Fellow Citizens,
We know that so many of the jobs of the future will have a STEM component and therefore it is critical that we excite and engage our students as early as possible in STEM related curriculum. To spark that interest, each year in November and December, Brevard Public Schools holds Space Week for approximately 5,000 public school sixth graders. During Space Week, each student has the opportunity to learn science concepts while studying space and space exploration. The highlight of the program is a study trip to Kennedy Space Center for experiential learning. While there, they have a briefing and exclusive question/answer session with an astronaut, participate in an engineering truss design challenge, tour the Visitor Center and see many displays and demonstrations on the work that takes place at Kennedy Space Center. By exposing students to engaging STEM concepts in sixth grade, they can begin in middle school taking the classes necessary to work in STEM fields and become our future engineers and space explorers.
Space Week is not funded by district budget dollars, but instead is funded through the Brevard Schools Foundation. Several aeronautics/space-related employers in the area, such as Northrop Grumman and Rockwell Collins, have supported Space Week for many years, as well as the National Space Club. However, the Foundation is hoping to expand that base of support. If you are interested in supporting this worthy event, please engage me as soon as possible.
I thank you for your consideration and hope to hear from you soon.
Linda Filippini, Programs and Development Assistant, Brevard Schools Foundation
