Why in the world should I get involved in this program? Let’s think for a second about how past and present space exploration has impacted us in our everyday lives…
Did you know the first irradiated break used in space, including on Apollo 11 when we landed on the Moon, was created in UNL’s Food Innovation Lab? (Lincoln Journal Star article)
- Did you know growing plants in space can help us learn more about growing crops in drought stricken areas here on Earth?
- How many of you watch the weather every day to decide what to wear?
- How many of you rely on GPS when you are going somewhere new?
- How many of you utilize that cell phone sitting near you on a regular basis for looking up information, to communicate?
We have had a statewide planning team in place for over a year working to win a competitive bid process to host an education downlink from the International Space Station, and the week before the Nebraska State Fair we found out we had been selected! Our goal with the Launching Nebraska-nauts into the 4-C’able Future is two part. First, we want to teach the career and college readiness skills of collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking through STEM-related content. Secondly, we want to showcase how youth can live and work in Nebraska and still be connected to career, products, and services we have all gained through past, present, and likely future space exploration.
A CALL TO ACTION – We are in need of volunteers (educators, assistants, students, organization and business & industry partners) who will help run our interactive station activities we are doing at “Mission Control” at Raising Nebraska in Grand Island on Wednesday, October 13th. If that’s too far of a drive, we are also looking for schools and others who might be interested in hosting satellite sites across the state as well. We will do a virtual training session for volunteers the week before our event so you have up-to-date information and we can answer any questions you still have at that time. The training will be recorded for those who are not able to attend live. Please connect with anyone on the planning team to get signed up. Check out our Launching Nebraska-nauts website to see all of the details! https://4h.unl.edu/launching-nebraska-nauts You will also find a flyer attached to this email. Feel free to send it out with 4-H newsletters, school enrichment packets, etc., to get the word out across our great state. Thank you, in advance, for your help in promoting and participating in this program in some way!
Planning Team Members – Dawn Lindsley, Angie Rushman, Tracy Pracheil, Sarah Polak, Sarah Paisley, Brandy VanDeWalle, Danielle Dewees, Saundra Frerichs, Rachel Ibach, Mirissa Scholting, Lindsay Shearer, Stu Shepherd, Becky Swanson, College of Engineering (Sally Wei), NPPR (STEM Education Team), Autumn Lindsley (youth representative), and various other business & industry partners.
More details at: https://4h.unl.edu/launching-nebraska-nauts