STEmulAteAmericA

THE COALITION FOR SPACE EXPLORATION

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Launch Pad Communications

Erica BinnsCiara Bujanos

Meredith ClampittAbbey McLaughlin

Megan SaylerAllie WallaceLiz Yardley

Journalism 676, Strategic CampaignsUniversity of Kansas

May 6, 2010

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Table of ContentsExecutive Summary....................................................................................4Situation Analysis.......................................................................................6Budget Summary........................................................................................9Secondary Research..................................................................................11

Part 1: The Coalition for Space Exploration..............................................................................12Part 2: NASA and the Space Industry.......................................................................................13Part 3: Political Influences........................................................................................................14Part 4: STEM Education in Elementary and Middle Schools..................................................15Part 5: STEM Education in High School and College...............................................................17Part 6: Engineering Schools and Math and Science Programs in Schools..................….........18Part 7: Socioeconomic Influences.............................................................................................20

Primary Research.....................................................................................23Part 1: Surveys...........................................................................................................................24Part 2: Focus Group...................................................................................................................29Part 3: One-on-One Interviews.................................................................................................29

Research Summary...................................................................................35Key Publics...............................................................................................38SWOT Analysis..........................................................................................41Goals, Objectives and Tactics....................................................................46Executions................................................................................................56

Sample “Discovery Voyager” Bus Wrap Design........................................................................57“Discovery Voyager” Website....................................................................................................59“Discovery Voyager” Media Kit.................................................................................................61“Discovery Voyager” Satellite Media Tour...............................................................................66STEM Career Awareness Commercial Script...........................................................................69STEM Career Awareness News Release....................................................................................71“Geek Week” Sample Programming Schedule..........................................................................73Downloadable “Geek Week” Poster...........................................................................................75“Where would you be without space?” Print Ads.....................................................................77Coalition for Space Exploration Facebook Fan Page...............................................................81Discovery Voyager Facebook Ad..............................................................................................84

Appendix A: Sources of Information........................................................86Appendix B: Raw Primary Research.........................................................89

Survey........................................................................................................................................90Physics Student In-Person Interview........................................................................................95Focus Group Discussion Questions: University of Kansas Engineering Students.................98

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Executive

SummAry

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Executive SummaryThe Coalition for Space Exploration, which supports the efforts and interests of NASA and United States space program, is currently in a precarious position. With the retirement of the Space Shuttle fleet approaching, the American public has become increasingly skeptical of the importance of continuing to explore space. Meanwhile, United States youth are seriously underperforming in math and science literacy when compared to other industrialized nations.

Faced with an unresponsive public and poorly educated children, Launch Pad Communications researched these trends in depth. Our research indicates that there is a lack of knowledge about careers that require a STEM education. There is also a strong correlation between student performance and parent educational background. A child with parents who have a college degree is much more likely to succeed in science and math. As far as successful approaches to teaching, students respond overwhelmingly better when learning is hands on and interactive, as opposed to passive.

Key audiences for this plan include students between third and tenth grade, teachers, U.S. taxpayers and social media users. We also recommend targeting the following intervening publics: the media, parents, Coalition members, and the Discovery Channel.

Launch Pad Communications has developed a plan recommending two goals for the Coalition to implement:

1. To encourage American youth to pursue careers in STEM-related fields, including the aerospace industry.

2. To increase public interest and support for an ongoing United States space exploration program.

To execute these goals, Launch Pad Communications recommends using a variety of traditional and non-traditional media that encourage the target audiences to take action. We suggest fostering a relationship with an important intervening public, the Discovery Channel, to create a mobile learning bus that tours the country visiting schools and letting students experience STEM firsthand. We also recommend creating a “Geek Week” television programming special. Finally, we recommend developing an advertising campaign asking America “What would you do without space?” The results of these initiatives would be twofold; the United States will be fostering future leaders in STEM fields, and the Coalition for Space Exploration will gain recognition and public support for NASA and the space program.

The budget for this plan is estimated to cost $99,726.90.

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SituAtion

AnAlysis

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Coalition for Space ExplorationThe Coalition for Space Exploration (Coalition) is a not-for-profit organization which supports the efforts and interests of the National Aeronautic and Space Administration and United States space exploration. It consists of a board of directors, a government affairs team, a public affairs team, member companies, contributors and partners. These organizations help contribute resources to its campaigns and spread its messages.

ChallengesThe current political climate is unfavorable to American space exploration. President Obama denied funding for Project Constellation and may not be supportive of future space exploration expenditures.

The current educational climate is unfavorable to American space exploration. In the 2006 Programme for International Student Assessment comparison, the United States ranked 21 out of 30 among students within developed countries in science literacy and 25 out of 30 in math literacy. On the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress math tests, fourth graders showed no signs of progress, while eighth graders progressed modestly. In addition, STEM coursework may be perceived as more difficult than other coursework. Therefore, it may not be as appealing to students. The next generation of American students will unlikely fulfill the need for STEM-related employees.

The current international climate is unfavorable to American space exploration. Foreign students are filling STEM courses at American colleges and universities, then returning to their home countries to develop foreign space exploration programs. Losing American leadership in space exploration

may produce national security threats in the future.Students between third and tenth grade may have an unfavorable perception of space exploration. Many students may be unaware of the history of NASA and may not realize how space exploration has improved technology in other fields.

EnvironmentThe Coalition for Space Exploration operates in the political sphere. As a government-run agency, NASA depends on funding from the government. The Coalition’s government affairs team mobilizes the Coalition’s member companies’ Washington, D.C. representatives to track and lobby for space exploration progress.

The Coalition operates in the corporate sphere as well. The Coalition’s corporate members pay a fee to belong to the organization while its corporate contributors donate money and other resources. The partners also help push the organization’s messages.

The Coalition for Space Exploration operates in the public sphere. In order to promote space exploration in the political sphere, the Coalition must garner support from representatives’ constituents.

The Coalition for Space Exploration aligns with NASA’s interests. Coalition members must work together with NASA to achieve common goals.

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Why Take Action Now?The number of American STEM students is dropping, while demand for STEM students in other industries and company types (such as Google) is not slowing.

The Obama administration has shifted its priorities from manned space shuttles to public-private ventures. To avoid losing more funding, the Coalition must find a way to reach the government. This can be done either directly through lobbyists or indirectly through constituents. The space shuttle fleet will be retired at the end of this year, leaving American astronauts stranded on Earth if relations with Russia deteriorate. This may also develop into a national security issue. In order to maintain leadership as a nation in space, public and government support for space exploration must be attained.

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Budget

SummAry

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Budget SummarySTEM curricula development $2,500.00

Hulu/YouTube online advertisements (estimate) $25,000.00

Online volunteer network website (yearly; GoDaddy.com) $100.00

Social media optimized news releases (two; prweb.com) $500.00

Educator fulfillment kits $2,500.00

Media kits $1,000.00

Discovery Voyager website (yearly; GoDaddy.com) $100.00

Discovery Voyager banner advertisements (estimate) $5,000.00

Discovery Voyager Facebook advertisements (facebook.com) $21,000.00

Print advertisement in National Educator Conference program book (estimate) $500.00

“Where would you be without space?” webisodes $9,000.00

Billboards for three month cycle each (three billboards, three months each; Lamar Advertising) $5,778.00

Print advertisements (estimate) $20,000.00

Coalition collateral materials $2,000.00

Subtotal $94,978.00

Five percent contigency* $4,748.90

Total $99,726.90

*Contingency funds may be allocated for production, manufacturing and labor costs incurred.

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SecondAry

ReseArch

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Secondary ResearchAfter looking at the issues facing The Coalition for Space Exploration’s campaign, Launch Pad Communications determined that the research could be divided into seven sections relevant to the mission of the Coalition. The seven topics researched were: 1. The Coalition for Space Exploration; 2. NASA and the space industry; 3. political influences on the space industry; 4. STEM education in elementary and middle schools; 5. STEM education in high school and college; 6. engineering schools and math and science programs in schools; and 7. socioeconomic influences. Within each part of research, we examined past case studies relevant to the topic, history, successes and failures, current and past news articles and trends.

Part 1: The Coalition for Space ExplorationPurpose, Mission and Members

According to The Coalition for Space Exploration Web site, its main purpose is to promote awareness of space exploration through education and public outreach programs using cost effective methods. It utilizes the media and publications to secure political support and budget resources for space exploration. Its mission is “to promote the importance of space exploration to the national agenda via cost-effective, high-yield public outreach activities that include both traditional and new media to help secure political support and budget resources for NASA and space exploration.”

Members of The Coalition help increase and continue aid for government investments in space travel and exploration. These members are key individuals who are a part of industries, associations, private firms and businesses that support the growth of space travel and exploration. The Coalition is continuously seeking new members and partners involved with any U.S.-based company or organization to assist in the campaign for space exploration funding and awareness.

STEM Education Case Study

The nation’s STEM supporters (including the public, the President, Congress, scientists and engineers) are urgent to institute more science and math education in the younger school levels because of the decline in math and science scores. Supporters consider STEM education to be essential for the nation’s prosperity, security, health and quality of life. The organization, sponsored by Lockheed Martin (an information technology firm), is committed to this cause. It is made up of 70,000 engineers and scientists who are relying on the “bright young men and women to keep the people it serves safe while improving their lives with the latest advances.” The Coalition is using short and long-term goals to accomplish this. Two efforts are the National Engineers Week and Engineers in the Classroom. This is a “partnership with the K through 12th grade schools.”According to Lockheed Martin CTO Ray O. Johnson, this program “[sends] practicing engineers into the classrooms to work with the teachers and supplement the curriculum with hands on activities that are fun for the kids.”

The hope of the program is that students will view these guests as role models who are teaching more than the standard textbook could. Educators and engineers are finding these one-on-one classroom exchanges to be highly

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effective and are increasingly seen as rewarding to STEM efforts. Robotics, which includes the developing of machines to carry out tasks too risky for humans, are reportedly the most popular among classrooms. It is said that robotics is comparable to the thrill of working with athletic competition. Researchers also found that one of the professions students find most appealing is space exploration. This information was gathered by The Coalition’s interview with Johnson.

Achievements and Possible Setbacks

A major setback to date has been the budget cuts. Since the Coalition works closely with the government and government advocacy groups, the need for a strong government budget and support are what keep the space exploration thriving.

While this may be viewed as a potential misfortune, the Coalition has released a series of press releases that highlight its positive features. A poll in 2009 indicated that the top two benefits to human space exploration, according to the public, are 1) Exploration: human spaceflight draws upon our instinctive and pioneering nature to search out new horizons and 2) Down to Earth benefits: launching humans into space results in an array of valuable spin offs to improve life on Earth.

Social Media and the Coalition

The Coalition has kept up with the increased use of social media in the virtual communities. Features of the Web site include space Web casts, communication tools for educators, interested space advocates and a section dedicated to kids. It also utilizes Facebook, Twitter and blogging to its advantage with numerous daily updates regarding space, NASA and the Coalition’s advancements.

Part 2: NASA and the Space IndustryNASA Mission Statements and Vision:

“NASA’s mission is to pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research.”

Aeronautics, Exploration Systems, Science and Space Operations

NASA conducts its work in four principal organizations, which are called mission directorates. The four principal organizations are Aeronautics, Exploration Systems, Science and Space Operations.

Brief History of NASA

According to NASA.org, President Dwight D. Eisenhower established NASA in 1958 in a response to the Soviet Union’s launch of the first artificial satellite the previous year. President John F. Kennedy proposed sending astronauts to the moon before the end of the 1960s. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first of 12 men to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969. NASA also focused on researching and developing applications for space technology in the hope of developing weather and communication satellites. After the Apollo mission, NASA worked on creating the first space shuttle, a reusable ship that could provide regular access to space. The space shuttles were first launched in 1981 and have had more than 120 successful flights. There are only four more missions planned before the shuttles retire this fall. In 2000, the United States and Russia partnered

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together to establish a permanent human residence in space aboard the International Space Station. The International Space Station is a multinational project representing the work of 16 nations.

In 2006, NASA planned on building a permanent moon base, Constellation. However, President Obama vetoed the moon base construction in February 2010 because of budget constrictions.

Earth Science satellites are collecting data on the Earth’s oceans, climate and other features. NASA recently completed the deployment of the Earth Observing System, which is the world’s most advanced and comprehensive capability to measure global climate change. The NASA Science organization monitors global environmental issues.

In terms of the future, NASA plans to develop transformative technology such as heavy-lift technologies and demonstrations to pursue new approaches to space exploration. NASA hopes to launch robotic precursor missions to multiple destinations in the solar system, create U.S. commercial spaceflight capabilities, increase and extend the uses of the International Space Station, research and observation pertaining to climate change, NextGen and green aviation, cross-cutting technology development in a new Space Technology Program and improvement in education, specifically STEM education.

Two major disasters have set back the NASA program and affected the public’s confidence in NASA’s shuttle launches. The first was the Challenger. According to an article on About.com, the Challenger was one of four space shuttles created by NASA in the 1980’s. The Challenger flew nine missions prior to the disaster in 1986. Prior to takeoff, the Challenger experienced several problems. After the problems were supposedly fixed, the Challenger took off and

exploded 73 seconds later. The second major space shuttle disaster that was significant to NASA history is the Columbia launch. According to an article on ProQuest, On Feb. 1, 2003, Columbia began its descent back to earth. Columbia lost contact with NASA and exploded with debris falling in Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana. The tragedy was investigated and it was confirmed that the explosion was caused by technical and organizational failures.

Part 3: Political InfluencesNASA’s Fiscal Year 2011 Budget

The U.S. government added an increase of $6 billion over five years to the original $100 billion budget this year. NASA was told to cancel the Constellation project in order to put money toward other things. These include: transformative technology development and flagship technology demonstrations, robotic precursor missions, research and development on heavy-lift and propulsion technologies, U.S. commercial spaceflight capabilities, future launch capabilities, extension and increased utilization of the international space station, NextGen and green aviation and focus on STEM education.

The Constellation program was developed to gain experience operating away from Earth. Some goals included developing a new spacecraft and booster vehicle to replace the space shuttle that is retiring this year, as well as traveling back to the moon and possibly Mars. The Obama administration’s decision to cancel the project resulted from its desire to spend government money on Earth first. There was also a focus on developing new and stronger technologies and focusing on the younger generations to further STEM education.

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Government Committees

The Office of Science and Technology (OSTP) was established in 1976 to help the President understand the effects of science and technology. The mission of the OSTP is to provide the President and his staff with scientific and technical advice. Its purpose is to ensure that the policies of the Executive Board are informed by sound science and to ensure that the scientific and technical work is coordinated to provide the greatest benefit to society. The OSTP focuses on the subject technology as it relates to American concerns such as health care, public safety, education and maintaining U.S. technical and strategic superiority in space.

Congress has several committees relating to science, space and education. It includes the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (25 members) with a subcommittee on space and science, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (23 members), the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (23 members), the House Committee on Science and Technology (43 members) with subcommittees on research and science education, space and aeronautics and technology and innovation.

Major federal STEM education programs include the NIH Ruth Kirschstein National Research Service Awards, which constitute the largest majority of spending on STEM education and focuses on postdoctoral research in health-related fields. There are also NSF Graduate Research Fellowships, which aim to increase the size and diversity of the U.S. workforce in science and engineering. Other programs include NSF Mathematics and Science Partnerships, NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates, ED Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grants and ED Mathematics and Science Partnerships.

U.S. Space Policy

In 2006, President Bush authorized a new space policy that created hope for future exploration in space and advances in technologies. Some main goals of that policy were to strengthen the nation’s leadership in space, increase the benefits of space exploration, enable a commercial space sector to strengthen U.S. leadership, increase national homeland and economic security and encourage international cooperation with foreign nations on space activity.

In order to achieve these long-term goals, the U.S. strives to develop space professionals, improve space system development and procurement, increase and strengthen interagency partnerships and strengthen and maintain the U.S. space-related science, technology and industrial base.

However, with NASA’s budget cuts and the shifting focus from developing new technologies in outer space to the Earth, the United States’ space policy will have to adapt to this changing environment.

Part 4: STEM Education in Elementary and Middle SchoolsWhy Is STEM Education Important?

According to the U.S. Labor Department, 15 of the 20 fastest growing occupations require significant math or science preparation. STEM workers earned about 70 percent more than the national average in 2005. Between 2004 and 2014, employers are expected to hire approximately 2.5 million

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STEM workers who are entering their occupation for the first time. This adds up to a 22 percent increase in the next 10 years.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, one third of fourth graders and one fifth of eighth graders cannot perform basic math computations. This may be because nearly 70 percent of U.S. middle school students are taught math by teachers with neither a major nor certification in math. There is also a relationship between student performance and his or her parents’ education. Every year between 1990 and 2009, eighth grade students whose parents had at least some education after high school scored above the all-eighth-grade average. Those whose parents had no more than a high school degree scored significantly less than the average.

Although the U.S. scores consistently lower in math and science tests compared to other countries, it’s not because of a lack in instructional time. In 2007, the U.S. averaged 148 hours per year of eighth grade math instructional time, or 13 percent of total instructional time. The international average was just 120 hours and 12 percent. Additionally, countries outperforming the U.S. in science and math spend 10 percent less of their respective GDPs on primary and secondary education than the U.S., on average.

National Math and Science Initiative

The National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) was launched in March 2007 by top leaders in American businesses, education and science to help remedy this drastic decline in math and science education by replicating proven programs on a national scale. Programs include: Advanced Placement Training and Inventive Program (APTIP), awarding $79 million in grants to non-profits in six states

to promote student participation in AP math, science and English courses. Enrollment in AP courses has increased 70 percent in all students as well as 122 percent for minority students since the program began. UTeach is another program designed to train math and science teachers. UTeach graduates have a 70 percent teacher retention rate, compared to a national average of 50 percent.

“Important, but Not for Me”

A 2007 survey, conducted by Public Agenda and Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, was administered in Kansas and Missouri asking students and parents about math, science and technology education. Findings were based on a random survey of 1472 parents and 1295 middle and high school students in Kansas and Missouri, 12 focus groups and a series of interviews with local employers, leaders and experts. Although the results are regional in scale, they echo those of national research on the same subject.

The survey found that parents are aware of the importance of math, science and technology, but remain complacent. Ninety-one percent of parents and 79 percent of students believe having basic math skills is absolutely essential. Similarly, 60 percent of parents and 47 percent students believe understanding basic scientific ideas and principles are absolutely essential. However, less than one third of all parents and students believe understanding higher-level math, such as calculus and advanced sciences like physics, is absolutely essential.

Although students agree on the importance of higher-level math, science and technology, most find it irrelevant. Nearly half of all students surveyed said they would be unhappy if they ended up in a career that involved a lot of math or science.

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You have to use basic math every day of our life. It’s just good to know, but you don’t need a whole bunch more than that. When are we ever going to use x plus y and all that? –Urban student

I hate math just because it’s hard for me to understand how that’s ever going to come back and help me. There’s just not a point. –Suburban student

Science doesn’t matter unless you want to become a doctor or something like that. –Suburban student

Learning about concrete opportunities in college and the workplace warmed students to the idea of taking math and science courses and taking them seriously. Many students suggested they would have taken more math, science and technology in high school had someone explained the real world opportunities to them.

STEM-Related Programs

Existing STEM-related programs continue to provide support for student and educators. For example, Raytheon’s Year of Math in Action program reached more than 50,000 young students in 2009. The initiative included MathMovesU, a program that “engages young students with unique, interactive experiences through activities they enjoy most, such as sports, music and fashion while fostering student achievement.” Highlights of the program were the Sum of all Thrills ride at Epcot Disneyworld, MATHCOUNTS National Competition title sponsor, MathMovesU Middle School Scholarship & Camp program and the Raytheon U.S. STEM Model for education.

Another national program, the No Boundaries Contest sponsored by NASA and USA Today, has students working

in groups to explore a particular NASA career in the areas of STEM. The students then create a presentation marketing that career. In 2008, the winning team created a Web site about astrobiologists.

Many regional events are also aimed at STEM education awareness including Science is for Girls in Texas and STEMapalooza in Colorado. The University of Texas at San Antonio hosted 400 girls in grades six through eight at the Science is for Girls workshop. The workshop included outreach events to encourage girls to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics by introducing them to successful female scientists in small-group settings. STEMapalooza, presented by the University of Colorado Denver, is a two-day, free event for students of all ages to engage in hands-on, minds-on activities. These activities include fast track racing, robotics, gaming, film production, staging, rocketry and more.

Part 5: STEM Education in High School and CollegeOn both local and national levels, dozens of STEM-related competitions are available for high school and college students who wish to demonstrate their abilities in a competitive atmosphere. Many of these competitions utilize multiple aspects of STEM education and are focused on teamwork and group efforts over individual accomplishment.

National Science and Math Competitions

Many science and math competitions are team-based question-and-answer tournaments. For example, the National Science Bowl is an annual event sponsored by the

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Department of Energy for high school students. Teams of four students compete by answering multiple choice and short answer questions.

The National Chemistry Olympiad is similarly structured and is sponsored by the American Chemical Society. This competition has multiple tiers, starting with local schools and finishing with a worldwide competition.

Other competitions, such as Science Olympiad, are more activity-based than question-and-answer based. Science Olympiad hosts tournaments on multiple levels, from intramurals to national tournaments. In addition to these competitions, Science Olympiad encourages students’ interest in science by engaging them in classroom activities, research and workshops year-round.

National Engineering and Technology Competitions

Engineering and technology competitions are typically team-based and primarily focus on a practical application of knowledge. Many of these competitions are based around designing and building robots, which are highly flexible for competitions. This is because they can range from the extremely simple, cost-effective variety to vastly complex and expensive machines.

BattleBotsIQ is one such competition where teams of high school students use math, physics and engineering to build tournament-worthy robots. The National Robotics Challenge, which is open to middle schools, high schools and colleges, also provides STEM-inclined students the opportunity to compete in robotics contests in a variety of difficulty levels.

Invention competitions, such as The Collegiate Inventors Competition, are also available for college-level students who seek to solve problems with inventive STEM-related solutions.

Part 6: Engineering Schools and Math and Science Programs in SchoolsMath Programs for Elementary School Through High School Students

Avid Academy for gifted youth in Irving, Calif. is among the most prestigious math and science programs in the country, connecting gifted students from both public and private institutions as well as home-schooled students. Avid Academy partners with families, teachers, school administrators and businesses to help build character, develop talents, provide development opportunities and encourage collaboration. There are a number of classes that can be taken spanning the realm of math and physics. Each course lasts for 10 weeks and takes place at Concordia University.

The Center for Talented Youth (CTY) at Johns Hopkins University seeks all students of the highest academic ability. CTY conducts a talent search to find youth of the highest academic ability and will serve all qualified students, regardless of their ability to pay. CTY caters to all pre-collegiate students and offers special programs ranging from early development stages to high school students.

LeapAhead! Summer Math Program is the most affordable of the options. LeapAhead! conducts online math programs

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during in the summer months for only 20 minutes a day, four times a week. LeapAhead’s research concluded that students who are not exposed to stimulating, educational activities during the summer, lose a couple of month’s worth of math skills. LeapAhead’s overall objectives are to enrich a student’s interest and boost confidence in math and review. The program also aims to reinforce math concepts and skills and to strengthen problem-solving skills. These programs are only offered for grades three to six.

Texas Mathworks Summer Math Camp, at Texas State University, is for K-12 students and encourages them to do math at a high level. Often times, summer math camps and after-school programs include undergraduate counselors mentored by more experienced math teachers. Texas Mathworks strongly believes that developing students’ natural math abilities early is critical to their success in algebra and more advanced math.

Canada/USA Mathcamp is an intensive five-week summer camp for mathematically talented high school students. At Mathcamp, students can explore undergraduate and even graduate-level topics while building problem-solving skills that will help them in any field they choose to study. This camp is located in Cambridge, Mass.

Baylor University High School Summer Science Research Program is an annual summer camp established in 1991. Its purpose is to give superior high school students hands-on experience by working on research projects with Baylor science professors in many disciplines. This program occurs during the University’s first session of summer school and is open to students between their junior and senior years of high school. Students are selected from high schools throughout the United States to be involved in this summer research program, which allows them to earn one semester hour of college credit. It is hoped that this experience will

have a positive effect on student interest in careers in science disciplines. Many former participants have successfully entered challenging undergraduate programs throughout the nation, including those at Baylor.

MIT’s Office of Engineering Outreach Programs offers unique enrichment opportunities free of charge to middle school and high school students who attend public schools in the Boston area. MIT is devoted to the advancement of knowledge and education of students in areas that contribute to or prosper in an environment of science and technology. The programs are as follows:

1. MIT STEM Program: a year-round academic enrichment opportunity for talented middle school students from Boston, Cambridge and Lawrence, Mass., who want to explore their interests in science, technology, engineering and math. 2. MIT Science and Baseball Program: MSBP is a four-week summer program aimed at improving the math and science skills of entering eighth grade boys in Boston and Cambridge by building on their interest in baseball.3. Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science (MITES) is a rigorous six-week residential, academic enrichment summer program for promising high school seniors who are interested in studying and exploring careers in science and engineering. This national program stresses the value and reward of pursuing advanced technical degrees and careers while developing the skills necessary to achieve success in science and engineering. 4. Saturday Engineering Enrichment and Discovery (SEED) is a seven semester, academic enrichment and career exploration program for public high school students from Boston, Cambridge and Lawrence, Mass. Using the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks as a guide, instructional staff develops original curricula that will support students’ grasp of the math and science concepts

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they are being taught in school. Each SEED Academy module focuses on a different technical discipline, from Mechanical Engineering to Robotics to Synthetic Biology.

Performance of American Students Compared to Other Countries

According to an article in the Washington Post on Dec. 8, 2008, students are not doing any better than students in the 1990s on an international science exam. Students in Singapore, Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong outperformed U.S. fourth graders in science, but American students also outperformed 25 other countries. The average U.S. score was 539 on a 1,000 point scale.

