Dec. 19--The Virginia Air & Space Center in Hampton is one of 10 educational institutions across the country chosen to share in $7.7 million in NASA grants to attract students to science and engineering careers.
NASA announced the Competitive Program for Science Museums, Planetariums and NASA Visitor Centers grant winners on Wednesday. Individual awards range from about $500,000 to $1 million for projects expected to last from one to five years.
According to NASA, the goal of the program is to encourage young people to enter careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
"Information education providers play a key role in NASA Education's effort to make interactive STEM experiences available to students and the general public," NASA official Leland Melvin said in a prepared statement.
They do so, he said, by using NASA content to "create fun, hands-on learning activities" to generate greater interest and literacy in STEM disciplines.
The Air & Space Center serves as the visitor center for NASA Langley Research Center and Langley Air Force Base, both in Hampton.
It includes interactive aviation exhibits that span a century of flight, from historic aircraft to the Apollo 12 command module to a feature offering visitors a chance to "program" a Mars rover.
Grant recipients were chosen from among 67 proposals from 31 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and will become part of NASA's Museum Alliance network.
Dietrich can be reached by phone at 757-247-7892.
Copyright 2013 - Daily Press (Newport News, Va.)
