HUNTSVILLE – The Alabama Space Grant Consortium at the University of Alabama in Huntsville received a major boost from the National Space Club – Huntsville Chapter to support a 2024-25 K-12 STEM education outreach program.
The $20,000 donation is the largest the consortium has received from the NSC, laying the groundwork for a long-term K-12 STEM engagement plan that would leverage the ASGC’s connections to eight higher education institutions around the state, including two Historically Black Colleges and Universities, to offer scholarships and fellowships supporting dozens of STEM and education-focused undergraduate and graduate students each year.
“The ASGC is a member of the National Space Club, and our director, Dr. Dale Thomas, met with the two vice chairs for education, Terry Abel of Lockheed Martin and Andy Johnston of Jacobs, for help implementing this student K-12 STEM Engagement Ambassador program,” said Debora Nielson, associate director of the ASGC/NASA Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. “We had established a student outreach STEM Ambassador program at the ASGC, but we decided to include the U.S. Space & Rocket Center and the National Space Club – Huntsville Chapter as partners moving forward.”
The K-12 Engagement Plan provides teacher professional development and enables ASGC-supported students to act as “outreach ambassadors” in goals related to research, education and workforce development.