Eighth graders who also took the exam are not doing any better. Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, England, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Hong Kong and Russia all topped U.S. eighth graders in science. The average U.S. score was a 520 on a 1,000 point scale, down almost 20 points from fourth grade. Eighth graders also fell behind all of these countries except the Czech Republic and Slovenia in math scores, with an average score of 508. Taiwan led math with an average score of 598. Francis Eberle, executive director of the Arlington County-based National Science Teachers Association said, “We need to pay attention to the results. We’re just static, and other countries are improving.”

An article from The Science Daily in August 1998, suggests that in general, American students are showing a drop in international rankings in math and science between the fourth and eight grades – educators are calling this period of time a “slump.” Dr. Gerald K LeTendre, assistant professor of education at Penn State said, “Our studies indicate that this is not really a slump, but simply a continuation of low gains from year to year.”

In the U.S., subjects covered in one grade are often again covered in another grade, taking away time from new concepts. Other countries have much tighter, upward spirals in learning, only repeating the minimum. “The initial reaction to our drop in ranking is to assume that our middle schools are at fault,” says LeTendre. “Low gains between third and fourth grades indicate this is not a middle school problem, however, and it is not a slump, but indicative of a system-wide low level of achievement.”

A 2007 article in The New York Times stated that on the most recent national assessment, the highest-performing state in math was Massachusetts, and in science, North Dakota. Mississippi was the lowest-performing state in both math and science. In math, Mississippi students’ achievement was comparable to those of peers in Bulgaria and Moldova. In science, Mississippi students were comparable to those in Norway and Romania.

Part 7: Socioeconomic InfluencesIncluding Minorities

The Project Demonstrating Excellence (PDE) conducted a social action project which studied the achievement gap between minority and non-minority students in the United States. The research shows that fewer minority students were enrolled in higher-level math and science courses than non-minority students. It was also noted in the research study that 42.8 percent of minority and 61.5 percent of non-minority students were enrolled in at least one advanced placement math or science course. Students and teachers were surveyed and asked questions based upon three specific

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education related issues: 1. Disparity in academic motivation of students to participate in after-school STEM; 2. Whether teachers and school administrators saw a need for STEM after-school enrichment; and 3. Developing STEM after-school programs that were centered on problem solving and higher order thinking skills to develop students’ interest in STEM careers.

The results spurred a non-profit program based out of Houston, Texas called C-STEM (communication, science, technology, engineering and math), an after-school program that assisted schools with reducing achievement gaps in the STEM courses. It is believed that this program can address the management, research and implementation of quality hands-on enrichment activities that will increase the number of students interested in pursuing careers in STEM fields.

2.4 percent of Hispanics and 2.7 percent of African Americans hold science and engineering degrees in the United States. These groups represent the largest academic achievement gap in math and science. If properly implemented and maintained, STEM enrichment programs can reduce this gap. C-STEM provided information on the perceptions of the 30 participants before and after the C-STEM program over a one-year period. The sampling frame was 47 percent minority and 43 percent non-minority. It was noted that getting children interested in STEM courses begins with early childhood development. Not only does it come from homes, but it also comes from role models and mentors with whom children can identify.

During the one-year C-STEM program, the students were surveyed every week. Surveys found that two out of three students who have gone through STEM programs want to return to the program as a mentor after graduation and that one out of two indicated the likelihood of pursuing STEM careers at the post-secondary level.

Benefits to student participants in after-school programs include:

• Exposure and experience in hands-on real life applications of math, reading, writing and science taught in the classroom.• Improved student assessment scores.• Improved student attendance at school.• Improved student conduct and self-discipline.• Development of good citizenship and study skills in motivated students. • Higher graduation rate from high school and college in STEM fields.

Incentive-based scholarships and internships for students taking higher level math and science courses can also serve as a motivator for participation.

Relating the Real World to Science

According to C.R. Barman, author of Students’ Views About Scientists and School Science, says that students view science, as well as other subjects in their schools, as separate domains of knowledge that are not personally applicable to them. They have difficulty connecting science to their own lives, so this has ultimately led to a decline in good attitudes towards science. Because of this, there is a lower interest in careers related to science. In a study conducted to examine the impact of a 10-day informal learning immersion science camp on low-socioeconomic status, seventh grade students and teachers visited places that affected their daily lives such as a sewage treatment facility, zoo, planetarium, forest and power plant. By the end of the camp the results showed that both teachers and students were positively impacted by their experiences at the camp. While at these sites, students were engaged in activities that supported science concepts important to how those facilities functioned. The students’

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content knowledge was enhanced and expanded.A commonly used strategy that incorporates goals of connecting school and real world science is through informal learning experiences during on-site visits. Sorrentino and Bell (1970) summarized this literature, and found five common “attributed values” teachers had for taking students on site visits. They claimed these values were “1. providing first-hand experience; 2. stimulating interest and motivation in science; 3. giving meaning to learning and interrelationships; 4. enhancing observation and perception skills; and 5. increasing personal development.”

When students were given free time during the on-site visits, they engaged in content-related conversations. The tape recorders that the children had to wear revealed that they were conducting learning-related conversations more than 80 percent of the time. Based on the Fennema-Sherman subscale of science anxiety, students reported significantly less science anxiety after participating in the summer camp. Students also reported significantly more in their ability to do science.

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PrimAry

ReseArch

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Primary ResearchPrimary research conducted for the Coalition is separated into three parts: surveys, a focus group, and one-on-one interviews.

The survey was conducted between March 3 and March 13, 2010, under the auspices of the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center (KCSC). Students enrolled in the Strategic Communication Campaigns course at the University of Kansas generated questions for the survey on behalf of the Coalition for Space Exploration. KCSC e-mailed a link to an online survey to 1,242 former Space Camp participants. Two hundred seventy-nine e-mail accounts were invalid and 411 of e-mails were opened. Twenty-eight students and one professor from Strategic Communications Campaigns were also invited to participate. The survey response rate was just over 10 percent. Launch Pad Communications supplemented the online survey by administering it to seven engineering students (four males, three females) and three elementary students (two males, one female).

The focus group was conducted March 2, 2010, at Spahr Library at the University of Kansas and consisted of eight engineering students ages 21 to 27. There were seven male and one female participant. The focus group was videotaped and transcribed. Out of the eight participants, there were three mechanical, two petroleum, two chemical and one architectural engineering student.

Eight one-on-one interviews with STEM majors from the University of Kansas were conducted, including six aerospace engineering students, one electrical engineering student and one physics major. Launch Pad Communications also conducted informal interviews with three teachers from three different cities and school socioeconomic statuses as well as the program director of Science City in Kansas City.

Part 1: SurveysLaunch Pad Communications used the class-created survey of former space campers and collected data from other demographics to expand its reach. Since the majority of the space campers who responded were in high school, we also extended the survey to seven college students studying engineering and three elementary school students, in addition to their interviews.

The survey showed that all ages chose television or computer with Internet use as their most-used medium. YouTube is the most popular networking site and all ages were in agreement that parents influence their interests in school and education. Differences became apparent in television channel choices. Each respondent had different choices than the next. However, similar demographics noted similar regularly watched channels: elementary students watched Nickelodeon, Teen Nick and the Disney Channel; Space Campers watched the Discovery Channel and the History Channel; and engineering students had no common channels with one another. We noticed that surveyed older students (Space Campers and engineering students) all used Facebook, whereas only one of the elementary students did. Elementary students had little to no interest in a career in math, science or space exploration; however, the majority of the Space Campers and college students did. An interesting similarity was the parents’ interest in space exploration. In the engineering group, all except one person said they either agreed or strongly agreed that their parents were interested in space. In the Space Camper group, more than 50 percent agreed to this as well. This data indicates that parental influence is an important insight into what makes a child pursue a career in the STEM education field.

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0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Facebook Twitter MySpace YouTube Blogs Other

Percent of Survey Respondents

Type of Social Media

Social Media Use

Males

Females

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0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Discovery Channel

ABC CBS Fox History Channel

NBC Comedy Central

TNT ABC Family

TBS

Percent of Survey Respondents

Television Channel

Most Watched Television Channels

Watch Occasionally

Watch Regularly

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Strongly Agree60% Agree

36%

No Opinion3%

Disagree1%

"I admire Astronauts"

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Strongly Agree55%

Agree39%

No Opinion5%

Disagree2%

"I Am Interested in Space Exploration"

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Part 2: Focus GroupWhile some focus group responses were predictable based on secondary research, Launch Pad Communications also uncovered new data. Focus group respondents explained that “engineering really runs life… all fields of engineering work hand-in-hand to make human beings work.” Basically, engineers problem solve. When asked to give an example of a universal problem they would typically work on, they explained that the only thing that they have in common with one another is “solving balances.” Every participant agreed that in order to survive in the engineering program, you have to enjoy problem solving and must like math. They explained how they have to work together to solve problems because if they didn’t they would not be able to get the right answer. One participant admitted, “If you have a good study group, you learn better, otherwise you won’t pass the test.”

When asked what they felt was the most challenging part about this field, all respondents stressed how time consuming it was. They felt that it might be making them miss out on something in school, but all agreed it was worth it in the end to continue in their major. Most agreed that money and the rewarding feeling of creating something beneficial for society keeps them going when it gets really tough. Some personality traits that the participants noticed as common are “hands-on people” and “nerdy kids.” When asked about their high school activities and clubs, most participated in academic-type programs but some were embarrassed about it at the time of participation. They also made the impression that in high school “nerdy” had a negative connotation but now is something they accept and enjoy. One participant noted that 97 percent of high school students don’t know that engineers are modern day inventors, which shows that most students are unaware and uneducated about engineering.

All participants agreed that parental influence on education is important and each of them was taught this at home. Each person had a story to tell about his or her family’s way of pushing education at home and it showed a good reason for why they are so dedicated in their schoolwork.

For leisure activities, although they have little time, all respondents use Facebook and many of them play sports or exercise to relieve stress or unwind.

All of the participants agree that we need to focus on our problems on Earth before spending money on space travel. They all agreed space was “cool,” but also felt the “it doesn’t concern me” attitude toward space exploration. The participants made good points about space not being a tangible resource that can be seen. All that participants see is our money being spent but little return. This heightens the suspicion that the Coalition for Space Exploration needs to educate people about everything that space has and can do for our society in the future.

Part 3: One-on-One InterviewsUniversity Students

All but in one interview, participants used Facebook regularly and all have a passion for science, math or both. All students said they participate in extracurricular activities related to the engineering field and 25 percent were involved in STEM-related activities in elementary or middle school. Seventy-five percent said they play sports or video games during leisure time. When asked what the greatest part of being a STEM major is, 75 percent of interviewees said the best part of the field is the challenges they face daily or the hands-on experience. Fifty percent of respondents have family members in this field and believed that it played a

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role in where they are now. One hundred percent of the participants supported space exploration and want to see more of it in the future. They all made it clear how much Earth benefits from space exploration. Finally, 75 percent said they would like to pursue a career in the space industry.

Maggie Bohlin: Special Education Teacher

Maggie Bohlin is a Special Education teacher at Jordan Community School in Chicago, Illinois. She teaches fourth, fifth and sixth graders. Jordan Community School is an inner-city school in Chicago.

Bohlin described the school’s mission to have a curriculum that is enriched in science and math. She explained how the teachers use a lot of hands-on approaches to learning, like lab experiments. She continually mentioned a school-wide computer program called Study Island, which is very popular and effective among students.

Although many of the students don’t have access to computers at home, they enjoy listening to music and watching television. Many of Bohlin’s students enjoy listening to a popular Chicago Hip-Hop and R&B radio station and artists like Lil Wayne. She also said that television stations like Disney and Nickelodeon were very popular, especially shows like iCarly and Hannah Montana for girls. Many boys like Family Guy and wrestling shows like WWE. Bohlin indicated that the school was lacking most after school sports except basketball. However, the school does have a lot of after-school clubs. One club that stood out was the “S.W.A.T club, Students Working to Advance Technology, where students work with teachers and fix computers that other students use.”

When asked about the social atmosphere and if there was a problem with bullying, specifically for smarter students, Bohlin’s answer was very interesting:

There is a sense of pride here to get good grades. Getting good grades isn’t seen as a bad thing. It’s cool to be smart… I don’t hear about people getting bullied for being smart. Instead, I hear about people getting bullied for being dumb.

She goes on to say, “It might be because teachers and the adults praise students for getting good grades, a lot of positive reinforcement.” Bohlin compared her experience in working in an inner city public school in Chicago with her student teaching experience in a wealthier suburb in Dayton, Ohio. She said, “I think it has a lot to do with the way these kids have been raised. When I was in Dayton, it was cool to not get good grades. Failing was seen as not caring; not caring was seen as cool. The suburban students cared about who you were dating and what you were wearing to school, like a persons ‘status.’ The inner city students wear uniforms to school and have other things to worry about.”

