Educator Aerospace Curriculum

There is no better way for students to learn their math and science skills than through the excitement of the space program. This project is an excellent tool in assisting the teacher to do just that.

Dave Weldon, Florida Congressman, 15th District
House Science Committee, Vice Chairman,
Space Subcommittee

NASA, Kennedy Space Center, the doorway to outer space, is the home of the Space Shuttle. Full advantage of utilizing these unique facilities can offer a great deal to the local Florida schools. This web site was designed to assist the K-8 classroom teacher in integrating aerospace into their curriculum by using the excitement of the space program to motivate their students as they teach their required subjects. The objective of the project is to utilize NASA's Strategic Plan for Education and implement it into the Florida School System. Subject content includes Aerospace Technology, Space Science, Human Exploration and Development of Space, Biological and Physical Research and Earth Science. All areas of the curriculum, with emphasis on the science, geography, mathematics and technology disciplines were the focus. The activities include hands-on, minds-on activities emphasizing the scientific inquiry, problem solving and group interaction. The curriculum framework added a space science component to each science concept according to grade level expectations in selected Florida counties, which are correlated with the Florida Sunshine State Standards, which are directly correlated with the National Science Standards. Teachers in Brevard, Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties participated in the development and field testing of the project. Team leaders participated in a curriculum writing workshop, specifically designed teacher education seminars at Space Camp and NASA Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex. It is the intent of the project that other teachers in the state and elsewhere benefit from the steps outlined in this web site to apply space concepts in their schools.

The project was funded in part with a grant from the Florida Space Research and Education Grant Program (A Florida Space Grant Consortium, Spaceport Florida Authority and Florida Space Research Institute joint grant program, 2001).