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By NASA
Explore This Section Science Science Activation Tribal Library Co-Design STEM… Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Activation Stories Citizen Science 3 min read
Tribal Library Co-Design STEM Space Workshop
Christine Shupla and Claire Ratcliffe Adams, from the NASA Science Activation program’s NASA@ My Library project, facilitated a professional development Co-Design Space Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics (STEM) Workshop for Tribal libraries on August 29, 2024, hosted at the New Mexico State Library. The workshop was planned with input from Cassandra Osterloh (the New Mexico State Library’s Tribal Libraries Program Coordinator), Teresa Naranjo and Charles Suazo (of the Santa Clara Pueblo Library) and Rexine Calvert (of the P’oe Tsawa Community Library). Evaluation surveys indicate that the workshop met or exceeded 100% of participants’ expectations, and that activities could be made culturally relevant by the participants. Based on input from tribal advisors, the focus topic was space science (although there was also significant interest in various Earth science and environmental topics and in engineering design). These advisors also suggested that the workshop focus on co-design to enable the workshop participants to share and consider ways to make the content and activities culturally-relevant.
The team selected space STEM activities that could be done within library programs and that were within different categories:
Passive programming activities (which were available while participants were arriving) Physically active activities Engineering design activities Art/Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, & Mathematics (STEAM) activities After each type of activity, participants discussed aspects of the activities that they liked, modifications to make the activity more culturally-relevant for their Tribal community, and other activities within that category.
Throughout the workshop, Christine and Claire reiterated that the participants’ thoughts and input were critical—that they were the keepers of knowledge of their communities and that their voices were respected.
One participant stated, “I like how the instructors were re-assuring throughout the session. Making sure everyone was comfortable and making it feel safe to share ideas.” Another, said, “I tend to not participate, but observe, because I’m not a scientist. It was awesome (feeling comfortable) to design too!”
Sixteen of the participants filled out and returned evaluation surveys handed out at the close of the workshop. Just over 50% of those survey responses indicated that the workshop exceeded expectations; all others indicated that it met expectations. Participants also indicated that the activities themselves enabled participants to co-design and make them culturally relevant; this likely is in reference to the discussions held after each activity about ways to apply and revise them. The discussion after a crater-creation activity was particularly extensive: participants discussed replacing the materials with local materials and incorporating aspects of the local topography and even local art. Several participants expressed the desire for more workshops.
The NASA@ My Library project is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number NNX16AE30A 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
Workshop participants conducting the “Touchdown” activity, simulating insertion of a rover into an unknown environment. Christine Shupla Share
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Last Updated Feb 13, 2025 Editor Earth Science Division Editorial Team Related Terms
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During the 21st Century Community Learning Centers workshop, after-school educators learn to build the “Move It” student activity from NASA’s Build, Launch and Recover Student Activity Guide.Credit: Kristen Marlatt NASA and the U.S. Department of Education are teaming up to engage students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education during after-school hours. The interagency program strives to reach approximately 1,000 middle school students in more than 60 sites across 10 states to join the program, 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC).
Members of NASA Glenn Research Center’s Office of STEM Engagement traveled to Lansing, Michigan, last month to participate in a two-day professional development training with local after-school educators and facilitators. The training focused on integrating real-world STEM challenges into the 21st CCLC programs.
After-school educators engage in a student activity from NASA’s Build, Launch, and Recover Student Activity Guide. In this challenge, students become engineers and NASA crawler operators while working in teams to design and build a rubber band-powered model of NASA’s crawler-transporter that can carry the most mass possible the farthest distance without failure. Credit: Kristen Marlatt “By engaging in NASA learning opportunities, students are challenged to use critical thinking and creativity to solve real-world challenges that scientists and engineers may face,” said Darlene Walker, NASA Glenn’s Office of STEM Engagement director. “Through the 21st CCLC program, NASA and the Department of Education aim to inspire the next generation of explorers and innovators through high-quality educational content that ignites curiosity and fosters a joy of learning for students across the country.”
NASA Glenn education specialists will continue to provide NASA-related content and academic projects for students, in-person staff training, program support, and opportunities for students to engage with NASA scientists and engineers.
