As a program that supports college students on their STEM pathways, WA Space Grant’s work happens via the programs of our affiliate institutions. Events open to the public are noted on our calendar.
So how can you get involved with NASA projects when you live in the northwest, far away from any NASA center? It’s actually not as impossible as you think!
NASA challenges for students grades 3–12
If our undergraduate lunar rover challenge piqued your interest, but you’re middle or high school, then you should definitely check out the annual NASA challenge available through the Northwest Earth and Space Sciences Pathways (aka, NESSP)! Starting with the Apollo 50th anniversary in 2019, NESSP has been running an annual challenge for teams of students in grades 3–12. Missions have ranged from the Moon to Mars and all the way out to some of the icy worlds of our solar system.
For more information, visit the NESSP website or email them at info@nwessp.org.
NASA citizen science
Interested in doing actual science with NASA? There are currently more than 30 projects available for aspiring citizen scientists.
What’s a “citizen scientist”?
NASA’s citizen science projects are collaborations between scientists and interested members of the public. Through these collaborations, volunteers (known as citizen scientists) have helped make thousands of important scientific discoveries. More than 410 NASA citizen scientists have been named as co-authors on refereed scientific publications.
Projects range from exploring dark matter to observing clouds on Earth, and many can be done simply using your cellphone.
For more information, visit NASA’s Citizen Science website.
NASA for teachers
The NASA EXPRESS newsletter comes out weekly on Thursdays.
It’s an easy way to stay up-to-date on internships, challenges, professional development, and more. Learn about the latest NASA STEM resources and find ways to make STEM connections to NASA missions and milestones.
To sign up, visit the NASA EXPRESS website.