The Air Force provides numerous K-12 STEM outreach opportunities across more than 40 locations each year. Airmen, both military and civilian, serve as mentors, science fair judges, and guest speakers. They also provide tours, hands-on demonstrations, and many other learning opportunities for local schools. The Air Force also partners with national K-12 STEM outreach programs to make these outstanding opportunities available to K-12 students both on base and in local communities.
For a full understanding of the Air Force STEM program, please see their official website: http://afk12stem.com/
To view a personalized overview of their programs, please see my AF STEM presentation.
The Cyberpatriot program is one of the largest cybersecurity educational programs in the world. Cyberpatriot provides both training and competitions for people of all ages. Their middle and high school cyber defense competition includes over 4,000 teams.
Cyberpatriot is a product of the Air and Space Forces Association (AFA). What started out as a small cybersecurity contest has grown into a prolific cybersecurity giant inspiring students of all ages toward a future in cybersecurity.
StellarXplorers is the Air and Space Force Association's (AFA) ultimate space design competition. This integrated STEM competition exposes students to the world of satellites, launch vehicles, rockets, payloads, and practical orbital mechanics using industry space simulation software.
Students are provided with specific training in the use of industry-standard system simulation software – Systems Tool Kit (STK). Teams are also given access to an online textbook as a curriculum supplement and study resource for online quizzes given during the competition, as well a practice scenarios. No prior experience is required to participate.
For any school wanting to connect students to true STEM, having physics, science, math and technology as the cornerstone of a realistic space scenario, StellarXplorers is a MUST!!
FIRST® is the #1 name associated with robotics competitions. They have had STEM influence over 2.5 million students from their beginning in 1989. They have a consistuency in over 100 countries and hold thousands of events each year.
Robotics is an area of STEM which combines programming, engineering, and mathematics into a very interesting and challenging competition that students are naturally drawn towards.
FIRST® offers competitions for students of all ages and levels. Below are the main compeitions and categories:
First Lego League (ages 6-14 with a focus on robotics using Lego blocks)
First Tech Challenge (ages 12-18) offering a more complex suite of challenges designing metal robots and Arduino controllers
First Robotics Competition (ages 14-18) is the capstone competition having extremely large, complex and often costly robots requiring significant engineering know-how
The Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS) is one of the premier science competitions in the country and is sponsored by the Department of Defense.
JSHS promotes research and experimentation at the high school level and supports students’ future STEM pursuits through scholarships and recognition. Registering for JSHS is of no cost to student participants. Participating students have the opportunity to present their STEM research in a forum of their peers and professional STEM personnel representing the Department of Defense, federal research laboratories, and academia.
Air Force STEM has an abundance of programs designed to inspire students towards STEM and help them eventually complete their journey with employment with the DoD.
The LEGACY Program (Leadership Experience Growing Apprenticeships Committed to Youth) is an Air Force program that changes the game when it comes to identifying and retaining young diverse talent that will make up the future workforce. This three-phase program is designed to propel a middle school student to an Air Force STEM career after college graduation.
The DoD STARBASE program is a premier educational program providing 5th grade students with “hands-on, minds-on” activities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). They interact with military personnel to explore careers and observe STEM applications in the “real world.” The program provides students with 25 hours of stimulating experiences at National Guard, Marine, Air Force Reserve, Army, and Air Force bases across the nation.
SOAR stands for Share, Optimize, Adapt, and Research. The AF STEM SOAR program provides STEM educational lessons and videos for students k-12. The library of SOAR material has been produced by Air Force members and relate directly to the Air Force mission.