 Scientific presentations are often left to professionals, but more than 9,300 middle school and high school students attended Science Days on March 27th and 28th in the city of Fortaleza to learn about Science and the future of Space exploration. Co-sponsored by the Michaelis Foundation, the STEM/Space event featured hundreds of innovative projects, exhibitions and students' experiments. “Being able to have this experience of actually presenting our experiments to thousands of students was so amazing,” said Giovanna Machado, director of the Future Scientists program. "Participating at Science Days in Fortaleza was unforgettable. This event gave me the experience of being able to share and expose to other people a little bit of my project, the Future Scientists program and what I love about Science! The most interesting thing was to be able to see in the eyes of the people to whom I presented, especially to the children, the brilliance in knowing that Science is present in so many things and that it can be used for more innumerable others. Also important was the interaction we had with the other exhibitors, international speakers and with other students at the tables next to me! All committed to transmit what they believe, what I also believe! Without a doubt, Science Days was memorable for me." said Vitoria Rocha, member of the Future Scientists.
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 The Michaelis Foundation is working in collaboration with the American Space Museum expanding its STEM education outreach.
"What makes this collaboration even more special it is the fact that it coincides with the 49th anniversary of Apollo 12 landing on the Moon, and we have a large group of very young students learning exactly how that second moon landing occurred,” said Carla Michaelis the project coordinator. The American Space Museum has become one of the world’s unique space museum, exhibiting hundreds of artifacts used by space workers during the Moon Race of the 1960s-70s to the 30-year Space Shuttle program that began in the 1980s.  Today, high school students got a behind-the-scenes experience at the Astronaut Space and learned how critically important planning and determination is.
For young students, the project focus on STEM through exploration, play and building curiosity about how the space program began and the way things work. "STEM learning is important for everyone and can happen anytime, anywhere. The real-life skills that kids develop when learning STEM through our program help make everyone better problem-solvers and learners", commented Carla Michaelis with TMFGE. For the High School student Henrique Crosby., it was an eye-opening trip. "It's a really good experience for us kids to get out and explore and get a better understanding of how the space program works and we're able to get a better perspective of all the opportunities that are available for us,” Henrique said. Our special thanks to Mr. Gary Hayward and Michael Lombardi.  More than 330 Students embarked on a mission to design a science experiment to was carried out in the micro-gravity environment aboard the International Space Station.
The project is part of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program, offered by The Michaelis Foundation, KSC International Academy, Brazil Florida Chamber of Commerce, U.S. National Center for Earth and Science Education and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education to inspire a new generation of scientists and engineers. The objective of this specific project is to broaden the interest of cooperation between Brazilian American students and educators in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) Update: NanoRacks Module-9: The crew activated designated mixture tubes for the fifth session of the NanoRacks Module-9 investigation today. The experiments contained in these tubes support a variety of experiments sponsored by the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE). The student-designed experiments address challenges of living and working in space. The program is also a key initiative for US science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, educating and inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers to work on the space program. Findings from student experiments may contribute to future experiments that benefit the space program. The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) has provided 14 flight opportunities to date for communities across the U.S., Canada, and Brazil, to conduct a microgravity experiment design competition at the local level—on the final flights of Space Shuttles Endeavour and Atlantis (STS-134 and STS-135), and Missions 1 through 12 to ISS. In each participating community, student teams write proposals vying for a flight experiment slot reserved just for their community in a real research mini-laboratory scheduled to fly to Low Earth Orbit.  With a new virtual spaceport added to SEE's 8th simulated Space mission -- simulated tourism and commerce come to create new possibilities in SEE's simulated space mission to the Moon and Mars . with more than 100 people involved-- directly and indirectly-- this inter-university international SEE team-- a partnering of government industry, associations and academia, annually, demonstrates its commitment to championing, challenging and creating collegiate modeling and simulation and education.
Priscilla Elfrey, Executive Chair of SEE' Strategic Action committee since 2011, reports that this effort addresses a critical workforce development concern. She further notes that SEE students from universities in the US, Brazil, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Burkina-Fasso and Pakistan are currently collaborating across 11 time zones learning simulation -- supported by SISO, Florida Space Institute, Liophant , VSEE, unity Design, CrtnResults, Pitch Industries, V-T MAK and NASA with content, systems project management and mentors. They collaborate, she says, " in a unique electronic learning organization -- thinking globally but working locally under faculty direction -- SEE is a continuous demonstration of information sharing, trust and creativity that always amazes." Having learned complex distributed simulation by doing it and observing how it is done, everyone -- students, faculty, industry, associations and NASA got together -- electronically and in person-- for SEE 2018 to perform a simulated mission about humans moving off the planet creating an outpost for science, commerce and tourism on the far side of the Moon and robotic preparation preceding human exploration of Mars. SEE 2018 took place remotely and physically in Sofia, Bulgaria under the direction of SEE 2018 Co-executive Program Chairs Nikolay Tomov, chairman of the Bulgarian Simulation Association ( BULSIM) and adviser to the participating Bulgarian teams and Jefferson Michaelis, CEO of the Michaelis Foundation for Global Education and adviser to the FACENS, Brazil US team.  The Michaelis Foundation for Global Education is proud to be the co-founding and presenting host of the Science Days 2018 edition, the largest—and only—International SPACE/STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) event, created in collaboration with NASA to inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers and space explorers. This free event was presented in five cities around Brazil and featured more than 1,150 STEM organizations, schools and space startups presenting hands-on, fun science activities for people of all ages. The Science Days 2018 received more than 38,000 participants including guests from academia, government and business sectors who are committed to empowering students to thrive in an evolving world. “Science Days is a wonderful opportunity for students, teachers, schools, astropreneurs and young business leaders to showcase projects, network and discuss how we can best prepare our youth for the in-demand jobs of today and tomorrow,” said Jefferson Michaelis, TMFGE President. “Science Days is already shaping up to be the biggest and best, with a fantastic lineup of speakers and panels that will inspire, engage and empower attendees.” The Michaelis Foundation For Global Education, TMFGE is a nonprofit organization that provides a transformative learning experience for K-12 students and teachers across the U.S. and internationally through pathways in science, technology. engineering, arts and math.  Field trips are recognized as important moments in learning; a shared social experience that provides the opportunity for students to encounter and explore novel things in an authentic setting. Their importance is supported by professional organizations such as the National Science Teachers Association which asserts field trips can “deepen and enhance” classroom study and the National Research Council who assert a quality science curriculum is one that extends beyond the walls of the classroom .
As part of The Michaelis Foundation for Global Education Center for Leadership initiatives, 12 students had the opportunity to take a field trip on Nov. 29 to UniAzul, the biggest aviation university in the country of Brazil. UniAzul, is a training center for the Azul Linhas Aereas Brasileiras. It includes four full-flight simulators, two flat-panel fixed-based devices, 15 classrooms, one auditorium and super cool cafeteria. One goal of the Leadership Center is to establish a greater connection between in-class learning and real-world application. Project Coordinator, Carla Michaelis, wants to increase the number of opportunities International Journey's students have to job shadow or intern in the near future. At UniAzul, the students met with Gessica Gomes, technical training manager . She mentioned that about 350 employees are training daily at UniAzul, and the company expects to train about 1,000 people each year on average.  CAPE CANAVERAL, FL -- A unique international program pairing computer and software engineers with students is coming to the Space Coast for the first time.
Right now there are millions of unfilled, good paying computer science jobs. So the goal is to encourage students to learn about the space program and how to write code and use their creativity to solve real STEM problems. "That’s one of the best things in our global PBL program," TMFGE chairman Jefferson Michaelis said. "You see them struggling a little bit but then our instructors explain it in a different way and then all of a sudden they go, oh I completely understand now. That’s one of the best things for me. Because we love teaching and sharing our love of STEM & Space education with kids all over the world."  OSIRIS-REx is zooming towards the asteroid Bennu. It's on a mission to collect a sample of asteroid "dirt" and send it back to Earth. Scientists hope to uncover the building blocks of life in the solar system. The spacecraft launched last summer, so what's it up to these days? International STEM Education Collaboration! This unique collaborative Initiative in Brazil is the result of a partnership between the Kennedy Space Center International Academy, The Michaelis Foundation for Global Education and the Brazil Florida Chamber of Commerce. Students ages 9 to 14 are attending classes with instructors trained in the United States on the key concepts of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Four selected educational institutions in Brazil are hosting this STEM hands on practical and theoretical robotics and programming course. For the first time in the country of Brazil, the course is based on NASA's OSIRIS-Rex mission, which sent a spacecraft into space to monitor and collect samples from the surface of the asteroid BENNU. The "Asteroid Mission" program is being taught in the cities of Americana, Limeira, Ribeirao Preto and Sorocaba.  In addition to general asteroid science, students are learning about NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission. The University of Arizona leads the mission. In September 2016, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft launched on its seven-year journey. This groundbreaking mission will grab a sample from a primitive carbonaceous asteroid and bring it back to Earth for analysis. That sample will be a scientific time capsule from 4.5 billion years ago!
The program provides theoretical classes on introduction to robotics, science and technology. The Mission 1 is taught by Vinícius Fantuche, a mechanical engineer and mission specialist at "The Asteroid Mission", which will present the NASA mission in detail. The practical classes are being held at the FACENS University Lab, and also in collaboration with four selected partner schools under the coordination of Mr. José Carlos Filho, Program's country manager in Brazil. "We will divide the students into teams and each will have a (rover) robot. The mission will be to schedule it according to the activities defined in the day. We also have a real replica of the surface of an asteroid".  The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education is launching 11 certified experiments to the International Space Station aboard CRS-11. Mr. & Mrs. Michaelis met the students for the SSEP Mission 10 Casper payload as they presented their projects at the Kennedy Space Center.
PRESENTATIONS: Testing the Formation of a Polymer in Microgravity Camden, Arkansas Grade 9, Camden Fairview High School The Effects of Microgravity on Oxidation iLEAD Consortium, California Grade 11, Santa Clarita International Charter School Growth and Development of Fathead Minnows in Microgravity Middletown, Delaware Grade 6, Everett Meredith Middle School Bacterial Motility in Microgravity Universities System of Maryland, Maryland University of Maryland, College Park Tiny Wings of Glory Summit, New Jersey Grades 5 and 7, Kent School Role of Gravity in Flatworm Regeneration Houston, Texas Grade 10, Harmony Science Academy Houston High ABOUT The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program is a program of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE) in the U.S. and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education internationally. It is enabled through a strategic partnership with DreamUp PBC and NanoRacks LLC, which are working with NASA under a Space Act Agreement as part of the utilization of the International Space Station as a National Laboratory. SSEP is the first pre- college STEM education program that is both a U.S. national initiative and implemented as an on-orbit commercial space venture. |
Michaelis in actionWe work with partner organizations worldwide to tackle critical challenges in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Archives
May 2020
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