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Outside Hangar 1600 at Flight Lines at Edwards Air Force Base, California, Flight Lines, glitzy jets and chunky workhorses alike are low-passing, showing off aircraft at the Aerospace Valley Open House, Air Show and STEM Expo. I was flaunting the range.
But inside, experts in science, military, computers, aerospace, commercial space exploration, the history and future of aviation, flight testing, and all these fields have discovered their passions and how they navigated their career paths. It was a wonderland of experience for anyone interested in what it was like.
Billed as the largest STEM Expo in U.S. Air Force history, the show combines flight simulators, robotics, virtual reality games, hands-on STEM experiments and crafts, static aircraft exhibits, and meet-and-greets with aviation experts. Thing.
All this was to get young people interested in careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
STARBASE Edwards is the base branch of the Department of Defense’s STARBASE educational program designed for grades Kindergarten through 12th grade to advance minority students’ STEM knowledge and skills and connect schools with employers and communities. Connect and get students to explore careers in STEM.
According to STARBASE data, “STEM jobs will grow by 8% between 2017 and 2029, growing at a higher rate than non-STEM jobs,” but “only 17% of U.S. high school graduates It’s ready for college-level coursework in STEM majors.”
Statistics like this justify getting students involved early. John Davis Jr., who works in his NASA STEM Engagement Office at the Johnson Space Center, agrees, and supports his colleagues at NASA Armstrong, Edwards, his flight, his research, and his center. I flew off for
“That’s very important. Early exposure motivates students. We want to spark interest in STEM at a very young age and keep it ignited,” says Davis. To that end, he was helping visitors create paper mockups of his Apollo capsule. This is much simpler than an electrical circuit project to demonstrate NASA’s Maxwell X-57 electric airplane under the table.
The main hangar features over 60 hands-on static aircraft, rocketry, robotics, educational booths, flight simulators, virtual reality experiences, STEM experiments, and speakers to spark interest in technology and math research. There was an exhibition.
Students in grades 5 through high school walked in and out of the hangar to view aerial and static displays and pick up loot and information from booths. Various units of the 412th Air Wing participated, including medical, civil engineering, operations, security, support, maintenance, and test pilot schools. Members of the 812th Aircraft Instrumentation and 812th Explosive Ordinance Disposal were also involved.
Booths from aerospace industry leaders such as Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and NASA include test pilots, astronauts, engineers, software developers, technical directors, General Matthew Higer, and the 412th Test Wing.
Lancaster High School and Rosamund High School experimented with robot pacing to increase interest in robotic teams. Other schools with booths included Antelope Valley Unified School District, Daisy Gibson Elementary School STEAM, iLead Charter School, Antelope Valley College, Cal State Bakersfield, and Bakersfield. College.
Jim Arrich and Marcus Elmore of the 412th Test Wing lined up for the 812th Aircraft Instrumentation Test Squadron virtual reality and other F-22 and F-16 simulators at STEM Expo. Excited students waited their turn to experience flying a state-of-the-art aircraft.
“Virtual reality sims can spark interest in STEM for students. Some units are small enough to take to the classroom or to the Antelope Valley Salute to Youth at Edwards AFB. “Kids really like it,” Arich said.
Charlotte Hernandez, an eighth grader from Acton, California, was passionate about piloting an F-22 simulator. “It was computerized and very interesting,” she said.
Active duty Air Force personnel aren’t the only ones wearing uniforms.
There was a large contingent of cadets from the Air Force Secondary Reserve Training Corps at Edwards Air Force Base Secondary School. Shows, Open Houses, STEM Expos.
When asked what he enjoyed the most, he said a big chorus of “Thunderbirds!” moved up from the group.
Midshipman Hayden Crawford is a senior at Desert High School, attended the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, and hopes to join the Air Force after college and serve eight years on active duty. His friend Reese Galloway, a cadet, said he wasn’t sure if he wanted a four-year degree.
“I’m interested in engineering. I like to tinker with things. That’s my interest,” Galloway said.
The exposition emphasized that speakers were telling students “How I Made It,” so both cadets could find a way to explore their future careers. you were in the right place. An astronaut, engineer of all kinds, test pilot, computer specialist, technical his director, program manager, clinical pharmacist, and Air Force commander took the stage to see how they first became interested in their field and what their roles were. described the steps necessary to obtain today.
Also cadets of the California Cadet Corps at the Porterville Military Academy in Porterville, California wore uniforms. Showing off the khaki jackets were Cadet Pierce, Figueroa and Mangia, who were in high spirits despite the sometimes two-hour bus ride from central California to him. Their favorite time was air shows, especially bombing demonstrations.
The Air Force Research Laboratory booth was also popular with students. Christian Lewis and Brett Wight were demonstrating the effect of liquid nitrogen on gummy bears and ping-pong balls. I got
Nitrogen freezes the candy into a glass-like substance that shatters when hit, much to the delight of those in attendance. When you freeze a ping pong ball, it spins like crazy inside a glass box, stops momentarily, then spins in the opposite direction.
Of course, it wasn’t just a parlor trick, as Lewis and Wight explained the science involved. , said it would be trucked in and taken to the facility.
Crowds began to thin out before the scheduled end of the STEM Expo, as some schools had to retrieve the bus before school ended to drive the regular route. About 15,000 children applied to attend, but nearly half were unable to attend due to a shortage of school bus drivers.
Those who had to leave missed out on the final show of the day’s opener, the USAF Thunderbirds Precision Flight Team.
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