When asked her opinion on why some students don’t typically like subjects like science, math, engineering and technology, Bohlin stated the lack of interest is due to a lack of opportunity to learn about the subject. She even uses herself as an example: “To this very day I have no idea what chemical engineers do.” In terms of motivating students to get good grades, Bohlin says the best method is to keep the students engaged in the subject by having a fun project, presentation or field trip at the end of the unit. If students know there is a reward, besides good grades, they are more likely to work hard. Also, students will be more engaged if the learning is hands-on and interactive, rather than just pencil and paper. She again stressed the importance of providing students with the opportunity to learn all subjects in an engaging manner. “I feel that if they truly do learn

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about something, they will become more interested in it. If you know more knowledge on a subject, you will like it. If you know nothing about a subject, you will put your head down.”

Debbie Hays: Fifth Grade Teacher

Debbie Hays is a fifth grade teacher at Andrews Elementary in Plano, Texas. She teaches science, social studies and reading. Andrews Elementary is located in a suburban area of high socioeconomic status.

When asked about the school’s curriculum for science, technology, engineering and math, she spoke about how the teachers use hands-on techniques to get the students involved and excited. Hays mentioned they also have a gifted program that students can test into each year. It is a creative learning program that travels to other schools once a week to work with other students. She also mentioned that using technology (eight computers in her classroom) has recently become a big part of the curriculum because kids respond well to technology. Aside from in-school tactics, the school offers many extracurricular programs. For example, the environmental club teaches kids about recycling and how to create things that are helpful to the environment. Hays mentioned how the members of this club recently created a butterfly garden out of recycled materials. Other options for her students are Math Olympiad and an overnight Science Camp at Andrews Elementary. She explained how excited the students get for this and how much they learn in a fun environment.

Hays mentioned that 90 percent of her students have computers or computer access at home, 60-70 percent have cell phones, 80 percent have Wiis and about 15 percent use Facebook. She explained that her students spend most

of their time playing video games, playing online games or watching television. The Wii video games are the most popular in her class, and RuneScape has been a popular online game also. As far as television channels, Nickelodeon is the current favorite. Hays said the show iCarly is talked about daily.

When asked about bullying in her school, Hays said it was not a problem. In her school, being more intelligent is seen in a positive light. Although, she said that you can tell the gifted kids from the other kids; there is not much bullying at Andrews. One observation Hays thinks makes a huge difference at her school is the parents. She said the parents are very involved and concerned with their kids during school. Hays mentioned that last year 250 kids were tested for the gifted program because “everyone wants their child to be gifted.”

In Hays’ opinion, most students at her school show interest in these STEM-related subjects because about 50 percent of her students’ parents are engineers or in a similar field. Even though that is the case, Hays said she believes kids do not realize how important STEM subjects are for the future of society. If other students were more knowledgeable or educated about the engineering field, she said the interest would rise.

Cari Davis: Seventh Grade Teacher

Cari Davis is a seventh grade teacher at John Adams Middle School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. John Adams Middle School is an inner-city school in a low socioeconomic area with about 90 percent of students on free or reduced lunch.

When asked about the schools curriculum for subjects relating to STEM, Davis explains the Math Strategies

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class. This class is held daily for 45 minutes specifically for students who are below their grade level in math. She thinks it is a positive thing for the students who need extra help and attention in order to grasp topics in math. Davis also explains the advanced classes that are available to students in all subjects. Although only 10 to 15 percent of students qualify for these classes, she believes it is a good program. At John Adams they also have Gifted Science classes, which many of the students view as an honor. The final program she explains is MESA: Math, Engineering and Science Achievement, which is only for eighth graders at John Adams. This is targeted for students who have disadvantages in learning and focus on helping them to excel in math and science in the classroom. Davis said her most effective teaching method has been interactive whiteboards. She explains that the students respond well to hands-on learning tactics. She believes technology is one of the most effective ways to reach her students. In her school, students received clickers for two classrooms. Davis thinks clickers are attractive to students because the data is created almost immediately and they can visualize what they are learning.

“Many of the students go to the community center after school,” Davis said. At the community center they have the opportunity to play sports, different types of games, arts and crafts and other activities with other students. Davis said she thinks most of the students spend a lot of time at the center. She said about 60 to 70 percent have Internet access at home; however, they spend most of their time at home watching television or playing video games. She also mentioned PlayStation as the most popular console.

As far as bullying, Davis said that it wasn’t a problem for the smart students. However, “They do get teased a little bit and they definitely stand out.” She feels that there is not a negative connotation to getting good grades. It seems more like a jealousy for the other students.

Davis feels that the parents at her school are a major reason many of the students do not do well. She said the parents either do not know how to support them in education or are not around to do it. At John Adams, most of the parents did not attend a college or higher level institute and therefore do not expose their children to the possibilities. This is one main reason why she thinks many students do not care about subjects in STEM. If their parents have no reason to care about these topics, they usually instill those feelings in their children. Davis had an interesting theory that students make up their mind in third or fourth grade whether or not they are good at math and science. After that decision is made, they either enjoy it or give up on it altogether.

The final question to Davis was, “What encourages her students to get good grades and succeed?” She believes that when the students can relate to, or enjoy something, they are more motivated to do well. Recently, Davis said her students have been studying endangered animals and she noticed that many students who are animal lovers have been scoring higher on assignments.

Davis claimed that even though it is a challenge to get these students’ attention, when she succeeds at it, it is rewarding. She believes that as long as you can get the students to care about something, they will want to learn more about it.

Chris Alexander: STEM Professional

Chris Alexander is the Vice President of Finance and Administration for the FNA Group. FNA Group is a worldwide manufacturing company based in Chicago. Alexander graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in mechanical engineering, emphasis on manufacturing and materials with a minor in business and math.

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Alexander discovered in high school his love for problem solving and science courses. Alexander’s father owned a manufacturing plant and he credits his father’s plant for giving him the opportunity to explore his interest in engineering before going to college.

“I loved applying everything I learned with my hands,” Alexander said. “Growing up with access to the manufacturing plant, I got to break apart the motors and look inside the engine. As you keep learning, you get more curious and want to explore it more. For students, or anyone really, to really understand what an engineer does, you need to have some sort of experience prior to studying it.”

Alexander noted that he was a straight-A student in high school. He had a lot of friends and played on the soccer team, even though he said he hated it. He doesn’t remember any of his high school friends enjoying similar subjects like math and science. In college, he noted that most of his friends weren’t in the engineering program either. He explained that he needed, “a stable balance between engineering students and non engineering students.” Alexander didn’t consider himself ‘cool’ in high school or college, but he didn’t consider himself a ‘dork’ either.

In college, Alexander also discovered that he didn’t want to go into the engineering field as a profession. He explained that his father influenced his decision to study engineering, but not necessarily become a professional engineer. “My father is a very successful entrepreneur and he knows that having a powerful position is driven from an analytical background.” Alexander’s father influenced him to pursue a unique education to gain insight that will help him later in life, rather than simply becoming a professional.

When asked about space exploration, Alexander believed a reason that some students are not interested is due to a lack

of exposure to the subject. He found that many students see college as a place to simply get a degree.

“People can get excited about space, but I feel that it doesn’t have a lot of presence in schools or after school clubs. Not enough people are drawn to it early on (middle school/high school) and when they get to college they think, ‘I need to complete these classes and graduate.’ I feel like most kids graduate with something generic because they feel like college is just another step in the process.”

When asked about going to the moon, Alexander didn’t believe it was important because he didn’t know enough about it.

When asked if he thought providing students with more access to clubs or information about space and technology would be beneficial, Alexander gave a real life example that he experienced that day of how smart students are and they don’t even know it.

“There’s a kid working at the hotel I am staying at. He’s working the front desk and as I am checking-in he points to my Blackberry and starts talking nerd to me. He told me he programmed his Droid (smart phone) to turn on his television. He starts to tell me this whole process and here I am dumfounded. How did he just do that? He typed in some code and created an application that changes the channel and turns down the volume on his television. Little does this kid know, he has the ability to create the next Microsoft or something.”

Alexander explains how students don’t realize that their hobbies and past times are actually what professionals do. Students could make a career out of something they do for fun.

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“Kids in high school these days are smart. Smarter than me even, but they don’t realize it. Let me give you an example. Take the iPhone or a laptop. There are kids in high school creating specialty applications for the iPhone just for fun. They don’t realize that sitting behind their computer, creating these games and features, is exactly what a computer engineer does.”

Jeff Rosenblatt: Director, Science City

Members of Launch Pad Communications visited Science City inside Union Station in Kansas City, Mo. on April 2, 2010. The Director of Science City, Jeff Rosenblatt, gave the group a tour of the facility and spoke candidly about the success of its programs.

The first question we asked Rosenblatt was “What do the students respond to the best?” His answer echoes our previous research that activity-based learning is by far the best approach to teaching children science. Science City has created dozens of these activity-based learning programs in its Discovery Areas that schools, as well as the public, can take children to explore.

Science City’s discovery areas, all of which focus on STEM-related subjects, are led by staff members and are supervised by teachers or parents. For example, in the Test Kitchen, students learn about the science of food, and in the Burns and McDonnell Engineerium, they can build and execute a robotics program. In the Planetarium, students can experience a tour of the stars on the huge, 360-degree screen. Science City also hosts group teambuilding activities in its discovery areas that are appropriate for high school, college and adult groups. All of the discovery area programs last either one or two hours, depending on the age of the participants.

Science City is also fortunate enough to have a Challenger Learning Center, which is an interactive space and science education center where groups work together to help send a successful mission to the moon or mars. The first Challenger Learning Center opened in 1988 as a living memorial to the NASA Challenger crew and has since funded more than 50 centers in 31 states, as well as in Canada and the UK. Worldwide, each year more than 500,000 students participate in a Challenger Learning Center program.

Rosenblatt said that all of its discovery area programs are equally popular among students and teachers. Science City does provide educational materials for educators to use in preparing the students for the programs. However, he stressed that it doesn’t matter how skilled or knowledgeable the students are before attending a Science City program, because often the most responsive students are the most unexpected. For example, at-risk youth groups that participate in the outreach programs seem to excel when given the responsibility and freedom to complete the discovery area tasks.

In the summer, Science City hosts numerous week-long summer camps with themes such as “Space Exploration: Stars, Planets & Asteroids.” It offers community and classroom outreach as well, where Science City’s professional staff brings its interactive science demonstrations to schools and community events. Student groups, such as Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops, can even hold overnight “camp-ins” at Science City and explore all night long. Most of Science City’s business comes from word-of-mouth referrals and annual class field trips. Its marketing is mostly passive and in the form of a Web site and brochures.

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ReseArch

SummAry

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Summary of Key FindingsLaunch Pad Communications uncovered many significant findings. The majority of seventh and eighth grade students simply don’t care about math and science. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, one-fifth of eighth graders can’t perform basic math computations. Many students don’t realize how math will help them in the real world, so they give up on it. Because of this, scores are down and there is a lack of knowledge in STEM curriculum. Interestingly, it was found that there is a relationship between a student’s performance and his or her parents’ education background. Eighth grade students whose parents attended college or vocational school scored above the all eighth grade average, while those whose parents had no more than a high school education scored significantly lower than average.

Through our research, we discovered that the presence and influence of a parent or guardian is essential in the amount of effort a child puts in to learning math and science. Debbie Hays, a fifth grade teacher from a suburban area of high socioeconomic status said that the parents are very involved and concerned with their kids during school. Hays mentioned that last year 250 kids were tested for the gifted program because, “everyone wants their child to be gifted.” When we interviewed a Cari Davis, a teacher from a low socioeconomic school, she agreed that the parents’ involvement in their child’s education is key. Unfortunately, she has seen minimal parental involvement, which has resulted in many of the students not succeeding in their courses. Davis said that the parents either do not know how to support their children or they simply aren’t around to do it. At the school Ms. Davis works for, most of the parents didn’t attend a college or a higher level institute so their children aren’t as exposed to the possibilities.

Socioeconomic status also plays a part in education enthusiasm. Inner city students who received high grades were considered ‘cooler’ than those who didn’t. The opposite was true for suburban students, where failing was considered not caring and not caring was viewed as cool.

Maggie Bohlin, a special education teacher in Chicago said that the best method is to keep the students engaged in the subject is by having a fun project, presentation or field trip at the end of the unit. If students know there is a reward, besides good grades, they are more likely to work hard. Also, students will be more engaged if the learning is hands on and interactive, rather than pencil and paper. It is believed that if you can get the students to care about something, then they will want to learn more about it.

According to a study conducted in Houston, Texas, exposure and experience in hands-on, real life applications of math, reading, writing and science leads to improved student tests scores on knowledge tests, improves class attendance and encourages students to graduate from high school and college in STEM fields. A 10-day informal study was done with low-socioeconomic students that involved taking them to several on site locations such as the zoo, planetarium, forest and power plant. Because the students were engaged in activities that supported science concepts that were important to how the facilities were run, their content knowledge was enhanced and expanded. It’s very important for students to be able to do interactive hands-on learning so that they can relate science and math to the real world. They will be able to retain more information and will enjoy the subjects much more.

