NAVSEA Calculator Robots and More

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit NAVSEA Carderock division.  This division is mainly civilian engineers working on research, development, test and evaluation, fleet support, an in-service engineering for surface and undersea vehicles.  In order to conduct much of this work, the testing systems areas were amazing to see and a fantastic maker lab is available to staff and for training and research purposes. NASA has shared about the challenges with 3D printing in microgravity, but have you ever considered the challenges with printing on a ship with rolling seas?  Apparently, 3D printers can be of use when out in the middle of the ocean, but may not function so well while in that location.  While this could be an interesting challenge for students to ponder, NAVSEA Carderock offers K-16 STEM Outreach.  Another opportunity that was shared was the use of TI-84 calculators for robots.  NASA has an educator guide for using the robots with 6-9 grades but I think it would be amazing to use the calculator robots with elementary students and get them familiar with the graphing calculator and practice with computational thinking.

Sorry, no pictures were allowed at Carderock.

NASA OPSPARC's New Missions

I participated in an ITEEA webinar this week on Optimus Prime for K-12 students.  NASA OPSPARC has three sets of missions beginning with learning about spinoff technology from NASA's extensive work. It is amazing how many things we can find around our homes and communities that began with engineering designs at NASA. Next, students can create their own spinoff technology form existing NASA projects to solve a problem. This mission is where the engineering design process kicks in.  Finally, the third mission has students share their new spinoff technology in a virtual world where they can interact with NASA engineers and other professionals.  This challenge is a great way to work on real-world challenges without leaving the classroom.  I look forward to giving it a try when I return to the classroom.  https://opsparc.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 

NASA offers a variety of educational outreach through their various campuses in a variety of formats.  You can also attend educator conferences at Space Center Houston and the Kennedy Space Center.

@NASAedu NASA for Educators Pinterest Board NASA Students on Facebook NASA STEM Engagement YouTube Channel

Visit NASA STEM Engagement on the Web:  NASA's Office of STEM Engagement: http://www.nasa.gov/education For Educators: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html For Students: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html NASA Kids' Club: http://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub