WHAT IS MY SPACE?

M.Y. S.P.A.C.E. is an initiative of the Satellites & Education Conference, held each August at California State University, Los Angeles.  Middle school and high school students who attend the conference with their teachers are brought together in team building activities and charged with a global issue to study during the conference.  They are given the resources of the university and of NASA and NOAA. They present a report on their findings to the conference during the last session. During an intense three days, they build friendships with students from around the world while gaining multiple perspectives.

Sponsored by the Satellite Educators Association
Through a grant from NASA
 

In 2005, NASA awarded a 3-year grant to support the M.Y.  S.P.A.C.E. Team.  It connects Cal State L.A.’s pre-service teachers with the M.Y. S.P.A.C.E. teachers to enhance both the training of the pre-service teachers and the classroom experiences of teachers, grades 3 through high school and their students. Each year the M.Y. S.P.A.C.E. teachers get together at the Satellites & Education Conference and decide on an over-arching theme for the following year’s lessons.  The 2005-2006 Team chose “Earth’s Energy Distribution” as a theme that could be used by all teachers in their various fields (earth science, physics, SatCom, and geography).  The NASA grant pays for a field trip and GPS unit for each M.Y. S.P.A.C.E. school so the students can visit a site to ground-truth NASA satellite data.  It also supports visits to school classrooms by industry engineers who talk about the exciting, well-paying space industry jobs (Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, and Raytheon have indicated interest in participating).  JPL provides educational support and a tour of their facilities each August.  Travel and hotel stay for the Satellites & Education Conference each August is paid by the NASA grant so that the M.Y.  S.P.A.C.E. students can report their findings to the conference, the teachers can decide on the next year’s theme, and the pre-service teachers can talk with the groups that give them feedback on their lessons.  It is a very exciting program that is gaining world renown.