Finally, most people are unaware and uneducated about what engineering really is. During a focus group consisting of engineering students, a participant noted that 97 percent of high school students don’t know that engineers are modern-

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day inventors. The students in the focus group all agreed that you have to be a problem solver and like math in order to survive in the engineering world. It was also stated that money and the satisfaction of creating something beneficial for society are what mainly keep them motivated to continue down the engineering path.

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Key

Publics

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Key PublicsPrimary Publics

1. Students between 3rd and 10th gradesa. Rationale for targeting

i. Students in these grades may not have decided what career to pursue, and may be persuaded to choose STEM-related careers.

b. Key messagei. STEM-related studies and careers are interesting and

help us live better lives.c. Examples

i. Science Sally1. 11 years old/6th grade2. In Science Olympiad3. Encouraging parents4. Dad is an IT specialist, mom is a stay-at-home

mom, president of the PTA5. Watches Discovery Channel and Disney Channel6. Plays Wii games7. Watches YouTube8. Uses iTunes to download music for her iPod9. Uses text messaging extensively

ii. Curious Cathy1. 8 years old/3rd grade2. Younger sister of Science Sally3. Willing to try anything once4. Likes to hang out with her older sister, who she

looks up to5. Watches the Disney Channel6. Doesn’t use the Internet much, except with parent

supervision7. Takes dance lessons8. Plays tee-ball9. Outgoing and friendly10. Girl Scout

2. Teachersa. Rationale for targeting

i. Including information about STEM careers and space education in the curriculum may increase students’ favorable perception of STEM studies and careers.

ii. If teachers are inspired to be passionate about teaching STEM education, then perhaps more interest in a US space exploration program can be generated.

b. Key messagei. Include hands-on STEM-related materials and

example career paths in the lesson plans to keep students engaged in learning.

c. Examplei. Teacher Terry

1. Teaches math and science in suburban public middle school

2. 25-35 years old3. Very active in school, does lunchroom duty, etc.4. Very involved with students’ success5. Sponsors MATHCOUNTS6. Married, no children7. Middle class

3. U.S. Taxpayersa. Rationale for targeting

i. U.S. taxpayers influence the national agenda and may help create support for U.S. space exploration.

b. Key messagei. Things you use every day only exist because of space

exploration. Where would you be without space?

4. Social Media Usersa. Rationale for targeting

i. Social media users include all target audiences.b. Key message

i. Space exploration is a positive thing that improves your quality of life on Earth.

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Intervening Publics

1. Mediaa. Rationale for targeting

i. Members of the media are gatekeepers to other target audiences, and influence the public agenda.

b. Key messagei. Space exploration is a vital endeavor that the public

needs to know about. If new discoveries are made in space, they could increase our quality of life.

c. Examplesi. Reportersii. Bloggersiii. Entertainment media

2. Involved parents of students between 3rd and 10th gradesa. Rationale for targeting

i. Parent involvement in student endeavors has been shown to increase student participation, interest and success in school.

ii. Parents have a direct influence over what their children believe. If parents are interested in a US space exploration program, then perhaps their children will be too.

b. Key messagei. America needs to educate strong leaders, and STEM

education is the perfect way to inspire interest and predict future student success.

c. Examplei. Bob the Builder

1. Age 35-452. Married3. Has 1-3 kids4. College degree5. Employed full time, white collar job6. Middle class7. Goes to parent-teacher conferences8. Attends school functions his child is involved in

3. Coalition for Space Exploration Membersa. Rationale for targeting

i. Coalition members are enthusiastic about space exploration and STEM education, and hold STEM-related careers.

b. Key messagei. Volunteering to speak at local schools will encourage

students to pursue STEM education and STEM-related careers.

4. The Discovery Channela. Rationale for targeting

i. The Discovery Channel will co-sponsor for the Coalition, and is invested in encouraging students to pursue STEM education and careers.

b. Key messagei. By sponsoring a mobile learning bus, you will directly

encourage students to pursue STEM education and careers and have your name associated with a good cause.

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SwOT

AnAlysis

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SWOT AnalysisA SWOT analysis is a commonly used strategic communications planning tool that visually analyzes an initiative’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It is designed to include all factors of an initiative. The horizontal axis of a SWOT grid di-vides characteristics into positive (top) and negative (bottom) categories, and the vertical axis divides characteristics into internal (left) and external (right) categories. Internal characteristics are factors present in an initiative, and external characteristics are factors which may affect an initiative in the future. Dividing characteristics into these categories allows examiners to determine what changes need to be made, if any, to improve the initiative.

SWOT GridStrengths

(Internal/Present/Positive)

• STEM-related jobs pay well• NASA is a well-established program• NASA is inspiring• U.S. school system provides high-quality STEM employees• Coalition has a strong, diverse base of support• Astronauts are still viewed as heroes• People are still excited about space• Engineers are modern-day inventors• Science and technology TV shows popular with youth• Buzz Aldrin on Dancing With the Stars• NASA inventions improve quality of life on Earth• Hands-on STEM education is effective• Obama’s controversial plan for NASA

Weaknesses(Internal/Present/Negative)

• “Been there, done that” mentality• NASA’s relies on government funding• NASA can’t market itself• Slow progress into commercial sector• STEM coursework is rigorous• U.S. education system does not provide enough STEM employees• Space not prominent in grade school coursework• Public unaware of space history• Lack of media exposure for space initiatives• Little public awareness of importance/definition of engineering• Obama’s controversial plan for NASA

Opportunities(External/Future/Positive)

• Enormous potential in space exploration• NASA’s planned missions under Obama• Potential budget increases from government, Coalition members• Public/private corporation coordination• Ability to reframe NASA history for youth• New media provides easy access to target audiences

Threats(External/Future/Negative)

• Government budget cuts• Future recessions• Space Shuttle retirement• STEM careers abound outside space exploration field• Private sector space exploration• U.S. schools taken advantage of by international students• China and international space domination; national security• Parents may not be involved in children’s education• Lack of media exposure for space initiatives• Future presidencies may not support space exploration

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SWOT Explanation

Strengths (Internal/Present/Positive)

The Coalition for Space Exploration is a well-established advocacy organization with a strong, diverse base of support. NASA is also a well-established agency. Its inventions improve the quality of life on earth, its programs such as Mission to Planet Earth are inspiring to Americans and astronauts are still viewed as heroes.

The U.S. school system provides STEM education opportunities to students who seek them, and provides high-quality employees from these programs. STEM-related jobs tend to pay well, which can motivate students. In addition, hands-on STEM education has been shown to be highly effective with students and helps them engage and learn.

Youth who are interested in STEM education opportunities are also interested in science and technology TV shows. Through this outlet, youth discover the benefits of STEM education.

In general, the public is still excited about space. For example, a recent episode of the popular TV show Dancing With the Stars featured Buzz Aldrin. If the Coalition can leverage this excitement to its advantage, it can potentially increase its budget through both government and private funding.

President Obama recently announced a plan to revitalize NASA that he indicates will keep the United States in a leading space exploration position. This has also increased media coverage of space initiatives.

Weaknesses (Internal/Present/Negative)

While Americans do find NASA inspiring, older publics share a “been there, done that” mentality in regard to space exploration. In addition, NASA relies on government funding which is affected by this mentality, and NASA is legally prohibited from marketing itself to raise the awareness and support it needs.

The slow progress of spaceflight into the commercial sec-tor can also be considered a weakness. Very few people have been to space since human spaceflight began decades ago, which, compared to the boom in the terrestrial flight passen-ger numbers in the same amount of time, is discouraging.

The U.S. education system is weak compared to other developed countries, and does not produce enough STEM students to meet its needs. This may be due in part to parents not being involved in their children’s education and the rigorous coursework involved in STEM studies. In addition, space and space exploration are not prominent in coursework, and students may not know what STEM careers are available to them.

Youth are typically unaware of space history. While this can be positive, in such cases as not knowing about the Challenger disaster, it can also be detrimental to the Coalition’s cause because youth do not know what NASA has accomplished.

The public lacks awareness of the importance and even the definition of engineering. Coupled with the lack of media exposure given to space initiatives in areas not directly affected by them, such as Houston, the public is unaware of both what the U.S. is doing in space and what kind of people and resources the space program needs to keep going.

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Finally, President Obama’s plan for NASA is controversial, and many former astronauts are campaigning against it.

Opportunities (External/Future/Positive)

The Coalition has many external opportunities to tap into if given the chance.

Because youth are unaware of NASA’s history, the Coalition has the ability to reframe NASA’s history with this target audience in a favorable manner. Couple this with the enormous potential in space exploration, and the Coalition is well-poised to pitch space exploration careers and STEM education to youth.

Because space exploration is a hot topic under the Obama administration right now, NASA may receive further budget increases from the government and the Coalition may receive further donations from its members. In addition, space exploration may gain ground through public and private corporation coordination.

Finally, new media such as Facebook and Twitter provide easy access to key publics.

Threats (External/Future/Negative)

Budget cuts are a grave threat to NASA’s operation. Without continued government funding, NASA cannot pursue space exploration, and future recessions may result in lower government spending on NASA. In addition, private sector space exploration is becoming more common, which may hinder NASA’s case further by ‘beating them to the punch.’

STEM careers also abound outside of space exploration-

related companies, in corporations such as Google. The dwindling supply of qualified candidates for these positions threatens NASA’s ability to replenish its staff.

The U.S. education system is currently graduating large numbers of international students, who return to their home countries to further international space exploration. If this trend continues, countries such as China may soon dominate space, which could lead to national security issues.

The Space Shuttle will be retired within a year, and the U.S. does not currently have another way to send astronauts to space. Future presidencies may not support space exploration and pull NASA’s funding, leaving the U.S. stranded on Earth.

Finally, when the controversy over President Obama’s plan for NASA dies down, a lack of media exposure for space ex-ploration may return.

SWOT ConclusionsBecause government funding for space exploration is cur-rently controversial, the Coalition should use the most cost-effective measures possible for this campaign. If higher-priced tactics are necessary for reaching the target audiences, the Coalition could leverage support from its private spon-sors.

To reach its target audience of students, the Coalition should focus on using non-traditional media and hands-on technology as these students have grown up in the ‘gadget age.’ The Coalition would also benefit from an attempt to reintegrate space into these students’ curriculums, as many students are unaware of space history and the benefits of space exploration. Additionally, science and technology

45

TV shows are popular with STEM-inclined students, which indicates that TV is a valid medium for reaching these kids.

Informing the public about benefits we’ve received from space exploration, such as GPS devices and Velcro, may increase public support of space exploration. The Coalition can also help by explaining and promoting what STEM careers are available, especially in the case of engineering, which, to many key publics, is a nebulous concept.

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GoAls,

Objectives

And tActics

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Goal 1 To encourage American youth to pursue careers in STEM-related fields including the aerospace industry

Objective 1 Create awareness of STEM related careers prior to entering eighth grade

Tactic 1 Create curricula to send to schools pertaining to STEM-related careers

Description: Provide lesson plans and curricula, which include hands-on and activity- based lessons for a four-week program, specifically for middle school students. Each week would be used to focus on a different letter of the STEM acronym.

Target audiences: Teachers and middle school students

Timetable: July 2010

Cost: $2,500

Tactic 2 Create a 20-second commercial

Description: The commercial will raise awareness of STEM-related careers and be placed throughout online video services such as YouTube and Hulu.

Target audiences: Students up to seventh grade and their families

Timetable: September 2010

Cost: $25,000

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Tactic 3 Develop an online network of volunteers and coalition members who have held STEM- related careers

Description: Provide teachers and schools with the opportunity and resources to invite their choice of volunteer to speak at their school.

Target audiences: Teachers, students and coalition members

Timetable: July 2010

Cost: $100/annually

Tactic 4 Distribute news releases to local media

Description: Write a news release announcing the STEM-related curricula and the online network of volunteers.

Target audiences: Media

Timetable: July 2010

Cost: $250

Tactic 5 Pitch a “Geek Week” programming special to the Discovery Channel

Description: A weeklong series of featured television programs dedicated to STEM careers and space exploration, similar to the popular “Shark Week.”

Target audiences: Teachers, parents, students and the Discovery Channel

Timetable: June 2011

Cost: No Cost

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Tactic 6 Promote “Geek Week” partnership on all Web-related, Coalition activities (contingent on tactic 5)

Description: Post updates, information and links on Coalition Website and social media sites.

Target audiences: Coalition members and supporters, social media users

Timetable: June 2011

Cost: No Cost

Objective 2 – Create a mobile learning bus that travels to major cities in the U.S.

Tactic 1 An interactive bus called the Discovery Voyager that gives students hands-on activities to participate in relating to STEM education

Description: A 25-week cross-country bus tour that is sponsored by the Discovery Channel to inform students in elementary and middle schools about STEM-related education. The bus will objectively 25 hit major cities.

Target audiences: Teachers, students, parents, communities, media, the Discovery Channel and volunteers

Timetable: September 2011

Cost: No Cost ($100,000-$200,000 for sponsor)

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Tactic 2 Send a “fulfillment kit” to school districts in major cities that wish to participate in the Discovery Voyager mobile learning bus tour

Description: Send a direct mail brochure that includes a call to action (Website) to request a fulfillment kit. The kit will include sample lesson plans, preparation materials and posters.

