Special Announcement

    Guidance for Education and Public Outreach Activities Under Sequestration

    NASA has taken the first steps in addressing the mandatory spending cuts called for in the Budget Control Act of 2011. The law mandates a series of indiscriminate and significant across-the-board spending reductions totaling $1.2 trillion over 10 years.

    As a result, NASA has been forced to implement a number of new cost-saving measures, policies, and reviews in order to minimize impacts to the mission-critical activities of the Agency. Guidance regarding conferences, travel, and training that reflect the new fiscal reality in which the agency must operate has been provided. For specific guidance as it relates to public outreach and engagement activities please reference the following webpage.

    › View Guidance for Education

NASA 9-12 Education Programs

    A team poses with their rocket presentation

    NASA's Student Launch Initiative gives a new meaning to "rocket science."
    Image Credit: Al Krause
    Educators and students may explore and experience unique space and aeronautics content through NASA's education opportunities. Learn about ways to interact with NASA engineers and scientists in the programs listed below.

    Click "Find out more" for further details and contact information. You can also view an alphabetical list of all student, educator and faculty programs.
    > View list



Program Descriptions

  • Aerospace Education Services Project

    [Educators Grades K-Higher Education]
    [Available: Nationally]
    AESP is a comprehensive project designed to reach out to the formal and informal education communities in all 50 states and the U.S. territories.

    › Find out More
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  • Airborne Research Experiences for Educators and Students

    [Educators Grades 5-12 & Students Higher Education]
    [Available Nationally]
    NASA offers the perfect package of adventure and career development. Teachers earn graduate level credits while spending six weeks in California as part of a residential science research program that includes flying on a NASA aircraft.

    › Find out More
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  • Digital Learning Network

    [Educators and Students Grades K-Higher Education]
    [Available: Nationally]
    DLN offers videoconferencing or Webcasting at no charge, providing interactive educational experiences to students and educators from kindergarten to university levels across the Nation and around the world.

    › Find out More
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  • Dropping In a Microgravity Environment

    [Educators & Students Grades 6-12]
    [Available: Nationally]
    The DIME competition challenges student teams to design, build, and operate microgravity experiments in a NASA drop tower.

    › Find out More
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  • Education Associates

    [Educators Grades K-Higher Education & Students Higher Education]
    [Available: Nationally]
    Education Associates is a flexible year-round project that permits NASA scientists, engineers and managers to "tap higher education," while giving university students and faculty the opportunity to "experience NASA."

    › Find out More
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  • Education Outreach Project at Johnson Space Center

    [Educators & Students Grades K-Higher Education]
    [Available: TX]
    Volunteers participate in various outreach opportunities, including lecturing or performing hands-on activities in the classroom, career shadowing, tutoring, mentoring and judging science fairs. Students must live within a 50-mile radius of JSC.

    › Find out More
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  • Endeavor Science Teaching Certificate Project

    [Educators K-12 and Students Higher Education]
    [Available: Nationally]
    The project awards Endeavor Science Teaching Certificate Project Fellowships to K-12 formal educators (in-service, alternative route, pre-service) to develop and improve teachers' knowledge of pedagogical content. Fellows demonstrate changes in practice and apply science concepts with NASA content and educational materials.

    › Find out More
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  • Exploration Infusion

    [Educators & Students Grades K-12]
    [Available: LA and MS]
    NASA curriculum materials in science, technology, engineering and mathematics are used to engage the education communities of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and the Gulf Coast Education Initiative Consortium.

    › Find out More

  • Langley Aerospace Research Student Scholars Project

    [Educators Grades Pre-K-Higher Education & Students Higher Education]
    [Available: Nationally]
    Participants spend 10 weeks conducting state-of-the-art research with other students from across the nation. They work with NASA researchers exploring an array of high-technology development projects and activities in pursuit of space exploration.

    › Find out More
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  • NASA Electronic Professional Development Network

    [Educators Grades K-12]
    [Available: Nationally]
    The NASA electronic Professional Development Network, or ePDN, develops and delivers NASA-related online courses, workshops and events for the benefit of STEM K-12 teachers across the nation

    › Find out More
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  • NASA Explorer Schools

    [Educators Grades 4-12]
    [Available: Nationally]
    The NES Project is NASA's classroom-based gateway for middle and high school students in grades 4-12. The project provides unique learning experiences designed around NASA's missions while promoting student engagement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics based on NASA’s resources.

    › Find out More
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  • NASA Innovations in Climate Education

    [Educators Grades K-Higher Education]
    [Available: Nationally]
    NASA Innovations in Climate Education, or NICE, is designed to improve the quality of the nation's STEM education and enhance students' and teachers' literacy about global climate and Earth system change, from elementary grades to lifelong learners.

    › Find out More
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  • National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program

    [Faculty and Students Higher Education]
    [Available: Nationally]
    This program provides NASA funding for space-related research, education and public service projects through a national network of 52 university-based Space Grant consortia.

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  • Spaceward Bound

    [Educators Grades 5-8 & Students Higher Education]
    [Available: Nationally]
    Spaceward Bound trains the next generation of space explorers by having students and teachers explore scientifically interesting -- but remote and extreme -- environments on Earth as analogs for human exploration of the moon and Mars.

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  • Student Launch Projects

    [Students Grades 7-12 & Higher Education]
    [Available: Nationally]
    SLP challenges students to design, build and launch a reusable rocket with a scientific or engineering payload to one mile above ground level. The project engages students in scientific research and real-world engineering with NASA engineers.

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  • Teaching From Space

    [Educators & Students Grades K-12]
    [Available: Nationally]
    TFS uses the unique environment of human spaceflight to facilitate education opportunities that support science, mathematics, engineering and technology instructional materials through on-orbit education downlinks, demonstration activities and payloads.

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  • Workforce Coalition: Education Task Force

    [Educators K-Higher Education]
    [Available: Nationally]
    The Workforce Coalition task force will use a systems approach to engage community stakeholders in facilitating partnerships to build skills needed for the workforce.

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