Oklahoma teachers are educating future generations of space explorers

(OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.) On February 4-9, 2020, 18 Oklahoma educators traveled to Houston as part of the NASA Oklahoma Space Grant Consortium (OKSG).  The VIPs toured the Space Suit Engineering lab led by Amy Ross (NASA Johnson Space Center Space Suit designer), took part in SEEC, a three-day international aerospace educators conference attended by over 500 educators from all over the world, and had lunch with Astronaut Tom Jones.  They became certified to borrow Lunar and Meteorite samples, learned hands-on activities to use with their students, met engineers of the new Space Launch System (which will take astronauts to the moon and Mars) and learned about coding, robotics, and engineering.  NASA’s Vacuum Chamber A, the closest thing you can get to space without actually going to space, was an obvious favorite amongst Oklahoma’s VIPs.   The educators tried on depressurized gloves astronauts use in space, and danced all night to the all-astronaut band Max Q.  This trip was fully funded by the NASA OKSG.   And everything learned will be used to inspire future astronauts, engineers, and other NASA staff right here in Oklahoma.  For more information concerning this NASA OKSG opportunity for Oklahoma educators and/or other K-12 opportunities available to educators and students through-out the state at the NASA OKSG STEM engagement Center on the OSU Campus in Stillwater, please contact Dorinda Risenhoover, NASA OKSG Education Coordinator (education@oknasa.org or ‪405-314-9161‬).