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By NASA
Explore This Section Science Science Activation Building for a Better World:… Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Activation Stories Citizen Science 6 min read
Building for a Better World: Norfolk Students Bring STEM to Life with NASA Partnership
At Norfolk Technical Center in Norfolk, Virginia, carpentry students in Jordan Crawford’s first-year class aren’t just learning how to measure and cut wood—they’re discovering how their skills can serve a greater purpose.
When the NASA Science Activation program’s NASA eClips project—led by the National Institute of Aerospace’s Center for Integrative Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education (NIA-CISE)—needed help building weather instrument shelters for local schools, Norfolk Public Schools’ Career and Technical Education (CTE) team saw an opportunity to connect students to something bigger than the classroom. The shelters are used to house scientific equipment that K–12 students rely on to collect data using GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) protocols—a set of standardized, internationally recognized methods for gathering environmental data such as temperature, soil moisture, and cloud cover. These observations contribute to a global citizen science database, giving young learners a meaningful role in real-world environmental research.
Originally, shelters were being ordered from a national supplier to support GLOBE training sessions for teachers in GO (Growth & Opportunity) Virginia Region 5, an economic development region. These training sessions were funded through a generous grant from the Coastal Virginia STEM Hub (COVA STEM Hub), which supports regional collaboration in STEM education. But when the supplier couldn’t keep up with demand, Norfolk Public Schools CTE Specialist Dr. Deborah Marshall offered a bold solution: why not have local students build them?
That’s when the project truly took off. Under the guidance of Jordan Crawford, students took on the challenge of building 20 high-quality shelters in spring 2024, following precise construction plans provided through the GLOBE Program. Materials were funded by the COVA STEM grant, and the students rolled up their sleeves to turn lumber into lasting educational tools for their community.
“As an instructor, you look for opportunities that challenge your students, allow them to do things bigger than themselves, and let them see a project through from start to finish,” Crawford said. “This project allowed my students to hone existing skills and build new ones, and I saw incredible growth not just in craftsmanship but in teamwork. The most rewarding part was seeing the impact of their work in real schools.”
And the students rose to the occasion—taking pride in their work, learning advanced techniques, and developing new confidence. One of the most challenging parts of the build involved crafting the louvers—angled slats on the sides of the shelters needed for proper air circulation. Student Zymere Watts took the lead in designing and building a jig to make sure the louvers could be cut uniformly and precisely for every unit.
“Building the weather shelters was a fun and challenging task that pushed me to strive for perfection with each one,” said student Amir Moore. “After completion, I was delighted to see the faces of the people who were proud and happy with what we built.”
“It was an extreme pleasure working on this project. I would love to work with NIA again,” added LaValle Howard. “I am proud to be a part of this vocational school and team.”
Jaymyson Burden agreed: “It was fun and great to be exposed to the carpentry realm and install them in the real world. It was gratifying to know what we have done has an impact.”
After completing the shelters, the students volunteered to install them at seven Hampton City Schools. Their work completed the full circle—from building the shelters in their carpentry classroom to setting them up where younger students would use them to collect real environmental data.
Their dedication did not go unnoticed. The team was invited to NASA’s Langley Research Center for a behind-the-scenes tour of the NASA Model Shop, where they met Sam James, a Mechanical Engineering Technician and Fabrication Specialist. James showed the students how the same kind of craftsmanship they’d used is essential in the creation of tools and components for NASA missions. They also learned about NASA summer internships and discovered that their hands-on skills could open doors to exciting careers in STEM fields.
“It was an honor to help where we were needed,” said student Josh Hunsucker. “Assembling these gave us a new perspective on the importance of duplication and how each step impacts the result. We’re happy to help wherever or whenever we’re needed—it provides a learning experience for us.”
Kyra Pope summed it up: “It’s been a great amount of work over the past few months, but it pays off—especially when you’re giving back to the community.”
According to Dr. Sharon Bowers, Associate Director and Senior STEM Education Specialist for NIA-CISE, the project demonstrates what’s possible when regional partners come together to empower students and educators alike. “The financial support from COVA STEM Hub supported sustained educator professional learning within our STEM learning ecosystem. Work with the Norfolk Technical Center truly made this a real-world, problem-solving experience. This is just the beginning for more collaborative work that will bring the region together to engage educators and learners in authentic STEM learning experiences.”
This collaboration wasn’t just about building boxes to house thermometers. It was about building bridges—between technical education and science, between high school students and their futures, and between local classrooms and global research. With each shelter they crafted, the students created something that will outlast them, reminding others—and themselves—of what’s possible when learning is hands-on, meaningful, and connected to the world beyond school walls.
Thanks to Betsy McAllister, NIA’s Educator-in-Residence from Hampton City Schools, for her impactful contributions and for sharing this story. The NASA eClips project provides educators with standards-based videos, activities, and lessons to increase STEM literacy through the lens of NASA. It is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number NNX16AB91A and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn
Carpentry students from the Norfolk Technical Center install a digital, multi-day, minimum/maximum thermometer in the GLOBE instrument shelter. Share
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Last Updated Apr 17, 2025 Editor NASA Science Editorial Team Location NASA Langley Research Center Related Terms
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By NASA
NASA/Ben Smegelsky A scrub jay perches on a branch near the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 22, 2020. Kennedy shares space with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which is home to more than 65 amphibian and reptile, 25 mammal, 117 fish, and 330 bird species.
