As we continue to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we're excited to spotlight the amazing achievements and contributions of Hispanic Americans to NASA's missions.
Bring the celebration to your classroom with the websites, activities, and resources below.
| | Space Station Research Resources | | NASA Aeronautics News and Resources | | New Spanish-language NASA Podcast | | Mark your calendar to stay up to date with these upcoming events to make timely STEM connections!
Thursday, Oct. 5: Watch the Psyche mission launch to a metal-rich asteroid
| | Professional Development Opportunities | | Audience: K-12 educators Event Date: Thursday, Oct. 5, at 7 p.m. EDT The Sun not only impacts our lives here on Earth, but it also affects the astronauts on the International Space Station. Join us for this online professional development session as we explore the STEMonstration: Solar Energy video. Learn how solar panels on the space station track the Sun and power the orbiting laboratory. Find innovative ways to encourage students to collaborate and think critically about solar science with activities that use NASA satellite data on solar energy. Attendees will receive NASA STEM engagement resources, videos, and a presentation to bring into their classroom. Registration closes on Wednesday, Oct. 4. Click here to register. | | Audience: Educators of grades 2-6 Webinar Date: Thursday, Oct. 26, at 4 p.m. EDT Surprisingly STEM is a video series that highlights exciting and unexpected careers at NASA. Join us for a monthly live session with Q&A focused on a specific episode and related activity. This month, get wrapped up in learning about Paula Cain, a themal blanket technician at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Find out why things sent into space need to be protected by a thermal blanket, and hear how two of her passions – fashion design and Star Trek – were interwoven into an exciting career at NASA.
Registration closes on Sunday, Oct. 8. Click here to register. | | Connect With Astronauts in Space | | Audience: All educators, informal institutions, and youth organizations Proposal Deadline: Nov. 10 On Sunday, Oct. 1, ARISS-US will begin accepting proposals from U.S. schools, museums, and community youth organizations (working individually or together) to host an amateur radio contact with an astronaut aboard the International Space Station between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2024. To maximize these events, ARISS-US is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. Radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes. Visit the site for proposal guidelines and forms. | | Audience: All U.S. educators and administrators Proposal Deadline: Nov. 14
NASA Next Gen STEM is currently accepting proposals for U.S.-based education organizations to host a downlink during International Space Station Expedition 71, which runs March to September 2024. In-flight education downlinks are 20-minute live video Q&A opportunities for students and educators to interact with astronauts aboard the station. | | In-person Educator Training Event | | Audience: Teachers of grades 5-12, and pre-service teachers Application Deadline: Dec. 23 Institute Dates: June 24-28, 2024 The 2024 LiftOff Summer Institute is a weeklong training event at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston sponsored by the agency’s Texas Space Grant Consortium. This year’s theme is "Growing on Earth and Beyond." Attendees will explore the vital role plants will play in survival during long-duration missions and ways NASA is innovating plant growth and adaptation. Participants will attend presentations by NASA scientists and engineers, tour NASA facilities, and receive hands-on, inquiry-based classroom activities aligned to education standards. Applicants must be U.S. citizens currently employed as classroom teachers of grades 5-12, or currently enrolled in a pre-service teacher program. | | Virtual Learning Opportunities | | Audience: Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) Event Date: Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2:30 - 4:30 p.m. EDT Join NASA for an online event to provide post-award insights to NASA grant recipients regarding best practices in award administration and compliance pitfalls. NASA representatives will share their expertise and provide essential information regarding policies, procedures, and internal controls to follow and implement for effective award administration. Participants are encouraged to ask questions that will position them to gain clarity on specific areas of concern and receive personalized advice for managing their grants effectively. Click here to register.
Looking for more insights into NASA grants and cooperative agreements? Check out this playlist of videos related to the grants and cooperative agreement lifecycle including application, administration, and closeout. | | Are You Up for a Challenge? | | Audience: Undergraduate students at U.S. higher education institutions Proposal Deadline: Tuesday, Oct. 10 Micro-g NExT challenges teams to design, build, and test a tool or device that addresses an authentic, current space exploration challenge. The overall experience includes hands-on engineering design, test operations, and public outreach. The 2024 Micro-g NExT tasks focus on Orion crew safety and lunar extravehicular activities operations during the Artemis missions. Professional divers will test tool prototypes in the 6.2-million-gallon pool at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) facility at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. | | Fall 2023 Deadline: Monday, Oct.16 The NASA Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) Innovation and Tech Transfer Idea Competition (MITTIC) invites students of all majors to bring their ideas for innovative uses of NASA technology. Teams choose any NASA intellectual property as the basis of their concept and submit proposals using MITTIC challenge guidelines. Top teams are invited to pitch their ideas in the Space Tank as part of a three-day on-site experience at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Space Tank winners will receive $20,000 for first place and $10,000 for second place. The top team will receive a VIP trip to the NASA Ames Experience in Silicon Valley, California. | | Opportunities With Our Partners | | Webinar Date: Tuesday, Oct. 17, at 3:30 p.m. EDT | | Application Deadline: Nov. 8 | | Application Deadline: Dec. 1 | |
Are you looking for NASA STEM materials to support your curriculum?
Find NASA science resources for your classroom. NASA Wavelength is a digital collection of Earth and space science resources for educators of all levels — from elementary to college, to out-of-school programs. https://science.nasa.gov/learners/wavelength
Check out the ‘Explore NASA Science’ website! Science starts with questions, leading to discoveries. Visit science.nasa.gov. To view the site in Spanish, visit ciencia.nasa.gov. | | Visit NASA STEM Engagement on the Web: | | | | | | |
