Educational Activities
Texas A&M University Physics and Engineering Festival 2025
Date:
Location: Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843
Audience: 25 elementary, 20 middle, 400 high school students, 200 public participants, 150 educators, 4 faculty
Higher Ed Involvement: Graduate/undergraduate students ran exhibits; faculty showcased research.
Description: IDEAS² faculty participated in the annual Physics & Engineering Festival.
Solar Sail Design Competition at Texas A&M
Date:
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Location: Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843
Audience: 40 higher ed students, 4 grad mentors, 4 faculty
Higher Ed Involvement: Students designed deployment systems; faculty and grad students judged.
Description: Solar Sail deployment competition organized with TAMU SEDS.
Post Oak Middle School Space Exploration Week
Date:
Location: University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204
Audience: Middle school teachers & students, higher ed students, faculty
Higher Ed Involvement: Faculty and students presented UH research and hosted lab tours.
Description: Middle school students visited UH for a week of space exploration activities.
Mars Rover Celebration
Date:
Location: Houston, TX 77030
Audience: Elementary & middle school teachers, students, public, higher ed students, faculty
Higher Ed Involvement: Faculty and students organized, judged, and presented awards.
Description: Students built Mars rover models for science missions.
Mission: Ground Control – Mimic & Mentorship Program
Date:
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Location: Houston Community College, Houston, TX 77082
Audience: 24 middle school students, 4 undergraduate mentors, 2 faculty
Higher Ed Involvement: Undergraduate/graduate students mentored middle schoolers.
Description: STEM initiative pairing HCC mentors with middle school students to build a 1/100-scale ISS model.
Science & Engineering Fair of Houston (SEFH)
Date:
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Location: Houston, TX 77002
Audience: Teachers, homeschool educators, students, public, higher ed students, faculty
Higher Ed Involvement: Faculty/students exhibited projects and judged competitions.
Description: Texas’ largest regional STEM fair with IDEAS² participation.
New Space Explorers Program
Date:
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Location: Houston, TX 77082
Audience: Community college students, higher ed faculty
Higher Ed Involvement: HCC faculty and students collaborated in IDEAStudio.
Description: An 8-week HCC program introducing students to space tech through ISS mimic projects.