Target audience: Teachers, administrators and school board officials

Timetable: June 2011

Cost: $2,500

Tactic 3 Develop a media kit

Description: Send a media kit inviting local media to cover the Discovery Voyager bus tour and visits to local schools.

Target audience: Local and national media

Timetable: August 2011

Cost: $1,000

Tactic 4 Create an interactive website

Description: The website will include information on the Discovery Voyager bus tour, including tour dates, fulfillment kit materials, a media kit and other resources. Website URL will also be physically displayed on the bus.

Target audiences: Teachers, students, parents, communities, media, the Discovery Channel and volunteers

Timetable: June 2011

Cost: $100/annually

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Tactic 5 Develop a social media following for the Discovery Voyager’s activities

Description: Create a Facebook Fan page, Twitter account and blog on the website that will promote the bus and its activities.

Target audiences: Teachers, students, parents, communities, media, The Discovery Channel, volunteers and social media users

Timetable: June 2011

Cost: No Cost

Tactic 6 Create and place banner advertisements on the Discovery Channel website and its network of stations’ websites.

Description: Place banner ads promoting the Discovery Voyager bus tour and its websites Target audiences: Teachers, parents and students

Timetable: August 2011

Cost: No Cost

Tactic 7 Create and place targeted Facebook advertisements

Description: Place advertisements promoting the Discovery Voyager bus tour and its website on highly targeted Facebook profiles.

Target audiences: Teachers, parents and social media users

Timetable: August 2011

Cost: $21,000

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Tactic 8 Promote the bus tour at a national education conference

Description: Park the Discovery Voyager outside the annual American Association of School Administrators Conference and place advertisements in the conference program.

Target audiences: Teachers and administrators

Timetable: February 2011

Cost: $500

Tactic 9 Send the Discovery Voyager on a three-part media tour

Description: Showcase the Voyager and its progress on influential national news and talk shows, beginning in New York City (morning shows – Good Morning America), then Chicago (daytime shows – Oprah), and ending in Los Angeles (nighttime shows – The Tonight Show).

Target audiences: Media, teachers and parents

Timetable: September 2011 and June 2011

Cost: No Cost

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Goal 2 To increase public interest and support for an ongoing United States space exploration program.

Objective 1 Educate the public about what everyday technologies were developed by the United States space exploration program

Tactic 1 Develop “Webisodes” based on the theme, “Where would you be without space?”

Description: A series of short videos posted on YouTube to inform audiences of the technologies derived from space exploration that we use daily.

Target audiences: People who use space-derived technology, U.S. taxpayers, social media users

Timetable: November 2010 (coincide with Space Shuttle fleet retirement)

Cost: $9,000

Tactic 2 Create billboard advertisements based on the theme, “Where would you be without space?” Description: Strategically placed advertisements in major cities and areas of travel to remind people that they are constantly around space-derived technology.

Target audiences: People who use space-derived technology, U.S. taxpayers

Timetable: November 2010 (coincide with Space Shuttle fleet retirement) Cost: $5,778

54

Tactic 3 Create and place targeted print advertisements based on the theme, “Where would you be without space?”

Description: Place advertisements in influential newspapers and magazines in large markets that lack a large space-industry presence, like Washington D.C. and San Francisco.

Target audiences: People who use space-derived technology, U.S. taxpayers and government officials

Timetable: November 2010 (coincide with Space Shuttle fleet retirement)

Cost: $20,000

Tactic 4 Create a news release announcing the purpose of the “Where would you be without space” campaign

Description: Send a news release to local and national media outlets announcing the purpose and launch of the “Where would you be without space” campaign.

Target audiences: Media

Timetable: November 2010 (coincide with Space Shuttle fleet retirement)

Cost: $250

55

Objective 2 Increase public interest and support for the Coalition for Space Exploration and the United States space exploration program

Tactic 1 Enhance the Coalition’s brand throughout the entire campaign

Description: Include collateral materials about the Coalition and its mission into prior campaign tactics, including Discovery Voyager and “Geek Week” promotion and STEM curricula for schools.

Target audiences: All

Timetable: Concurrent with campaign objectives

Cost: $2,000

Tactic 2 Improve Coalition social media communication Description: Designate and train one person to control the Coalition’s Facebook, Twitter and other social media Web presence and to make them more target-audience appropriate.

Target audiences: Social media users

Timetable: July 2010

Cost: No Cost

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Executions

57

Title: Sample “Discovery Voyager” Bus Wrap Design

Brief Description: A 25-week cross-country bus tour that is sponsored by the Discovery Channel to inform students in elementary and middle schools about STEM-related education. The bus will objectively hit major cities.

Status: Mock-up completed

Location: The mock-up follows this description.

58

59

Title: “Discovery Voyager” Website

Brief Description: The website will include information on the Discovery Voyager bus tour, including tour dates, fulfillment kit materials, a media kit and other resources. Website URL will also be physically displayed on the bus.

Status: Mock-up home page completed

Location: The mock-up home page follows this description.

60

61

Title: “Discovery Voyager” Media Kit

Brief Description: Send a media kit inviting local media to cover the Discovery Voyager bus tour and visits to local schools.

Status: Completed

Location: The media kit follows this description.

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ork

and

will

end

its

first

se

ason

in L

os A

ngel

es o

n M

ay 1

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y:

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tere

st in

STE

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duca

tion

is g

oing

str

aigh

t out

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win

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ren’

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ng th

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ence

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at d

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hen

they

gro

w u

p.”

-

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z Sa

turn

, Hea

d B

rain

iac

Dis

cove

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o:

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ager

is s

pons

ored

by

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cove

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hann

el a

s pa

rt o

f the

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litio

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ace

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lora

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’s S

TEM

ulat

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mer

ica

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paig

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are.

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xact

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term

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hy:

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car

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men

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hn D

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Eng

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#

66

Title: “Discovery Voyager” Satellite Media Tour

Brief Description: During the scheduled Discovery Voyager route, the bus will complete a comprehensive, 3-part media tour. The media tour will begin in New York City at the commencement of the Discovery Voyager tour Sept. 12, stop in Chicago in the middle Jan. 9, and finish in Los Angeles May 14. Local radio/television/newspaper media outlets are still encouraged to cover the Discovery Voyager when it comes to the cities not specifically designated on the satellite media tour.

Status: Dates and locations completed

Location: The satellite media tour dates and locations follow this description.

67

Satellite Media Tour

First major media stop: New York City Sept. 12 to Sept. 16, 2011

Good Morning America (ABC) – Produce a segment coinciding with “back to school” season to help kick off the Discovery Voyager tour and create awareness.

Live! With Regis and Kelly (NBC) – Have Kelly and the crew’s kids try out the bus activities; possibly coincide with Live’s “Top Teacher Week.”

Second major media stop: Chicago Jan. 9 to Jan. 13, 2011

WGN Morning News (CW) – News report on the Discovery Voyager’s progress; interview Chicago inner-city school kids to talk about what Discovery Voyager means to them.

68

Oprah (CBS) – Oprah could devote a show to the decline in STEM education in the United States with an audience of educators and mothers with young children. She could also give a tour of the bus and provide segments of the bus touring from New York to Chicago thus far.

Third major media stop: Los Angeles May 14 to May 18, 2011

The Ellen Degeneres Show (WB) – Develop a game to quiz Ellen about STEM careers and compare her answers to a child who completed the Discovery Voyager program.

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC) – Feature a “Jaywalking” segment asking bystanders how much they know about STEM careers

Talking points• Statistics on U.S. student performance in STEM subjects• Mission of the Discovery Voyager and the program• The Coalition’s role/goals in STEM and the bus• Progress of the Discovery Voyager (activities, cities and dates visited, public’s reaction)• Speak with Brainiacs about how the tour is going

69

Title: STEM Career Awareness Commercial Script

Brief Description: The commercial will raise awareness of STEM-related careers and be placed throughout online video services such as YouTube and Hulu.

Status: Script completed

Location: The commercial script follows this description.

70

Title: STEM Career AdClient/Sponsor: Coalition for Space ExplorationLength: 20 secondsAir Dates: September 2010

MUSIC: (Inspirational, upbeat music. Establish, gradually increase)

WS: Space shuttle taking off (:02)

MS: Men building Golden Gate Bridge (:04)

CU: Architects designing a building (:06)

WS: Footage of Neil Armstrong walking on the moon (:08)

MS: Students in chemistry class doing a hands-on experiment (:10) MUSIC: (Up and then fade at :11 )

FADE TO BLACK SCREEN, TEXT SCROLL IN FROM TOP WHITE TEXT: What careers are behind all of these creations? (:13)WHITE TEXT: Science (:14)WHITE TEXT: Technology (:15)WHITE TEXT: Engineering (:16)WHITE TEXT: Math (:17)WHITE TEXT: Explore careers at www.STEMcareers.com (:20)

(Fade out at :20 )

###

71

Title: STEM Career Awareness News Release

Brief Description: Write a news release announcing the STEM-related curricula and the online network of volunteers.

Status: Completed

Location: The news release follows this description.

72

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resi

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coal

itio

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m a

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et I

had

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clue

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t tha

t mea

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oung

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valu

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inve

stin

g in

NA

SA.

#

##

73

Title: “Geek Week” Sample Programming Schedule

Brief Description: A weeklong series of featured television programs dedicated to STEM careers and space exploration on the Discovery Channel, similar to the popular “Shark Week.”

Status: Completed

Location: The sample programming schedule and show descriptions follow this description.

74

Programming Schedule

Time Friday Saturday9:00 a.m. How It’s Made How It’s Made 10:00 a.m. Mythbusters Dirty Jobs 11:00 a.m. Howe and Howe Tech Dirty Jobs12:00 p.m. Howe and Howe Tech Ghost Lab1:00 p.m. Motor City Motors Next World2:00 p.m. Motor City Motors Next World3:00 p.m. Raging Planet Raging Planet4:00 p.m. Cash Cab Cash Cab5:00 p.m. Cash Cab Cash Cab6:00 p.m. Storm Chasers Time Warp7:00 p.m. Storm Chasers When We Left Earth8:00 p.m. The Matrix When We Left Earth9:00 p.m. The Matrix When We Left Earth10:00 p.m. The Matrix Apollo 1311:00 p.m. The Matrix Apollo 1312:00 p.m. The Matrix Apollo 13

Program Descriptions for Geek Week (June 20-26, 2011):

Cash Cab: STEM Edition; STEM related questions will be asked in the Cash Cab.

Dirty Jobs: Mike Rowe will find Dirty Jobs in the STEM career field.

How It’s Made: This series will showcase products that require engineer’s input and skills in making (cars, computers, cell phones, etc…).

MythBusters: Adam and Jamie will test different scientific myths.

Storm Chasers: This series will showcase the details and work that meteorologists do for the chases.

Time Warp: Replay current series.

Ghost Lab: The hosts of this series use the latest technology to uncover powerful results in supernatural research.

Howe and Howe Tech: This showcases the designing and building of machines.

Raging Planet: This show features weather and geology scientists who use fascinating science throughout each episode.

Shows That Could Replay During Geek Week:

The Detonators: This series follows explosive experts and blaster crews as they take down just about any structure with accuracy (Discovery.com).

Doing DaVinci: This series features a team that recreates Leonardo DaVinci’s inventions.

Future Weapons: This show reveals weapons of the 21st century.

Next World: This series reveals the science, the inventions and the innovations that seem impossible now but will be a reality in the future (Discovery.com).

One Way Out: Mix the science of escape with the art of ingenuity.

Smash Lab: This series is focused on destruction instruction.When We Left Earth: Relive the story of mankind’s greatest

adventure, leaving earth and living in space (Discovery.com).

Suggestions for Movies to Play During Geek Week:

Back to the FutureDante’s PeakThe MatrixMission to MarsApollo 13

TransformersIron ManArmageddon21I, Robot

75

Title: Downloadable “Geek Week” Poster

Brief Description: The downloadable “Geek Week” poster will be available on both the Discovery Channel’s website and the Coalition for Space Exploration’s website.

Status: Completed

Location: The downloadable “Geek Week” poster follows this description.

76

77

Title: “Where would you be without space?” Print Ads

Brief Description: Place advertisements in influential newspapers and magazines in large markets that lack a large space-in-dustry presence, like Washington D.C. and San Francisco.

Status: Completed

Location: The print ad (slightly scaled down) follows this description.

78

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81

Title: Coalition for Space Exploration Facebook Fan Page

Brief Description: A Facebook fan page, as opposed to a Facebook group, allows fan page updates to appear on fans’ news feeds and provides fan page administrators with analytics.

Status: Mock-up completed

Location: The fan page mockup and mock analytics follow this description.

82

83

84

Title: Discovery Voyager Facebook Ad

Brief Description: Place advertisements promoting the Discovery Voyager bus tour and its website on highly targeted Facebook profiles.

Status: Completed

Location: The Facebook ad follows this description. This screenshot also features sample Coalition for Space Exporation fan page posts on a fan’s news feed.

85

86

Appendix A:

Sources of

Information

87

Articles“About NASA,” National Aerunautics and Space

Administration, February 1, 2010. Online: www.nasa.gov/about.

