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This month is National Volunteer Month, and we salute all our aerospace education mission volunteers. Thank you for all you do! (Pictured, St. Augustine Composite Squadron's DroneFest 2022 event featuring, top, the VTOL STEM Kit.)
In addition, April marks two important deadlines: National Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) awards (April 25) and the registration deadline for the 2nd annual National AE High-Altitude Balloon Challenge for Cadets (April 30).
Registration also continues for the 2022 National AEO School, which will be held in-person June 27-July 1 in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Check out all the details below. There are a few spaces available. (The school is for AEOs only.)
Our member stories this month highlight members from South Dakota and Florida. If you know of other outstanding member stories of AEOs or AEMs, we hope you will reach out to us at ae@capnhq.gov. Your story could be the next one told!
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THIS MONTH: Member stories - Program updates - Awards - AE Safety Check - Events - Curriculum - Important things to know | |
Registration continues for the 2022 National AEO School | |
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Just a reminder -- there are a few spaces left for the 2022 National AEO School. The school, open to Aerospace Education Officers (AEOs), will be held on Patrick Space Force Base, Florida. Presentations, hands-on activities, field trips and networking opportunities highlight the week. AEMs are not eligible this year but will be for future schools.
Where: Cocoa Beach, Florida
When: Monday, June 27- Friday, July 1
Please follow the link below to get more information and to register. See a video from a previous AEO school here.
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PROGRAM UPDATES
ACE award nominations for 2021-2022 due April 25
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It’s that time of year! Time to highlight excellence in schools, teachers and students. We are accepting award nominations for National ACE Teacher of the Year, National ACE Student of the Year and National ACE School of the Year for the 2021-2022 school year. Nomination forms can be found by clicking HERE. Look on the right side of the screen under Related Links to download each form.
Please email your nominations to ace@capnhq.gov by April 25.
And…don’t forget to submit your ACE Completion Report this year. Your feedback will help us in editing and reevaluating the program for next year. Click HERE to go directly to the Online ACE Completion Form. Make sure to have your CAPID# and password handy so that you can log into eServices.
Thanks for all that you do and for making your FACE a part of ACE this year! Registration closed March 31, with new participation records. The final numbers are 84,744 students, 527 teachers and 449 schools!
Sue Mercer
ACE Program Manager
smercer@capnhq.gov
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CAP's AE STEM Kit Program -- featured kit | |
FEATURED STEM KIT - BUILD & LEARN GEOMETRY: The Build & Learn Geometry STEM Kit is perfect for cadets and students to practice identifying shapes, solving area and perimeter equations, and finding the volume of geometric figures. The complete Build & Learn Geometry set includes a total of 52 activity cards and over 600 pieces for cadets and students to use to build geometric figures from every angle. There will be three sets included in the kit: Geometry; Volume; and Area & Perimeter. This kit aids cadets and students in visualizing, building, and manipulating geometric figures -- deepening their understanding of geometry every step of the way! This kit is recommended for ages 7 and older. | |
Teachers -- it's time to take a terrific TOP Flight | |
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Each teacher member of CAP can take a flight at their local airport with a CAP pilot in a CAP airplane! The teachers can fly over their school and community and share the experience with their students! Pilots will help the teachers connect principles of flight with the STEM concepts they are teaching! The teachers can also take the controls and fly the plane!
Teachers should contact their state’s Director of AE (see list HERE) for their flight coordination.
All information is found on the Teacher Orientation Program (TOP) flight page. (Photo courtesy of Jordan Taylor Mathis.)
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High-Altitude Balloon Challenge for Cadets | |
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Has YOUR squadron registered for the HAB Challenge for this year? Registration closes on April 30, and we hope that YOUR squadron can gather a team of 2 or more cadets to participate in the 2nd annual event -- at no cost to the squadron. The squadron commander or AEO should coordinate registration for ONE team per squadron.
Squadrons can vie for the Kittinger Cup and $5,000 grand prize with a trip in October to meet Col. Joe Kittinger, the benefactor of this award, while having a fun time putting experiments together to launch to the edge of space. There are other engaging aspects of the Challenge with other awards, to include mission patch design, science experiment slide designs and video production.
If there is local community support available for your squadron’s collaboration, that would truly enhance the cadets’ overall participation experience. Such collaborative support could come from a local university, any STEM-related industry in your area, an area school that does HAB programs, a CAP Senior Squadron with related expertise, or even an organization associated with space science or weather balloons.
To find out all details, go to the HAB Challenge page HERE. (See last year’s winners in the right column.)
Commander or AEO register HERE.
Read the CAP.NEWS article about the program HERE.
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Funding for CAP Unit Grants has been generously restored by CAP partner in aerospace/STEM education, the Air and Space Forces Association (AFA).
- Note the new AFA name and logo which embraces both USAF Airmen and the U.S. Space Force Guardians.
CAP AE officers can now submit applications for a $250 grant to promote AE and STEM within their cadet or composite units.
- If the squadron desires to also share their project with youth outside the squadron, that is a plus!
- Grants can fund aerospace field trips, STEM outreach events, or equipment/materials for special STEM projects.
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Applications are due by midnight (Central time) June 30. The application is found HERE.
- The grant competition will result in winning unit projects being funded.
- All applicants will be notified by mid July whether or not the project was selected to be funded.
All details are found at the link below.
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(Welcome to AE Safety Check! These safety nuggets are things to think about as you lead or participate in an Aerospace Education activity. The writer of this monthly feature is Lt. Col. Karen Cooper, who works in safety and risk management on the AE National Headquarters Staff and is also the Northeast Region DCS/Aerospace Education.)
