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Project Descriptions

Discover NASA

August 26, 2014 - August 25, 2019 | Media and Technology, Public Programs, Exhibitions
Discover NASA is the Discovery Museum’s endeavor to engage students in grades K through 12 as well as members of the general public in innovative space science and STEM-focused learning through the implementation of two modules: upgrades to the Challenger Learning Center, and the creation of K through 12 amateur rocketry and spacecraft design programming. The programming will be piloted at the Discovery Museum and Planetarium, and at the Inter-district Discovery Magnet School and the Fairchild-Wheeler Multi-Magnet High School, with an additional strategic partnership with the University of Bridgeport, which will provide faculty mentors to high school seniors participating in the rocketry program. Through these two modules, the Discovery Museum and Planetarium aims to foster an early interest in STEM, increase public awareness about NASA, promote workforce development, and stimulate an interest in the future of human space exploration. Both modules emphasize design methodologies and integration of more advanced space science into the STEM curriculum currently offered by Discovery Museum to visitors and public schools. The Challenger Learning Center upgrades will enable the Museum to deliver simulated human exploration experiences related to exploration of the space environment in Low Earth Orbit and simulated human exploration of Moon, Mars, and beyond, which will increase public and student awareness about NASA and the future of human space exploration. The development of an amateur rocketry and spacecraft development incubator for education, the general public, and commercial space will stimulate the development of key STEM concepts.

Funders

NASA
Funding Program: CP4SMP
Award Number: NNX14AQ82G
Funding Amount: $499,977

TEAM MEMBERS

  • Alan Winick
    Principal Investigator
    The Discovery Museum
  • Discipline: Engineering | Nature of science | Physics | Space science
    Audience: Elementary School Children (6-10) | Middle School Children (11-13) | Youth/Teen (up to 17) | General Public
    Environment Type: Media and Technology | Planetarium and Science on a Sphere | Public Programs | Museum and Science Center Programs | Exhibitions | Museum and Science Center Exhibits

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