At the time this photo was taken, the NASA “meatball” logo – in the background here – on the Vehicle Assembly Building was being repainted. This iconic building is where the Artemis launch vehicles are stacked and processed in preparation for future missions to the Moon.
Image credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
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By NASA
4 Min Read Ways Community College Students Can Get Involved With NASA
For many students, the path to a NASA career begins at a community college. These local, two-year institutions offer valuable flexibility and options to those aspiring to be part of the nation’s next generation STEM workforce. NASA offers several opportunities for community college students to expand their horizons, make connections with agency experts, add valuable NASA experiences to their resumes, and home in on the types of STEM roles that best fit their skills and interests. Below are some of the exciting NASA activities and experiences available to community college students.
NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars
Get an introduction to NASA, its missions, and its workplace culture through NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS). This three-part series enables students to advance their knowledge of the agency, grow their STEM capabilities, interact with NASA experts, and learn about the different pathways to a NASA career.
Mission 1: Discover is a five-week, online orientation course that serves as an introduction to NASA.
Mission 2: Explore is a gamified mission to the Moon or Mars in which students develop a design solution while learning about the agency as a workplace.
Mission 3: Innovate is a three-week hybrid capstone project consisting of two weeks of online preparation and one week participating in a hands-on engineering design challenge at a NASA center.
NCAS begins with Mission 1 and students must complete each mission to be eligible for the next.
Members of a college student team monitor the performance of their robot during a NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) Mission 3: Innovate robotics competition.
NASA Student Challenges
NASA’s student challenges and competitions invite students across a range of ages and education levels to innovate and build solutions to many of the agency’s spaceflight and aviation needs – and community college students across the U.S. are eligible for many of these opportunities. In NASA’s Student Launch challenge, each team designs, builds, and tests a high-powered rocket carrying a scientific or engineering payload. In the MUREP Innovation Tech Transfer Idea Competition (MITTIC)Teams from U.S.-designated Minority-Serving Institutions, including community colleges, have the opportunity to brainstorm and pitch new commercial products based on NASA technology.
NASA’s student challenges and competitions are active at varying times throughout the year – new challenges are sometimes added, and existing opportunities evolve – so we recommend students visit the NASA STEM Opportunities and Activities page and research specific challenges to enable planning and preparation for future participation.
NASA’s Student Launch tasks student teams from across the U.S. to design, build, test, and launch a high-powered rocket carrying a scientific or engineering payload. The annual challenge culminates with a final launch in Huntsville, Alabama, home of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
NASA NASA RockOn! and RockSat Programs
Build an experiment and launch it aboard a sounding rocket! Through the hands-on RockOn! and RockSat programs, students gain experience designing and building an experiment to fly as a payload aboard a sounding rocket launched from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia. In RockOn!, small teams get an introduction to creating a sounding rocket experiment, while RockSat-C and RockSat-X are more advanced experiment flight opportunities.
Students watch as their experiments launch aboard a sounding rocket for the RockSat-X program from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility Aug. 11, 2022, at 6:09 p.m. EDT. The Terrier-Improved Malemute rocket carried the experiments to an altitude of 99 miles before descending via a parachute and landing in the Atlantic Ocean.
NASA Wallops/Terry Zaperach NASA Internships
Be a part of the NASA team! With a NASA internship, students work side-by-side with agency experts, gaining authentic workforce experience while contributing to projects that align with NASA’s goals. Internships are available in a wide variety of disciplines in STEM and beyond, including communications, finance, and more. Each student has a NASA mentor to help guide and coach them through their internship.
NASA interns gain hands-on experience while contributing to agency projects under the guidance of a NASA mentor.
NASA National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program
The National Space Grant College and Fellowship Project, better known as Space Grant, is a national network of colleges and universities working to expand opportunities for students and the public to participate in NASA’s aeronautics and space projects. Each state has its own Space Grant Consortium that may provide STEM education and training programs; funding for scholarships and/or internships; and opportunities to take part in research projects, public outreach, state-level student challenges, and more. Programs, opportunities, and offerings vary by state; students should visit their state’s Space Grant Consortium website to find out about opportunities available near them.
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By NASA
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Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
The Project F.I.R.E. team, part of Falcon Research Labs and current students at Cerritos Community College in California, is researching the use of drones to extinguish fires as part of a NASA research award called the University Student Research Challenge. From left, Logan Stahl, Juan Villa, Angel Ortega, Larisa Mayoral, Jenny Escobar, and Paola Mayoral-Jimenez.Falcon Research Labs Great ideas, and the talent and passion that bring them to life, can be found anywhere.