For more information on NASA Glenn’s STEM Engagement, visit https://www.nasa.gov/glenn-stem/
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By NASA
If you ask Johnson Space Center employees why they work for NASA, many will tell you it was always their dream. For others, landing a job at NASA was an unexpected stop on their career path. Here is a look at where five Johnson team members worked before NASA and how they are helping to advance the agency’s mission today.
Michelle Wood
How it started: Michelle Wood working as an American Sign Language interpreter (left). How it’s going: Wood as a flight controller in Johnson Space Center’s Mission Control Center in Houston. Images courtesy of Wood Wood worked as an American Sign Language interpreter before joining NASA about seven years ago. Today, she is an Operational Support Officer flight controller and instructor in the Mission Control Center.
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Warnecke Miller
How it started: Miller is shown completing firearms training as a Federal Bureau of Investigation intern in the summer of 1998 (left). How it’s going: Miller emceeing a retirement celebration for a Johnson colleague in April 2024. Images courtesy of Miller Miller has been an attorney in Johnson’s Office of the General Counsel for 12 years. Before that, she served as an administrative law judge for Social Security and adjudicated disability cases.
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Celeste Budwit-Hunter
How it started: Celeste Budwit-Hunter is pictured as a school counselor (left). How it’s going: Budwit-Hunter with NASA astronauts Mike Finke, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore and her Procedures Group editorial team members in Johnson’s Space Vehicle Mockup Facility. Images courtesy of Budwit-Hunter Budwit-Hunter was a technical writer in the oil and gas industry before earning a master’s degree in family therapy. She went on to work for The Council on Alcohol and Drugs (now The Council on Recovery) and then as a private school counselor for students with learning disabilities. She returned to technical writing while starting a private family therapy practice. After several years of treatment and recovery following a cancer diagnosis, Budwit-Hunter applied to become an editor in the Flight Operations Director’s Procedures Group. She is now the group’s lead editor and is training to become a book manager.
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Don Walker
How it started: A photo of a young Don Walker standing in front of an Apollo lunar module mockup on the Johnson campus in the early 1970s (left). How it’s going: Walker’s official NASA portrait. Walker worked as a freelancer in television production before joining the Johnson team 38 years ago. Today, Walker is an engineering technician in the Office of the Chief Information Officer, working master control for the center’s television operations.
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Donna Coyle
How it started: Donna Coyle as a college student in Rome (left). How it’s going: Coyle outside Space Center Houston prior to the Expedition 68 crew debrief and awards ceremony in 2023. Images courtesy of Coyle Coyle earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations before switching gears to work as an expeditor in the oil and gas industry. That role involved working with cross-functional teams to ensure the smooth and timely delivery of equipment and materials to worksites. After visiting locations and seeing how equipment, piping, and steel were made, she was inspired to go back to school to become an engineer. Coyle’s grandfather worked at NASA during the Apollo missions, and she decided to follow in his footsteps. She joined the Johnson team in 2021 as a crew time engineer, analyzing astronaut time as a resource to help with decision-making before and during expeditions to the International Space Station.
Do you want to join the NASA team? Visit our Careers site to explore open opportunities and find your place with us!
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By NASA
NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement at Johnson Space Center in Houston offers students a unique gateway to opportunity through the High School Aerospace Scholars (HAS) program. The initiative provides Texas juniors with hands-on experience in space exploration, working on projects ranging from rocket building to problem-solving in collaborative teams.
The stories of HAS alumni highlight the program’s impact, showcasing how it has opened doors to diverse careers in STEM and inspired graduates to empower others.
Johnson Community Engagement Lead Jessica Cordero, who served as the manager of the HAS program from 2018 to 2021, reflected on her time with the students:
“I had the privilege of working with so many incredible students who brought imagination and determination to their dreams,” she said. “During HAS, they connected with peers who shared their passion for NASA and STEM, and by the time they completed the program, they had a clear vision of the degrees they would pursue in college. These students are the Artemis Generation—we are in great hands!”
Meet Former HAS Student Neel Narayan
For Neel Narayan, NASA’s HAS program was a transformative experience that reshaped his understanding of space exploration and his place within it.
