{"id":57185,"date":"2020-11-12T09:04:28","date_gmt":"2020-11-12T15:04:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=57185"},"modified":"2020-11-12T09:04:29","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T15:04:29","slug":"nasa-grant-to-fund-stem-workshops-at-fhsu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=57185","title":{"rendered":"NASA grant to fund STEM workshops at FHSU"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By UNIVERSITY RELATIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will fund the development of new Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) educator workshops in Fort Hays State University\u2019s College of Education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ngrant proposal submitted by Dr. Paul Adams, dean of the College of Education,\nis titled \u201cHigh-Altitude Balloon Launch System to Support Teacher and Student\nResearch.\u201d It was accepted by NASA, and the $14,722 in grant funding will\nsupport FHSU\u2019s efforts as a member of the NASA Kansas Space Grant Consortium\n(KSGC) teacher workshop program. NASA is especially interested in helping bring\nNASA-relevant material and content into middle school classrooms. This material\naligns well with an ongoing effort in Kansas K-12 education to integrate\ncurriculum across the sciences. It brings in aspects of engineering while\npromoting student\u2019s ability to ask questions and design investigations to\nanswer those questions. NASA sponsorship of this project through the Kansas\nNASA Space Grant also aims at generating student interest at an early age in\nfuture career opportunities in the sciences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An\nundeniable \u201cfun factor\u201d makes participation in this kind of applied research\neven more appealing to K-12 teachers and students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHigh\naltitude balloons as a research tool have the \u2018cool\u2019 factor of being something\nthat cannot be explored in the classroom. When we fly up to 100,000 feet\n(over 18 miles high), we enter a part of our world outside our experience \u2013\nvery low pressure, extreme cold temperatures, cosmic radiation and so much\nmore,\u201d Adams said. \u201cAnd the excitement and innovation of preparing, flying and\nrecovering something flown to near space to answer a question is an achievement\nfor every student involved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr.\nAdams\u2019 experience with high-altitude balloon research began in 2011 as a\npartnership with FHSU physics professor Dr. Jack Maseberg, but his passion for\nspace exploration pre-dates that collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\nhave always wanted to explore space \u2013 high altitude ballooning is a step in\nthat direction,\u201d Adams said. \u201cSince that time, I have worked with high school\nage students in our Kansas Academy of Math and Science, other faculty and\nschool groups to conduct investigations that can only happen at the edge of\nspace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Workshops\ncurrently under development cover a broad spectrum of topics, including: <\/p>\n\n\n\n