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At the start of a new school year, we wish all of our AEMs and senior members who are educators the best school year ever!
We have several program updates his month to help you get started on the right track, including ACE, ACE Plus, AEX, STEM Kits, and TOP Flights.
For AEOs, we also have information to assist you with the Squadron AE Achievement Award.
Over 500 Civil Air Patrol cadet teams' scientific experiments were launched August 13 in Indiana for CAP's second National AE High-Altitude Balloon Challenge. Read about the event below.
And finally CAP members from all over the country will gather in Louisville, Kentucky, next week for the organization's 2022 National Conference. Read about ways to connect at AE events, including an AE Open House, Thursday, August 25.
This month's featured AEO is from Florida Wing. 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 - AE Safety Check - Events - Curriculum - Important things to know | |
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PROGRAM UPDATES
2022-2023 ACE registration is open
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A new school year is starting up, and ACE registration is now open for 2022-2023! The ACE curriculum has been modified to assist our public, private and home-school ACE teachers in offering fun, hands-on activities with lesson plans that meet national standards of learning. The ACE lessons have embedded links so that you and your students can have quick access to information on the web. Click HERE to access the ACE curriculum guides. To register for ACE 2022-2023, click the link below.
For additional questions, contact ace@capnhq.gov.
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ACE Plus: Squadrons can adopt
classrooms beginning September 1
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Did you know that any CAP squadron AE officer can reach out and connect with a local classroom teacher and “adopt” the class for the year?
Students can learn about aerospace/STEM careers and about the cadet program when squadron adult and cadet members connect with the classrooms.
All lessons and materials are provided free to the squadrons to share with the teacher and students.
- Squadrons, want to adopt a classroom? See Squadron Information HERE.
- Classroom teachers in grades 5-8, want to teach the free ACE program and have a squadron adopt you to assist with these lessons? See Teacher Information HERE.
- Each state has its own point of contact with whom to start the discussion. See the list of state Directors of AE, HERE.
If you have any specific questions after reading the information, contact adopt@capnhq.gov.
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CAP's AE STEM Kit Program -- featured kit | |
FEATURED STEM KIT - MECHANICS: Engino' s Mechanics Cams & Cranks set teaches cadets and students how to transmit power using cams and cranks and how they can be used to convert reciprocal to linear motion. Discover how these mechanisms are crucial elements of many machines even though they are not considered as "simple machines." Cadets and students can build 8 working models such as a fishing crane, an oil pump, a moving figure, a moving bridge, a sewing machine and a flying eagle. Easy-to-follow building instructions for all models can be found either online or in the included booklet. The booklet provides detailed explanations of the different scientific principles applied and incorporates innovative experimental activities for hands-on learning. A quiz section is also available to challenge your newly acquired knowledge! Conduct thorough experiments and discover how the handle's position affects force and speed; how the crank's position affects force and speed; and how to switch between different types of motion by using cams. | |
Aerospace Education Excellence (AEX) Program | |
AEX Award registration and completion for squadrons and AEMs: Has your squadron or classroom applied for and completed the 2021-22 AEX Award Program in eServices? AEX program activities should take place from Oct. 1-Sept. 30 each year. Activities and resources are available in eServices, AE Downloads and Resources, and on the AE website, Lessons and Activity Videos and Aerospace/STEM Resources. To learn more about the AEX Program, click the link below. | |
Squadron Aerospace Education Achievement Award | |
AE Achievement Award recognizes squadrons for AE mission accomplishments: Your squadron still has time to earn the Squadron AE Achievement Award! The award identifies squadrons who have successfully performed specific criteria listed in CAPR 50-1. Recipients of this award demonstrate the importance they place on accomplishing the AE mission. Squadrons still have time to achieve this award. For additional information, visit the link below. | |
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It's time to take teachers out
of the classroom and into the sky
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Any educator member of CAP can request a Teacher Orientation Program (TOP) flight each year to fly above their local school and geographic area. The pilot will provide a detailed pre-flight briefing about the parts of the airplane, and will allow the teacher to take the controls during flight to see how all those parts work and connect to STEM principles being taught.
- Teachers should find another educator member of CAP and plan their flight together NOW! When two teachers fly, the pilot will make two take-offs and landings to allow both teachers time in the front seat to fly the plane.
- Flights will be closed between September 15 and October 15, so plan the flights NOW!
- Each state has its own point of contact with whom to start the discussion of the flight. See the list of state Directors of AE, HERE.
All information about the TOP flight program is found on the TOP flight webpage - HERE.
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CAP High-Altitude Balloon Challenge
experiments launched and recovered
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Over 500 Civil Air Patrol cadet teams’ scientific experiments soared skyward August 13 in north central Indiana for Civil Air Patrol’s second National AE High-Altitude Balloon Challenge.