Through his time in the program, Narayan learned to navigate complex challenges with confidence. “My experience working with difficult information at HAS, combined with having mentors explain the unknown, taught me to be okay with confusion and comfortable with solving hard problems,” he said. “That’s what STEM is all about.”
Neel Narayan at NASA’s High School Aerospace Scholars (HAS) 20th anniversary ceremony. Before participating in the program, Narayan had a narrow view of what a STEM career entailed: long equations and solitary hours behind a computer. HAS completely dismantled that misconception. He said the program, “broke the most complex concepts into granular bites of digestible information, showing that complexity can be distilled if done correctly.”
“During the one-week onsite experience, I was talking to scientists, building rockets, and exploring NASA facilities—none of which involved equations!” he said. “HAS taught me that STEM is not confined to technical work.”
Narayan describes HAS as an eye-opening experience that redefined his approach to problem-solving. “Most of us are unaware of what we don’t know,” he said. “In collaborating with others, I was made aware of solutions that I didn’t know existed. The greatest asset you can have when solving a problem is another person.”
He credits the HAS community, especially his fellow scholars, with shaping his academic and professional growth. “I benefited most from the networking opportunities, particularly with the other HAS scholars in my cohort,” he said. “For those of us studying together in California, we’ve met up to discuss work, school, and external opportunities. Everyone in the program comes out very successful, and I’m grateful to have met those people and to still stay in touch with them.”
For high school students considering STEM but unsure of their direction, Narayan offers simple advice: keep exploring. “You don’t need to know your career path yet—in fact, you shouldn’t,” he said. “There is no better field to explore than STEM because of its vastness.”
Neel Narayan, University of Stanford. Narayan is currently pursuing a master’s degree in computational and mathematical engineering at Stanford University after earning an undergraduate degree in computer science. With his graduate program, Narayan is building on the foundation he developed through NASA’s HAS program.
Narayan aspires to contribute to the agency’s innovation and groundbreaking work. “NASA’s research changes the world, and being part of that mission is a dream I’ve had for a while,” he said.
Meet Sarah Braun
NASA’s HAS program solidified Sarah Braun’s understanding of how a STEM career could encompass her diverse interests, from design and education to plotting spacecraft orbits and planning launches. From her time in HAS to her current space exploration career, Braun believes STEM can be as multifaceted as the people who pursue it.
“HAS showed me the options ahead were as endless as my imagination,” she said. “The program convinced me that all my skills would be put to use in STEM, including getting to be creative and artistic.”
Sarah Braun engages in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics outreach at the Air Zoo Aerospace & Science Museum in Portage, Michigan, standing beside a Gemini model. The program gave her the opportunity to network, problem-solve, and collaborate with students from various backgrounds. “Learning how to communicate designs I could picture in my head was the biggest challenge, but by observing my teammates and mentors, I built the skills I needed.”
The networking opportunities she gained through HAS have also been instrumental to her academic and career growth. “The mentors I met through HAS have supported me throughout college and into my early career,” she said. “They taught me countless technical skills and how to best take advantage of my college years. I would never have made it to where I am today without HAS!”
After completing the HAS program, Braun interned with NASA, where she worked on space systems and paved the way for her career at Collins Aerospace.
Sarah Braun at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. She stands in front of the hardware she now works on at Collins Aerospace. Braun advises high school students uncertain about their career paths to get engaged and ask questions. “There are so many people out there who pursue STEM to follow a passion or challenge themselves,” she said. “Talking with people about what they have experienced and learned has been a huge help and inspiration for me throughout the years.”
She is also passionate about inspiring and educating others. “Whether I’m leading after-school STEM clubs or mentoring students, outreach and teaching have become my biggest contributions to NASA’s mission of exploration and discovery,” said Braun.
Meet Audrey Scott
Audrey Scott credits the HAS program with giving her a chance to explore science in the real world. “I experienced the excitement space could bring through livestream events like the landing of NASA’s InSight Lander mission and Cassini’s Grand Finale,” she said.
Audrey Scott, front, with fellow 2019 HAS graduates. Scott shared that the HAS program opened her eyes to the vast possibilities within STEM fields. Seeing the many ways to apply a STEM degree in practice broadened her perspective and inspired her to pursue her passion.
