BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Working to teach students that they don't have to be an astronaut to thrive in the field of STEAM, a new Brevard County initiative aims to rocket kids into the high-tech careers of the future.
What You Need To Know
- The new STEAM Launch Initiative aims to inspire kids to learn skills in science, technology, engineering and math
- Veteran NASA astronaut Winston Scott interacted with students from a Tampa-area Boys and Girls Club at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Thursday
- He explained to them the complicated process of getting rockets into space
- The initiative's goal is to connect schools around the world with the educational experience at the Kennedy Space Center
Veteran astronaut Winston Scott flew on two space shuttles and completed three spacewalks during his career with NASA.
But Thursday, he was walking students from the Tampa-area Boys and Girls Club at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on the work that was done to make that possible.
"Rockets require a lot of power to send people to space, so there's only so much weight you can lift," Scott explained to the kids on the tour.
The new STEAM Launch Initiative's aim is to inspire kids to learn skills now, that will lead to related jobs in their future.
The goal is to connect schools around the world with the educational experience that is the Kennedy Space Center.
"To consider careers in science, technology, engineering and math," said Scott.
Educators who spoke with Spectrum News said these careers are in high demand. Over the past decade, they say more students are telling them they are interested in STEAM.
And they say it's becoming part of more schools' curriculum.
Officials explained that most children won't become an astronaut like Scott, but data analysts, programmers and mechanical engineers can all be associated with space.
"We just want them to do good in school and make good productive lives for themselves," Scott said.
Students got the chance to see Space Shuttle Atlantis up close — the craft flew 33 missions and traveled more than 200 million miles in orbit.
It was built by people who were educated in STEAM careers.
Fifth grader Chris Johnson of Robles Elementary in Tampa said he really wants to become an astronaut and was inspired by Scott.
"The thing that inspired me was he told us about all the things in space and how they work," he said.
Johnson and his classmates got a taste of what it's like to ride the space shuttle in the Shuttle Launch Experience.
"It was awesome," he said. "They opened the top and you could see the Earth and the stars."