“Action This Day,” National Math and Science Initiative. Online: www.nationalmathandscience.org.

Chen Yng-Ru. “Columbia Shuttle Tragedy,” ProQuest Information Discovery Guide, October 2003. Online: www.csa.com/discoveryguides/shuttle/overview.php.

Coalition Poll Results: Value of Human Space Exploration, Space Coalition Blog, July 27, 2009. Online: www.spacecoalition.com/blog.

Conger, Cristen. “10 NASA Inventions You Might Use Every Day,” Online: science.howstuffworks.com/ten-nasa-inventions.htm.

Digest of Education Statistics, National Center for Education Statistics, 2009. Online: http://nces.ed.gov.

Fleming, Grace. “National Competitions in Science and Math,” About.com. Online: www.homeworktips.about.com.

Greene, Nick. “Challenger Disaster – A NASA Tragedy,” About.com. Online: www.space.about.com.

“Important but Not for Me. A Report” from Public Agenda, 2007. Online: www.publicagenda.org.

Kuenzi, Jeffrey J. “Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education: Background, Federal Policy, and Legislative Action,” March 21, 2008. Online: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33434.pdf.

“Pre-Engineering Competitions,” Engineering Education Service Center, 2008. Online: www.engineeringedy.com/competitions.html.

“Supporting STEM Education,” Coalition for Space Exploration social media release, February 16, 2010. Online: www.pitchengine.com/supporting-stem-education/47087/.

“Technology,” The White House. Online:http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/divisions/technology.

Terrell, Nicholas. “STEM Occupations,” Occupational Outlook Quarterly, Spring 2007. Online: www.bls.gov/opub/ooq/2007/spring/contents.htm.

“Why is STEM Education Important?” Talking points from the STEMEd Caucus Steering Committee. Online: www.stemedcausus.org.

ImagesApollo 16 image. Online: www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/

detail/nasaNAS~9~9~60183~164030.

Astronauts image. Online: blog.digitalcontentproducer.com/briefingroom/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/bdy_60_stills0011.jpg.

88

Blogger logo. Online: www.aam-us.org/mcca/images/Blogger-Logo.jpg.

Bus image. Online: www.clker.com/clipart-3043.html.

Coalition for Space Exploration logo. Online: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/82/CoalitionforSpaceExploration_logo.png.

Earth image. Online: spiritualoasis.files.wordpress.com/2006/10/earth-from-space-western.jpg.

Find us on Facebook image. Online: www.wildernessclassroom.com/blog/images/stories/about/find-us-on-facebook.jpg.

Hubble galazy image. Online: www.sciencemusings.com/blog/uploaded_images/HUDF-777866.jpg.

Moon image. Online: studentradio.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/full_moon_02_20001.jpg.

Runner image. Online: planetfoods.ca/news/uploaded_images/running-race-747413.bmp.

Space tools image. Online: www.nasa.gov/images/content/344876main_pgtonhubblelfight.jpg.

Student image. Online: www.wsba-wy.org/j0400379.jpg.

United States image. Online: www.googlemaps.com.

Facebook images. Online: www.facebook.com.

89

Appendix B:

rAw PrimAry

reseArch

90

KU Campaigns Survey This survey is being conducted as part of a class project at the University of Kansas. Because we do not wish to inadvertently influence your answers to the following questions, we will not tell you at this time the subject of our research, but we will share that with you after the surveys are completed if you wish. Each survey response will be handled in the strictest confidence. Thank you for your participation. Let’s begin! 1. Please indicate the degree to which you agree with the following statements.

Strongly Agree No Opinion Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree

I like math.

I like science.

I am interested in space exploration.

My parents have influenced my interest in school.

My parents are interested in math, science or space exploration.

My friends have influenced my interest in school.

My friends are interested in math, science or space exploration.

91

I am interested in having a career in math, science or space exploration.

I admire astronauts.

If given the opportunity, I would like to travel to the moon.

2. In elementary school In middle school In high school I am:

3. Male Female I am:

4. My home state is: 5. What is your mother's occupation? 6. What is your father's occupation? 7. Please indicate in order of preference your three or four favorite leisure activities.

1

2

3

4

92

8. Please rank the following media from 1 to 8, with 1 representing the medium you use the most, 2 representing the medium you use second most, etc. Magazines

Radio

Computer for non-internet use

Computer for internet use

Smart-phone with Internet

Television

Movies

Newspapers

9. Please indicate if you use any of the following social media sites. Check all that apply. Yes No Facebook

Twitter

MySpace

YouTube

Blogs

Other

9a. If you answered yes to Blogs please list your top three blogs. 1_________________________________________________________________ 2_________________________________________________________________ 3_________________________________________________________________

93

9b. If you answered yes to Other please list the other social media sites you belong to. 1_________________________________________________________________ 2_________________________________________________________________ 3_________________________________________________________________ 10. Please indicate which of these television channels you regularly watch. Check all that apply. Watch Regularly Watch Occasionally Never Watch Nick Jr.

Food Channel

PBS

Weather Channel

TLC

ABC Family

History Channel

Bravo

VH1

SyFy

Discovery Kids

TBS

ESPN

Comedy Central

Hulu

Nickelodeon

Teen Nick

Fox News Channel

94

TNT

Discovery Channel

BET

Travel Channel

The CW

ABC

CNN

MTV

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In-Person InterviewMarch 22, 2010

Age – 23Sex – maleYear in school – 5Major – PhysicsHometown – Olathe, Kan.Parents’ occupations – soccer coach and business managerEthnicity - White

1. What year are you in college?

a. Fifth out of six

2. What is your favorite aspect of the physics field/major? What has been the most rewarding part of being a physics major?

a. I like the logic and reducing complicated phenomena to numbers.

b. Progressing through the curriculum and learning new things, as well as making my way toward graduation.

3. What is your least favorite aspect of the physics field/major? What has been the most challenging part of being a physics major?

a. Having to do liberal arts and sciences requirements. Those subjects are difficult for me and don’t make sense. I think we should know that stuff, but in the classes themselves the materials aren’t presented in an organized and logical way.

b. The math involved. It’s challenging, but still fun.

4. What factors influenced your decision to become a physics major?

a. It’s fun and interesting, and makes me sound smart. I was originally an engineering major, but engineering was kind of boring and difficult for me to pay attention to.

b. I wanted to be an engineering major because a high school focus program introduced me to the basics and got me interested in building and designing machines, rockets, airplanes, robots, etc. Before high school I hadn’t had exposure to higher-level science/math programs.

5. Are your friends physics majors or family members work or have worked in the field?

a. Two friends are, other friends are STEM majors but not physics. My father studied veterinary medicine, and my uncle is a nuclear physicist who works for the government.

6. What are your plans after college? If you are going into the work force, what kinds of jobs are you looking for?

a. I want to go into the work force, but come back for more school in the engineering field after some work experience in order to determine what I want to do for my career and learn more about it. The physics is the background that I can apply into higher-level engineering projects. I just didn’t do my undergrad in engineering because it is intuitive to me and hard to pay attention to.

b. I’m looking for whoever will hire me, but mostly something that allows me to do research or work with robotics or animatronic prosthetics. I’d like to go back to

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school part-time while working, and often high-tech fields will support you going back to school while working for them so you’re a bigger asset to them.

7. When you aren’t in class or studying, what do you do in your free time?

a. Independent contracting

b. development for mobile platforms

c. EVE Online because it’s very technical and you can calculate the outcome of almost any encounter

d. Read fantasy and sci-fi novels, some historical documents and physical documents as well

e. Play other video games (World of Warcraft, Mass Effect, mostly role-playing games and a few first-person shooters)

f. Attend anime and sci-fi conventions, for which I make costumes and props

8. Do you participate in any extracurricular activities, clubs, organizations or volunteer programs? Do you have a job?

a. Director for Naka-Kon Anime Convention

b. Kansas City Robotics Society

c. Independent contractor Palm, develop apps

9. Do you belong to any social media sites? Which ones?

a. Facebook

b. Twitter

c. LiveJournal

d. Blogger

e. LinkedIn

f. Naka-Kon forums

g. Society of Robots forums

h. PreCentral forums

10. In elementary school or middle school, were you interested physics or a related field? (science, math, technology)

a. Technology in general, yes. I was interested in engineering but I didn’t realize it was called engineering. I liked to build with Legos, take things apart and put them back together, and other stuff like that.

11. If were interested in physics or a related field, please describe what experiences or influences encouraged or helped you further your interest in physics or a related field. Any factors that discouraged you from studying physics or a related field?

a. High school stuff, see above

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12. If you were not interested in physics or a related field, what made you decide to purse physics in college? Why do you think you weren’t interested in it before college?

a. n/a

13. In elementary school or middle school, what did you do in your free time? Were you involved in any extra circular activities, clubs, organizations or volunteer programs?

a. Boy Scouts (Eagle Scout)

b. Science Olympiad

c. BattleBots IQ

14. What are your thoughts on space exploration?

a. Need more. Cause, dude, it’s space, and space is cool! The final frontier! It’s the only place to expand to, an insane amount of resources that we can use to expand, and zero-g is fun. We’re probably as a nation going to expand faster than ever in the space race since things have moved to the private sector.

15. Do you want to purse a career in space exploration?

a. It’d be nice, but I don’t know if I’m qualified for it. It’s something I’d love to do, to go into space. I’d at least like to contribute to something that gets sent up there – a rocket, a robot, whatever – if I can’t go myself.

16. If so, what influenced your decision to purse a career in space? When did this interest begin? Describe what factors have been positive and negative influences in this interest.

a. Star Trek and Star Wars originally got me interested in it – expanding, exploring, the only new place to explore is “up.” Living in space sounds fun. Politicians suck, though, and turn me away from space careers since up until now it’s all been government run. Also, now that the private sector will be the primary American source of space exploration and transport, competition will drive it as fast as personal computers did. Rocket systems may someday be almost personal, and I’ll finally have my own ship. But the private sector boom will make interesting and fun jobs for people like me that don’t want to deal with politicians or large amounts of bureaucracy.

17. Anything else you would like to add?

a. No

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Focus Group Discussion Questions: University of Kansas Engineering Students

Respondent 11. What year are you in college?

a. Sophomore

2. What is your favorite aspect of the engineering field/major? What has been the most reward part of being an engineering major?

a. Get a lot of hands on experience and can work with cutting edge technology

3. What is your least favorite aspect of the engineering field/major? What has been the most challenging part of being an engineering major?

a. The amount of teamwork (for both).

4. What factors influenced your decision to become an engineering major?

a. The job market and my interest in aerospace.

5. Are your friends engineering majors or family members work or have worked in the field?

a. Some of my friends are engineering majors but none of my family.

6. What are your plans after college? If you are going into the work force, what kinds of jobs are you looking for?

a. I plan to go on to graduate school.

7. When you aren’t in class or studying, what do you do in your free time?

a. (What free time?) I’m involved in clubs and organizations and I do a lot of volunteer work. I also like a lot of outdoor activities.

8. Do you participate in any extracurricular activities, clubs, organizations or volunteer programs? Do you have a job?

a. I am in a lot of clubs and organizations and I work as a TA.

9. Do you belong to any social media sites? Which ones?

a. Facebook.

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10. In elementary school or middle school, were you interested engineering or a related field? (science, math, technology)

a. I was more interested in science.

11. If were interested in engineering or a related field, please describe what experiences or influences encouraged or helped you further your interest in engineering or a related field. Any factors that discouraged you from studying engineering or a related field?

a. I took a short summer course in Aerospace Engineering, and I got hooked. I was discouraged by the average starting salary and the amount of just grunt work they have to do (I prefer the research).

12. If you were not interested in engineering or a related field, what made you decide to purse engineering in college? Why do you think you weren’t interested in it before college?

a. No answer

13. In elementary school or middle school, what did you do in your free time? Were you involved in any extra circular activities, clubs, organizations or volunteer programs?

a. I played Basketball almost all the time and I hung out with friends. No clubs or volunteering.

14. What are your thoughts on space exploration?

a. If we have a plan that would give space exploration a good ROI then it is a great thing because it really does push technology to advance while motivating others to pursue technical careers which will benefit the economy.

15.Do you want to purse a career in space exploration?

a. Possibly, but I’m more interested in the research aspect in terms of technology. That’s not to say that I’m not interested in possible findings, just that exploring the moon again wouldn’t exactly be a huge thrill for me since it has been done.

16. If so, what influenced your decision to purse a career in space? When did this interest begin? Describe what factors have been positive and negative influences in this interest.

a. It began in high school when I started finding an interest in technology and astrophysics.

Respondent 217. What year are you in college?

a. Senior

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18. What is your favorite aspect of the engineering field/major? What has been the most reward part of being an engineering major?

a. Working on cool projects and everyone thinking you are really smart.

19. What is your least favorite aspect of the engineering field/major? What has been the most challenging part of being an engineering major?

a. The workload in terms of homework, quizzes, tests, projects, etc. Also, people doubting you and underestimating your abilities because you are a girl in a male dominated field.