After HAS, Scott chose to study astrophysics at the University of Chicago in Illinois, where she is now pursuing her Ph.D. in experimental cosmology and laying the groundwork for a future in space exploration.
“My time with HAS and its encouragement of STEM excellence gave me the confidence I needed to take the plunge,” said Scott.
The program also transformed her approach to teamwork and exposed her to fast-paced problem-solving. “My school didn’t prioritize group projects, so working with people from all different backgrounds and personalities was informative for my future work in college,” she said. “HAS was a safe space to experiment with being both a leader and collaborator.”
She encourages high school students uncertain of their path to “try everything.” Scott advises, “If you have a moment of fascination, take advantage of that intellectual and creative energy, and learn something new. Time spent realizing you don’t like something is just as useful as time spent realizing you do.” She also recommends seeking out resources, finding mentors, and talking to everyone.
Scott continues to connect with some of her HAS cohort, especially young women navigating STEM paths alongside her. “We’ve been able to support each other through challenges,” she said. “Being part of HAS made me, in a way, part of the NASA family.”
Audrey Scott, front, with fellow 2019 HAS graduates. Scott’s HAS experience opened doors to opportunities like the Brooke Owens Fellowship, where she worked on a satellite in partnership with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and later the Illinois Space Grant award, which took her to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. She envisions part of her thesis research as a Ph.D. candidate taking place at a NASA center and remains open to a future at the agency.
“I’ll continue advocating for space exploration and pushing the boundaries of what’s known,” she said. “In my research, I’m driven by questions like, ‘What did the beginning of the universe look like—and why are we here?’”
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By NASA
2 min read
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Rebecca Anderson, a junior enrolled at the Portage School of Leaders High School in South Bend, Indiana, spent time with NASA Glenn Research Center’s Daniel Sutliff, an acoustic engineer, on the campus of the University of Notre Dame on Nov. 7, 2024. Students witnessed the operation of the Advanced Noise Control Fan owned by NASA and on loan to the university for STEM experiences.Credit: Matt Cashore/University of Notre Dame High school students in Indiana are contributing to NASA’s groundbreaking research to develop quieter, more fuel-efficient aircraft engines.
Their learning experience is a collaboration between aircraft noise researchers from NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and educators from the University of Notre Dame’s Turbomachinery Laboratory. The collaboration aims to encourage students’ interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers.
Recently, Notre Dame hosted students from The Portage School of Leaders High School and a team from NASA Glenn to see the Advanced Noise Control Fan operate in an outdoor setting. The fan is a NASA-owned test rig that has been configured to enable the study of a quieter aircraft engine technology. Known as the open rotor fan concept, the configuration involves an engine fan without a cover. Ground microphones were used during the test operated by Notre Dame to evaluate the radiated sound as the open rotor fan spun at various speeds.
NASA’s Advanced Noise Control Fan is on loan at the University of Notre Dame through a Space Act Agreement. It provides a hands-on learning laboratory for students in STEM.Credit: Matt Cashore/University of Notre Dame Students from the high school, which is part of the Career Academy Network of Public Schools, used 3D printers from the school’s facilities to fabricate parts for the open rotor test fan. The parts, known as stator blades, help direct and control airflow, ensuring smooth operation of the large, exposed fan blades that are the defining feature of an open fan engine design.
“It was beyond words,” said Rebecca Anderson, a junior from the high school. “The part I enjoyed most was when they got the fan running. It was really impressive to see how quiet it was. I feel like everyone involved in STEM would love to work for NASA, including me.”
NASA researcher Dr. Daniel Sutliff was part of the team from NASA Glenn to spend time mentoring the students.
“This is real-world, hands-on research for them,” Sutliff said. “If airlines are able to use technologies to make flight quieter and cleaner, passengers will have more enjoyable flights.”
The Advanced Noise Control Fan is on loan to Notre Dame from NASA through a Space Act Agreement. The fan research is supported by NASA’s Advanced Air Transport Technology project and its Efficient Quiet Integrated Propulsors technical challenge.
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