NASA's explorer school and spaceward bound programs: Insights into two education programs designed to heighten public support for space science initiatives

• Published in: Acta astronautica Vol. 66; no. 7; pp. 1280 - 1284
• Main Authors: Allner, Matthew, McKay, Chris, Coe, Liza, Rask, Jon, Paradise, Jim, Judson Wynne, J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01-04-2010
• Subjects: Community of Partners (CoPs); Field documentation methodologies; Lockheed Martin; Mars analog sites; NASA Explorer School program (NES); NASA Spaceward Bound program; Science education outreach; STEM; STEM-G; NASA Explorer School program (NES); STEM-G; Community of Partners (CoPs); Field documentation methodologies; Mars analog sites; NASA Spaceward Bound program; Science education outreach; Lockheed Martin; STEM
• ISSN: 0094-5765; 1879-2030
• DOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2009.09.019

NASA has played an influential role in bringing the enthusiasm of space science to schools across the United States since the 1980s. The evolution of this public outreach has led to a variety of NASA funded education programs designed to promote student interest in science, technology, engineering, math, and geography (STEM-G) careers.
This paper investigates the educational outreach initiatives, structure, and impact of two of NASA's largest educational programs: the NASA Explorer School (NES) and NASA Spaceward Bound programs.
Since its induction in 2003 the NES program has networked and provided resources to over 300 schools across the United States. Future directions include further development of mentor schools for each new NES school selected, while also developing a longitudinal student tracking system for NES students to monitor their future involvement in STEM-G careers. The Spaceward Bound program, now in its third year of teacher outreach, is looking to further expand its teacher network and scientific collaboration efforts, while building on its teacher mentorship framework.