NASA seeks young engineers to help design a new robot for an excavation mission on the Moon. The Lunabotics Junior Contest, open to K-12 students in U.S. public, private, and homeschools, starts accepting entries on Wednesday, Oct. 20, and runs through Jan. 25, 2022. The competition, which is a collaboration between NASA and Future Engineers, asks students to design a robot that digs and moves lunar soil called regolith from an area of the lunar south pole to a holding container near a future Artemis Moon base.

“Developing mining capabilities on the Moon will require innovation and creativity, and students are some of the most creative thinkers,” said Mike Kincaid, NASA’s associate administrator for the Office of STEM Engagement. “The next generation always brings new perspectives, inventive ideas, and a sense of optimism to the challenges NASA puts in front of them. I’m really looking forward to seeing the designs they submit to Lunabotics Junior.”

NASA’s Artemis missions are returning to the Moon with the first woman and first person of color, and will create a long-term human presence that will serve as a springboard for future Martian exploration. Lunar regolith is instrumental in this development, and could be used to create lunar concrete, reducing the amount and cost of materials that need to be transported from Earth. Artemis Student Challenges such as the Lunabotics Junior Contest create unique opportunities for a diverse group of students to contribute to NASA's work in exploration and discovery while celebrating their creativity and innovation.

To enter the contest, students must submit by Jan. 25, 2022, an image of the robot design and a written summary that explains how the design is intended to operate on the Moon. While students are not tasked to actually build a robot, they are asked to envision a robot design that is no larger than 3.5 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet and addresses three main design features: how the physical design of the robot will enable it to scoop/dig and move the lunar regolith, whether the robot will operate by moving large amounts of dirt per trip or transporting less dirt in more trips, and how the design and operation of the robot will meet the big challenge of lunar dust that is stirred up and can “stick” to surfaces when lunar regolith is moved.

Students can sign up individually or teachers can register their entire class. Entries will be split into two categories – grades K-5 and grades 6-12. Ten semifinalists will receive a Lunabotics Junior prize pack and four national finalists from each category will win a virtual session with a NASA subject matter expert. The national winner from each category will be announced on March 29, 2022, and will be awarded a virtual chat for their class with Kennedy Space Center Director Janet Petro. For all contest and prize details, including education resources, visit: https://www.futureengineers.org/lunaboticsjunior

NASA and Future Engineers are seeking volunteers to help judge the entries anticipated to be submitted from around the country. U.S. residents interested in offering approximately five hours of their time completed over a 10-day period should register to be a judge at: https://www.futureengineers.org/registration/judge/lunaboticsjunior

“If you have questions prior to the event, please contact Iesha Sturgis-Jackson, Online Admissions Coordinator, atissturgi@indiana.edu or 812-856-8288.” 

OXFORD, Ohio (Sept. 1, 2021) – Miami University’s Project Dragonfly is accepting applications now through early 2022 for graduate courses and master's degrees that offer extraordinary experiences through zoos and botanical gardens in the United States and in 15 countries throughout the world. http://ProjectDragonfly.MiamiOH.edu

Earth Expeditions are study abroad courses that take place online and in Africa, Australia, Asia and the Americas. Earth Expeditions courses can be taken as stand-alone graduate credit, or they can build toward the Global Field Program (GFP) master's degree. The GFP combines summer field courses worldwide with web learning communities, and students can complete the GFP master's part-time from anywhere in the United States or abroad. http://EarthExpeditions.MiamiOH.edu; http://GFP.MiamiOH.edu

Project Dragonfly also offers the Advanced Inquiry Program (AIP) master's degree that combines web instruction from Miami University with experiential learning and field study through AIP Master Institutions in the U.S. Applications for Miami's 2022 cohorts are being accepted now with place-based experiences provided through Master Institutions in Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Jacksonville, New York, San Diego, Seattle and St. Louis. http://AIP.MiamiOH.edu

Graduate tuition for all programs is greatly reduced because of support from Miami University.

USDA Agency Launches New Site for Science-Minded Students

AgLab, a new science-education website operated by USDA's Agricultural Research Service, is now "open for business" to student and educators alike at https://aglab.ars.usda.gov/.

AgLab builds on the past successes of its predecessor, Sci4Kids, in educating students about the critical intersect of science and agriculture in their daily lives, such as wrinkle-free cotton, edible coatings that keep apple slices from turning brown, a low-glycemic sweetener, DEET insecticide, and a bounty of new varieties of fruits and vegetables.

Geared toward k-12 students with an interest in food and science, AgLab offers a variety of content to promote a greater understanding of how agricultural research is helping meet the food, fiber, feed and fuel needs of a growing world population while also safeguarding our environment and natural resources.

For example, students considering career fields in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) may be especially interested in AgLab's "20 for 30" offering. It profiles young researchers on the rise at ARS—starting with Jaqueline Serrano, an entomologist who is with the agency's Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research Unit in Wapato, Washington.

In need of science project ideas? AgLab has you covered with "Let's Get to Work," a page offering a series of instruction-based experiments, including on food fluorescence, vitamin C content and soil erosion.

Other features include:

• An interactive map showing what ARS research is underway at locations near you
• Mobile apps like "FoodData Central," where you can learn about what ingredients are in the food you eat and nutritional info about them
• Learn and explore sections that help students discover the wonders of agricultural science

Produced by the ARS Office of Communications in Beltsville, Md., AgLab operates with the recognition that today's students are tomorrow's farmers, scientists, policy makers and consumers. With this latest iteration, the website reaffirms its commitment to making sure kids have access to information about agricultural research in a way that's fun, timely and significant.

Check back often to view new AgLab content, including videos, games, contests, experiments and recipes.

FIELD TRIPS (ONSITE/VIRTUAL) - ALL ABOUT LEARNING

Visit https://www.flinnsci.com/COSSS/  to obtain updated safety manuals for all grade levels.