NASA is preparing the next generation for careers in STEM. The Discovery Center in Springfield is one of 18 organizations across the country helping.
The nonprofit recently announced it's been awarded $250 thousand as part of NASA’s STEM Innovator Awards. It will designate the education space as a regional innovation hub. The award is meant to help develop informal STEM education experiences for kids. NASA describes awardees as “regional hubs, building partnerships and networks to advance innovative informal STEM education practices.”
The Discovery Center will use their money to develop curriculum and educator training as well as an exhibit, all focused on the moon to mars program. NASA’s long-term mission to return to the moon and from there reach mars.
During an event for the announcement, the Discovery Center’s vice president of education Riana Clark, said that the vision for the project began with a question about how they could do something new.
“How could we get all of our kids in Missouri to engage with the Discovery Center without transportation or their location being a barrier?” Clark explained.
Clark said the curriculum will be virtual and accessible to schools and informal educators, with support for educators. It was described as a “build-your-own" experience that will put 5th through 8th graders in the driver’s seat of the Moon to Mars mission.
“What does it look like to build our tools on a lunar base?” Clark asked, describing the curriculum. “What does it look like to stay on Mars? And how do we return home? They will have big questions, and they will have to account for some big challenges.”
The Discovery Center's CEO Tyler Moles connected the project with the prospect of future careers in the space industry and Springfield’s current role in the field, including at Positronic Industries.
The Discovery Center shared information for educators interested in being a part of the project.