20. What factors influenced your decision to become an engineering major? a. Exposure to it growing up.

21. Are your friends engineering majors or family members work or have worked in the field?

a. No family members in engineering, and the majority of the friends I have made in college are engineers as well.

22. What are your plans after college? If you are going into the work force, what kinds of jobs are you looking for?

a. Get a job! In the aerospace industry, hopefully in manned spaceflight

23. When you aren’t in class or studying, what do you do in your free time?

a. Catch up on sleep, watch TV, sports/workout

24. Do you participate in any extracurricular activities, clubs, organizations or volunteer programs? Do you have a job?

a. I participate in a few engineering clubs as well as intramural sports. And I am currently co-oping in engineering as my job.

25. Do you belong to any social media sites? Which ones?

a. Facebook.

26. In elementary school or middle school, were you interested engineering or a related field? (science, math, technology)

a. Yeah I really liked science, but not math.

27. If were interested in engineering or a related field, please describe what experiences or influences encouraged or helped you further your interest in engineering or a related field. Any factors that discouraged you from studying engineering or a related field?

a. In the fourth grade we had to do a project on famous Ohioans (I am from Ohio). I was assigned Neil Armstrong.

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After doing all my fourth-grade level research on the guy I was really inspired to be as awesome and successful as he was. In high school I also went to Space Camp which also really intrigued me and left me wanting to learn more about space and aviation.

28. If you were not interested in engineering or a related field, what made you decide to purse engineering in college? Why do you think you weren’t interested in it before college?

a. While doing my college search, I wasn’t 100% sure I wanted to go into engineering. Guidance counselors in high school told me I should do it since I was good at math and science.

29. In elementary school or middle school, what did you do in your free time? Were you involved in any extra circular activities, clubs, organizations or volunteer programs?

a. Sports

30. What are your thoughts on space exploration?

a. It is an incredible challenge and should continue through both manned and unmanned missions. Many technologies have been developed during the process of designing, building, and flying spacecraft. It is a discipline that affects the entire world, not just the immediate users. And it is definitely something a nation can take pride in.

31. Do you want to purse a career in space exploration?

a. Yes

32. If so, what influenced your decision to purse a career in space? When did this interest begin? Describe what factors have been positive and negative influences in this interest.

a. I have been interested in space since I was kid and it is something that has always intrigued me. Space exploration is not easy and that is what makes it such an interesting field. Negative influences: President Obama and his ignorance about NASA’s achievements and potential for the future.

33. Anything else you would like to add?

a. Nope

Respondent 334. What year are you in college?

a. Fourth Year Senior

35. What is your favorite aspect of the engineering field/major? What has been the most reward part of being an engineering major?

a. I would have to say all the research and funding that is available. Actually contributing to something that is going to keep people alive and something that people will actually use (I have done some stress analysis for the Boeing 747-8F)

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36. What is your least favorite aspect of the engineering field/major? What has been the most challenging part of being an engineering major?

a. The answer is the same to both questions. The long hours necessary to complete all of the projects have been challenging. I feel like I have missed out on some fun stuff, because I have been in the lab too much.

37. What factors influenced your decision to become an engineering major?

a. Marketability, area of interest, and job security

38. Are your friends engineering majors or family members work or have worked in the field?

a. My grandfather is a chemical engineer, other than that, no one in my family is an engineer. As far as friends go, I do have a lot of friends in my major.

39. What are your plans after college? If you are going into the work force, what kinds of jobs are you looking for?

a. I would like to get a job in structural analysis after I graduate, but unfortunately, the Aerospace industry is terrible right now so grad school is my back-up plan.

40. When you aren’t in class or studying, what do you do in your free time?

a. I play a lot of racquet sports and I rock climb. I also like parting and spending time with my friends.

41. Do you participate in any extracurricular activities, clubs, organizations or volunteer programs? Do you have a job?

a. Yes, I am a member of the SAE Heavy Lift team, which is a competition team that designs and builds heavy lift airplanes. I have three jobs right not actually. I teach a structures class in the Aero department, I work in the composites lab, and I set routes at the rock wall.

42. Do you belong to any social media sites? Which ones?

a. Facebook

43. In elementary school or middle school, were you interested engineering or a related field? (science, math, technology)

a. No answer

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44. If were interested in engineering or a related field, please describe what experiences or influences encouraged or helped you further your interest in engineering or a related field. Any factors that discouraged you from studying engineering or a related field?

a. Hands-on experience defiantly helped to further my interest. The non-flexibility in curriculum defiantly can discourage a new engineer. Most classes are only offered at one time.

45. If you were not interested in engineering or a related field, what made you decide to purse engineering in college? Why do you think you weren’t interested in it before college?

a. N/A

46. In elementary school or middle school, what did you do in your free time? Were you involved in any extra circular activities, clubs, organizations or volunteer programs?

a. I played soccer, football, and tennis for the school team, so that kept me pretty busy.

47. What are your thoughts on space exploration?

a. It’s very important. Most of the recent advancements in technology have come from the space program. It would also be nice to have a space station in space or on another planet that was sustainable and could house multitudes of people.

48. Do you want to purse a career in space exploration?

a. No, astronautics hasn’t really ever caught my eye.

49. If so, what influenced your decision to purse a career in space? When did this interest begin? Describe what factors have been positive and negative influences in this interest.

a. N/A

Respondent 450. What year are you in college?

a. Third .

51. What is your favorite aspect of the engineering field/major?

a. You learn something new every damn day. What has been the most reward part of being an engineering major? Knowing that Im doing what I dreamed of doing and loving it because of the fact it’s a prestigious position and Im gittin munny!

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52. What is your least favorite aspect of the engineering field/major?

a. The electrical part of it. What has been the most challenging part of being an engineering major? Working and studying long hard hours…

53. What factors influenced your decision to become an engineering major?

a. Wanting to fly.

54. Are your friends engineering majors or family members work or have worked in the field?

a. Yes, most definitely.

55. What are your plans after college?

a. Going to OCS, NTPS, and then ACP. If you are going into the work force, what kinds of jobs are you looking for? Things dealing with aircraft.

56. When you aren’t in class or studying, what do you do in your free time?

a. Spend time with my kids.

57. Do you participate in any extracurricular activities, clubs, organizations or volunteer programs?

a. Yes, and I have 3 jobs.

58. Do you belong to any social media sites?

a. Hell no.

59. In elementary school or middle school, were you interested engineering or a related field?

a. NOPE. (science, math, technology)

60. If were interested in engineering or a related field, please describe what experiences or influences encouraged or helped you further your interest in engineering or a related field. Any factors that discouraged you from studying engineering or a related field?

a. My love of flying made me want to do it, and my father.

61. If you were not interested in engineering or a related field, what made you decide to purse engineering in college? Why do you think you weren’t interested in it before college?

a. N/A

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62. In elementary school or middle school, what did you do in your free time? Were you involved in any extra circular activities, clubs, organizations or volunteer programs?

a. Mess around with girls and gangs, and clubs.

63. What are your thoughts on space exploration?

a. I think it’s awesome where we have gone and yet to discover, and one day I’ll be up there.

64. Do you want to purse a career in space exploration?

a. Hell yea!

65. If so, what influenced your decision to purse a career in space? NASA it’s self. When did this interest begin? Describe what factors have been positive and negative influences in this interest.

a. In high school, just knowing that someone raised from a poor family and made it big getting an education lets me know if he/she can do it…so can I!

66. Anything else you would like to add?

I love my children. LMAO! And I go to Embry-Riddle.

Respondent 567. What year are you in college?

a. Junior

68. What is your favorite aspect of the engineering field/major? What has been the most reward part of being an engineering major?

a. I love math, and the fact that I can apply math to a field is rewarding.

69. What is your least favorite aspect of the engineering field/major? What has been the most challenging part of being an engineering major?

a. Its challenging because the work is not easy. You have to work hard for your grades, but it pays off.

70. What factors influenced your decision to become an engineering major?

a. I went to a robotics presentation and that’s how I was hooked.

71. Are your friends engineering majors or family members work or have worked in the field?

a. No family members, no high school friends either.

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72. What are your plans after college? If you are going into the work force, what kinds of jobs are you looking for?

a. Somewhere where I can design and test what I designed. I don’t just want to be in an office all day. I want to be in a lab.

73. When you aren’t in class or studying, what do you do in your free time?

a. I watch a lot of tv, and am involved with church.

74. Do you participate in any extracurricular activities, clubs, organizations or volunteer programs? Do you have a job?

a. Yes, Engineering Honor Society, Society of Women Engineers, Mexican American Engineers and Scientists, and right now I am currently working at NASA on my first co-op tour.

75. Do you belong to any social media sites? Which ones?

a. Facebook

76. In elementary school or middle school, were you interested engineering or a related field? (science, math, technology)

a. Not at all. It all came to me in college.

77. If were interested in engineering or a related field, please describe what experiences or influences encouraged or helped you further your interest in engineering or a related field. Any factors that discouraged you from studying engineering or a related field?

a. No answer

78. If you were not interested in engineering or a related field, what made you decide to purse engineering in college? Why do you think you weren’t interested in it before college?

a. I wasn’t interested because I didn’t know what it was. My school didn’t inform us on these, I was interested in college because I started doing good in math and loved math, I went to a robotics presentation and thought: what a great way to apply math into a field. I have LOVED electrical engineering since then.

79. In elementary school or middle school, what did you do in your free time? Were you involved in any extra circular activities, clubs, organizations or volunteer programs?

a. Only Soccer Athletics.

80. What are your thoughts on space exploration?

a. It’s a very important and critical part of our daily lives. We have gotten this far in technology because of the discoveries that were made by space exploration.

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81. Do you want to purse a career in space exploration?

a. YES!

82. If so, what influenced your decision to purse a career in space? When did this interest begin? Describe what factors have been positive and negative influences in this interest.

a. In all honesty, I just wanted to come to NASA because it was interesting, but now after my few months here I have grown to love and appreciate all it has done. I would love to pursue my career here because I love what I’m doing, and I know it’s only going to get better.

83. Anything else you would like to add?

a. No answer

Respondent 684. What year are you in college?

a. Senior

85. What is your favorite aspect of the engineering field/major? What has been the most reward part of being an engineering major?

a. The technology/science behind a lot of things that you work on, be it through my co-op or just projects in class. I like the hands-on part of the field. The most reqarding part

(so far) has been the co-op experience that I have been able to obtain through my major (Jacobs Technology @ Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX)

86. What is your least favorite aspect of the engineering field/major? What has been the most challenging part of being an engineering major?

a. My least favorite part is the strength of curriculum without a doubt. The hardest part has been passing all my Calculus classes and losing my scholarship because of my inability to do so.

87. What factors influenced your decision to become an engineering major?

a. My strong interests in the math/science fields and devout hatred towards English/reading (reading anything…doesn’t matter what. I HATE reading)

88. Are your friends engineering majors or family members work or have worked in the field?

a. No, only friends I have in the engineering field are the ones that I’ve met since I’ve been in the field. And no family members, either.

89. What are your plans after college? If you are going into the work force, what kinds of jobs are you looking for?

a. I’m not entirely sure. Ultimate goal is to be an astronaut, but that’s a bit lofty and I would have to enroll in a graduate studies program, which isn’t very enticing.

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90. When you aren’t in class or studying, what do you do in your free time?

a. Play basketball, fish, hang out with friends, drink, etc.

91. Do you participate in any extracurricular activities, clubs, organizations or volunteer programs? Do you have a job?

a. I have a co-op job, and I’m in AIAA, as well as a couple intramural sports.

92. Do you belong to any social media sites? Which ones?

a. Facebook.

93. In elementary school or middle school, were you interested engineering or a related field? (science, math, technology)

a. I preferred math but I had no ambition or expectations of being an engineer. I had no idea what I would do.

94. If were interested in engineering or a related field, please describe what experiences or influences encouraged or helped you further your interest in engineering or a related field. Any factors that discouraged you from studying engineering or a related field?

a. I’ve just always been better at math and I can’t stay focused on reading at all. Almost like I have ADD or something. That’s been the majority of my cause.

95. If you were not interested in engineering or a related field, what made you decide to purse engineering in college? Why do you think you weren’t interested in it before college?

a. N/A

96. In elementary school or middle school, what did you do in your free time? Were you involved in any extra circular activities, clubs, organizations or volunteer programs?

a. I was very involved, playing basketball, baseball, track, soccer, volunteering at the zoo, the Salvation Army, president of FCA, SGA, etc.

97. What are your thoughts on space exploration?

a. I love it, I want to be a part of it. I think it’s so valuable an necessary and should be a bigger priority in the eyes of America and the world.

98. Do you want to purse a career in space exploration?

a. Absolutely. I’d give my left arm to be an astronaut, and if not then at least work in the field.

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99. If so, what influenced your decision to purse a career in space? When did this interest begin? Describe what factors have been positive and negative influences in this interest.

a. I’ve always liked space. From space movies, to dad buying me a telescope for Christmas, and so on. The unknown fascinates me because I love adventure and exploration, and to be honest, most of Earth is fairly founded/explored, and that only leaves space to charter now.

100. Anything else you would like to add?

a. No answer