Chandra data of X-Ray universe, see: https://chandra.harvard.edu/resources/misc/visually_impaired.html.