NC Space Grant | Public Engagement Programs

The NC Space Grant Informal Education and Public Outreach Programs are designed to facilitate the appreciation and knowledge of aero/space-related issues of the general population of North Carolina.


	Family Science Nights at Hillcrest Community Center PI: Dr. Judith Beck - University of North Carolina at Asheville Educators from the University of North Carolina - Asheville and from Isaac Dickson Elementary School (IDES) will collaborate in designing and presenting a series of four “Family Science Nights” for IDES students and their families who live in or near Hillcrest Apartments, a public housing project located near the elementary school. Each evening will focus on a specific space-related theme and will involve literacy as well as inquiry-based, hands-on science activities. The final evening of the program will include a planetarium presentation and an opportunity for all participants to view the night sky through a telescope.

	Spreading the Microgravity Message Across North Carolina PI: Dr. Timothy Ritter - University of North Carolina at Pembroke Since the fall of 2002 The University of North Carolina at Pembroke and The University of North Carolina at Charlotte have flown four experiments on board NASA’s microgravity research aircraft. These experiments have been flown as part of NASA’s Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program. Each year the students were so excited about their experiences, they eagerly went out to share them with the youth of the local communities in which they had grown up. This outreach program now reaches across the state of North Carolina and beyond. As part of this project the students will make 1-2 outreach presentations per month to largely, but not exclusively, Native American youth.

	Elizabeth City State Univeristy Research Week 2008 PI: Dr. Cynthia Warrick - Elizabeth City State University Research Week at Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) is an annual program that conducts aeronautics and space-related science and technology research presentations by faculty and students to the University and Community through week-long seminars, poster sessions, guest speakers, and a research fair. Research Week creates an environment in which scientists and researchers from state and federal agencies (including NASA Langley) and industry discuss areas for research collaboration with ECSU faculty and students. Major research institutions will exhibit at the Research Fair and provide information about internships and graduate programs in science, engineering and technology. Research Week is also an outreach program to the local community and K-12 Schools. Hundreds of local students will come to ECSU to view student poster sessions and presentations from the Virginia Space & Flight Center. The major goal of Research Week is to expose and encourage under-represented minority students’ interest and involvement in science and space-related research.

	Balloon Satellite Program Project Coordinator: Mr. Michael Peckerar - Imagination Station Science Museum, Wilson, NC Summer Ballooning at Imagination Station will provide students in seventh through twelfth grades the opportunity to get hands on experience with space hardware and basic engineering. Students will build CricketSats to measure temperatures at extremely high altitudes, launch them to near space using helium balloons, then interpret the data as relayed back to ground stations. Atmospheric data will be reported to the NC State Climate office for use in current and future meteorological research efforts.

	Informal Education and Public Outreach Program Request for Proposals This program is designed to provide funding to develop and implement activities that will increase the appreciation and knowledge of aero/space-related issues of the general population of North Carolina. Proposals Due: Feb-March 2008

Programs Archive