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CHOOSE THE RIGHT TOOLS FOR EACH AE ACTIVITY
Are you using the right tool(s) for the AE activity in front of you? Or are you improvising with something else? Choose the right tool for a specific activity and never use a tool not designed for the activity you are doing. Never improvise or adapt. Remember, tools are designed for specific needs and purposes. Take the time to go and get the right tool – it will actually save you time and trouble later on. And when it comes to safety, beware of justifying using the wrong tool by telling yourself, “But that’s the way I’ve always done it.” That does not mean that you were doing it safely – just that you were doing it, and you raised the probability that you will be injured.
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If you have a safety topic you would like to be included in this space, please email kcooper@ner.cap.gov.
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AEO STORY
South Dakota DAE enjoys helping cadets
and students reach aviation goals
| Meet Maj. John Spangler, the Director of Aerospace Education (DAE) for South Dakota Wing and Aerospace Education Officer (AEO) for Rushmore Composite Squadron near Rapid City, South Dakota. He began his CAP career in Nebraska Wing as a cadet at age 14. "My father and mother both served in CAP during World War II," he says. "My father was a private pilot." As a senior member in the 1970s, he served as Wing Medical Officer. Yet, the professional demands of a medical career, including time as a Department Chair of Pediatric Cardiology, did not allow time for CAP service. Upon retirement, he returned to CAP as an AEO. One of the highlights of his time as an AEO has been developing a flight simulator program for the South Dakota Wing. Each of the Wing's squadrons has already received the simulator, which is custom-made to simulate the instrument panel in each unit's aircraft. "I transport the system to the local squadron, install it and check all aspects of operation," he says. He enjoys seeing the successes of the cadets and helping them achieve their aviation goals. Maj. Spangler responds to any publicity of his successes -- such as the flight sim project and a major wind tunnel project -- by deflecting to others and emphasizing his role of support. "The last three years have been a dynamic and exciting time for AE activities in our area," he says. | |
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"Every aspect of my CAP activities has been very rewarding – from flying in United States Air Force jet trainers at 17 years old and solo soaring in Switzerland along the side of a sizable mountain near Geneva Switzerland to my present position as a CAP educator. It has all been wonderful, exciting and fulfilling."
-- Maj. John Spangler, South Dakota DAE
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AEM STORY
Florida AEM, a special education teacher,
sees CAP programs reinforce concepts in a fun way
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Meet Marian (Mare) Gilmore. She teaches science to all grades at Silver Sands School in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Silver Sands is a special day school for students with significant cognitive, physical and/or behavioral disabilities. The goal at Silver Sands, a Title I school, is to help students become independent and functional members of the community. Students range from pre-K to post-secondary. Their challenges include autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and non-verbal, physical limitations, and some have a combination of these and other conditions. "These students will be some of the bravest and strongest kids you will ever meet," she says. Civil Air Patrol's Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) Program's hands-on activity approach benefits her students. "My students need a lot of reinforcement to learn and retain concepts," she says. "ACE lessons help me in my classroom to not only provide hands-on lessons for my students but to provide engaging and fun lessons where they gain new knowledge and reinforce concepts we have been teaching." Silver Sands, where she serves as ACE Coordinator, was awarded National ACE School of the Year for 2019-2020, and the next year, she was named National ACE Special Science Teacher of the Year.
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"I have a great passion for aerospace education and when I teach about space and aerospace, I get an extra burst of energy and it spills over to my students."
-- Marian Gilmore, Florida AEM
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CURRICULUM SPOTLIGHT
A is for Astronaut
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This lesson -- one of the favorites of this month's AEM profile Marian Gilmore -- is from the Aerospace Connections in Education curriculum. Students will learn what an astronaut is and also learn about spacewalking and the need for spacesuits. Additionally, they will make an astronaut craft from a toilet paper tube. The lesson is Academic Lesson #8 in CAP's ACE Kindergarten Guide. Click the link below to view the lesson.
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Each month, this space features important highlights or answers to frequently asked questions. Here are three things you need to know now as an AEM or AEO.
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You can update your eServices profile information. Here's how: | |
Sign into eServices and click on your name in the top right hand corner. Update your email address, mailing address, contact numbers, etc. This ensures you receive timely and pertinent information from CAP. If you are a teacher, ensure your primary email address is your home and your secondary email address is your school so that your annual renewal email and any other important information will not end up as spam in your school email account.
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AEMs: Is it time to renew your membership? | |
All Aerospace Education Members (AEMs) are offered an annual FREE “in-kind renewal." The online renewal email is sent 60 days prior to the membership expiration date. A renewal banner appears at the top of the eServices sign-in page 90 days prior to expiring. (You can’t renew earlier than 90 days.) Find additional information at the link below. Thinking that due to the pandemic you cannot participate in CAP’s AE programs? That may be partly true, but when we get back to “normal,” you will wish you kept your membership current, so do not let it expire!
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AEOs: Reach out to AEMs whose memberships expire soon | |
AEOs, this is the perfect time to reach out to your AEMs whose memberships expire within 60 days or whose memberships have expired. For more guidance, see Recruiting and Retention of AEMs on the AEO Resources page link below.
Please note: CAP has several categories of membership, but each member can only be assigned one category of membership. Any adult uniformed member, who is an educator, may access all the resources available to an AEM. And, we wish to encourage our AEMs to “hang on” until the end of the pandemic and continue renewing their membership. Once things are back to “normal,” they will be glad they did!
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Civil Air Patrol Aerospace Education
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