INSPIRE THE FUTURE TODAY
John Dewey, an American philosopher instrumental in the progressive movement in education, said “every great advance in science has issued from a new audacity of imagination”. And what better way to inspire the imagination, curiosity and love for science in young minds than to give them a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet and work with a real NASA astronaut?
This is exactly what AYO made possible for some 1 486 students from 18 schools in this exciting collaboration with the Sakhikamva Foundation. The project brought to South Africa Dr Don Thomas – a 17-year NASA astronaut with over 1 040 hours in space. Dr Thomas connected with learners, educators and community members to offer them first-hand knowledge of what it was like to fly in space, overcome failure and develop essential technical and 21st century skills in order to complete a mission in space.
As part of the project, grade 7-11 students from selected Western Cape schools participated in an experiential learning project operating a Mylar Balloon in the stratosphere. The balloon, powered by solar tracker, measured temperature, humidity, altitude and location through different layers of the atmosphere and was used to predict geographical weather patterns and wind conditions. The young students were involved in every step of the flight from payload design to arranging flight permissions in the air space. Of course, an endeavour of this magnitude required collaboration amongst diverse scientific arenas and learners got first-hand practical experience in fields such as astrobotany, astronomy, aviation, coding, data science, 3D printing, design thinking and robotics. Presented at National Science Week (again, by the learners themselves) and a subsequent road show reaching 515 educational venues the project and Dr Thomas’ visit not only instilled practical skills in those curious young minds but inspired and motivated many of them to continue learning, exploring and innovating. After all, as John Dewey believed, learning through doing is the best education and the AYO team is proud and honoured to have been able to bring such an unforgettable experience to our young.