In that spirit, NASA’s University Student Research Challenge (USRC) in 2024 selected its first group of community college students to contribute original research to the agency’s transformative vision for 21st century aviation.
The student-led group, from Cerritos Community College in California, is researching a new method of safely extinguishing wildfires using eco-friendly pellets dropped from uncrewed drones they call Project F.I.R.E. (Fire Intervention Retardant Expeller).
“Wildfires are a major problem we’re facing today,” said Angel Ortega, project technical director and lead research engineer for Project F.I.R.E. at Cerritos Community College. “The goal of our research is to demonstrate that our prototype drone with biodegradable fire retardant can successfully put out a controlled fire.”
A Community College First
Until now, USRC has only selected participants from traditional four-year institutions, compared to a two-year community college. This award exemplifies the activity’s goal of giving all of tomorrow’s aeronautical innovators a shot at NASA support for their research ideas.
“The University Innovation (UI) project provides a number of different avenues for students to contribute to aeronautics,” said Steven Holz, who manages the USRC award process. “All of the opportunities are different and help build knowledge and skills that would be advantageous to those wanting to continue working on UI opportunities or within NASA.”
This award is one of two from NASA’s USRC selected in 2024. The team received the USRC award prior to the devastating Los Angeles fires of January 2025.
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy,” members of the team said in a statement. “As a team, we are deeply committed to advancing innovative solutions to enhance safety and resilience, working toward a future where communities are better protected against such disasters.”
Innovating a Solution
The six team members of Project F.I.R.E. are driven by an ethic of public service. As fires continue to affect communities in their native southern California, they are applying their skills to finding a way to help.
“We want to get the public inspired that there are possible solutions at hand,” Ortega said. “And the work we’re doing now can hopefully build towards that bigger goal of a widespread solution.”
The research they are pursuing involves dropping biodegradable pellets into fires from uncrewed, autonomous drones. The pellets, upon reaching the ground, combine chemical ingredients which create a foamlike solution of fire retardant that will not contaminate the environment after the fire is extinguished.
Project F.I.R.E.’s innovative idea for fire suppression involves releasing eco-friendly foam pellets from uncrewed drones.Falcon Research Labs The team is keen to support firefighters and wildland fire managers and keep them safe while managing these natural disasters. The group has met with firefighters, discussed the idea with them, and received useful feedback on how to make the technology work best in the field.
Though the group is only at the outset of the research, their idea has existed for longer.
Blue Skies Forever
Prior to applying for a USRC, Project F.I.R.E. also presented at NASA’s 2024 Gateway to Blue Skies competition, in which they won the “Future Game-Changer” award.
Through Gateway to Blue Skies, NASA challenges college students to research climate-friendly technologies and applications related to the future of aviation and present them at an annual forum.
Following Project F.I.R.E.’s participation in the forum, they applied for a USRC grant to begin turning their vision into reality.
“Our experience with NASA has been incredibly supportive and inspiring,” said Logan Stahl, the project’s operations director. “We thought competing against some of the other schools would be intimidating, but the experience we’ve had is the complete opposite. Everyone was very welcoming, and the NASA representatives communicated with us and asked questions.”
The USRC support will allow the team to build on their earlier foundations, they said.
“Because Gateway to Blue Skies is more conceptual, it let us bring our idea to the table. Now through USRC, we can start building hands-on and make our idea come to life,” said Larisa Mayoral, chemical engineer and laboratory operations manager.
The Project F.I.R.E. team receives their “Future Game-Changer” award during the 2024 Gateway to Blue Skies forum held at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California.NASA / Brandon Torres The team expressed gratitude, speaking as community college students, for their ability to participate in and contribute research at a level that competes with top-brass universities.
“We’re very appreciative of our college and NASA providing us this opportunity,” said Paola Mayoral Jimenez, laboratory coordinator and safety manager. “By doing this project, we hope to shine a light on community colleges, their students, and what they have to offer.”
Complete details on USRC awardees and solicitations, such as what to include in a proposal and how to submit it, are available on the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate solicitation page.
About the Author
John Gould
Aeronautics Research Mission DirectorateJohn Gould is a member of NASA Aeronautics' Strategic Communications team at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. He is dedicated to public service and NASA’s leading role in scientific exploration. Prior to working for NASA Aeronautics, he was a spaceflight historian and writer, having a lifelong passion for space and aviation.
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Last Updated Feb 23, 2025 EditorJim BankeContactAngela Surgenorangela.d.surgenor@nasa.gov Related Terms
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By NASA
BBEME Course Description:
An interactive learning series designed to highlight critical interactions and various engagements across all GSFC locations, Facilities, and Institutes that lead to mission success. Themes include: strategic goals, current developments, mission success critical topics
Instructional Strategy:
•Facilitated panel discussions
•Leadership engagements
•One-on-one interactions
•Facilitated case studies
BBEME Workshops have been previously offered at GISS, Katherine Johnson IV&V, and Goddard’s Earth Science Division. The workshop targets groups of around 30 participants for a 1-2 day session.
If your group is interested in hosting a workshop, contact alysha.bayens@nasa.gov
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