(via www.masslifesciences.com)

Space Station STEM Challenge

The International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory is a one-of-a-kind research platform that is now available for student research via the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS). CASIS has developed a pilot program titled, the CASIS National Design Challenge (NDC), which is a research competition, that facilitates authentic student research and experiment design with selected experiments being sent to the space station.

The Massachusetts Life Science Center will utilize this amazing STEM platform to sponsor the Space Station Galactic STEM Challenge for middle school students. Teams will compete to design, build and send their own original research experiments to the International Space Station in the spring of 2016. While on orbit, data from the experiment will be collected and stored for students to analyze.

Through the competition, CASIS will select one flight-based project from a Massachusetts middle school, along with one runner up, which will be awarded a ground-based project. The winning team will receive a flight-based NanoLab, and a grant in the amount of $6,000 to purchase materials to support the experiments. CASIS and its industry partners will provide technical workshops and support in designing and implementing the experiment as well as transporting it to and from the ISS.

Eligibility

Public middle schools serving low-income populations and public middle schools located in one of the Commonwealth’s 26 “Gateway Cities” are eligible to apply.

To find out more and apply, visit: http://www.masslifesciences.com/programs/space-station-stem-challenge/