Over a thousand cadets from 122 squadrons representing all eight regions designed experiments for launching to the stratosphere in 50-milliliter test tubes on high-altitude balloons. The experiments were carried aloft as payloads in three balloons, ascending to heights from 98,663 feet-105,661 feet before falling back to Earth for recovery.
Cadets and senior members from both the Indiana and Kentucky wings — including the Indiana Wing cadets seen above inflating one of the balloons — helped prepare and release the balloons at Anderson Preparatory Academy in Anderson, Indiana.
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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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INCLUDE SAFETY NOTES IN AFTER ACTION REPORTS
You had a very successful AE activity or event. But like many activities, it is not over until the paperwork is complete! After Action Reports (AARs) are commonly used to collect observations and lessons learned as part of an activity – and safety should be part of it! Even if no one got hurt, even if there was no equipment damage, your team may have seen something that could have been done better or safer. That’s right – safer. There are sometimes ways we can do something better. Get those thoughts down while they are fresh in your mind. Those observations may help the next time you run an event.
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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. | |
2022 Civil Air Patrol National Conference | |
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AEOs who are attending Civil Air Patrol's National Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, August 26-27 will want to visit the pre-conference Aerospace Education Open House from 1 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, August 25, in Ballroom C. The open house features STEM Kits, hands-on activities, curriculum exhibits and more. Once the conference officially starts, attendees get the chance to meet with AE National Staff at the Office Hours from 4:10 to 5 p.m. Friday, August 26, in the Hangar. There will also be several Learning Labs with an AE focus. See the complete Learning Lab Schedule and Discovery Session schedule as well as a general schedule of events here. We look forward to getting the chance to "Connect, Collaborate, and Celebrate" next week!
Pictured, scenes from the 2019 National Conference AE Open House in Baltimore
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CAP Cadet Programs Youth Development Conference Extension: Understanding Gen Z | |
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AEOs and AEMs may register for a free virtual Cadet Programs conference on understanding Generation Z. Dr. Meghan Grace, who has studied Generation Z since 2014, will offer strategies for educating and empowering this generation, who was born between 1995 and 2010.
The session will take place virtually on September 21, 2022, at 8 p.m. CT. It's free and open to all who would like to gain an understanding of our current cadets and students and their needs. Please share with your friends and register now.
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AEO STORY
Florida AEO inspired by her father's
interest in aerospace and technology
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Meet 2nd Lt. Christine Lobetti, the Deputy Commander and Aerospace Education Officer for Fruit Cove Cadet Squadron in the Fruit Cove community of St. Johns County, Florida. She joined as a senior member after her son joined as a cadet. Her father also has been a CAP member. "My family got so involved in CAP that at one point in time there were three generations of my family in the same squadron." Her daughter is now a member as well. Lt. Lobetti's interest in aerospace was ignited by her father, who grew up in the time of the Space Race. "My dad used to take us to Cape Canaveral a lot. Museums, shows, really anything that was related to aerospace or technology, he would really expose us to it," she remembers. Following a career in bank fraud investigation, which taught her much about cybersecurity, she spends much of her time home-schooling and volunteering. In addition to CAP, she volunteers with another youth organization, American Heritage Girls, and works in her church's youth ministry. This summer, Lt. Lobetti was again at Cape Canaveral earlier this summer as part of the 2022 National Aerospace Education Officers School, which she calls one of the best experiences she has had in CAP. The class attended information and hands-on learning sessions at Patrick Space Force Base and field trips to Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center. "Even for someone like me who has been in this organization for years, attending the school gave me so many new experiences and knowledge that I am already using with my cadets and even members of my other youth organizations," she says. "The space nerd side of me also thought it was the best because I got to see parts of aerospace history that most people don't get to see. Standing with the Artemis Program rocket on the launchpad behind me was a dream come true." Click the link below to read her full story.
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"In educating cadets and youth in aerospace education with Civil Air Patrol, it offers us the unique opportunity to help steer these young minds in that direction. Think of it as a ripple effect. If you drop a small idea in the ocean of a child's mind, that ripple is just going to get bigger and bigger and lead to bigger ideas."
-- 2nd Lt. Christine Lobetti, Florida Wing
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CURRICULUM SPOTLIGHT
Lighter than Air
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In this lesson, students will construct a model hot air balloon and learn what makes a hot air balloon work and how modeling helps us learn concepts and processes. They will also learn about the history of hot air ballooning. The lesson is Academic Lesson #1 in the Grade 5 Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) Teacher's Guide. Or find the Lighter than Air lesson plan here. ACE is CAP's K-6 STEM program, and registration has opened for the 2022-2023 school year. Find more information on the ACE Program here.
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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 as an AEM or AEO. | |
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 | |
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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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