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This month, we celebrate Women's History Month. CAP's Aerospace Education publication library includes two volumes of Women in Aviation, featuring some of the contributions women have made to the field of aviation and aerospace since the beginning of the 20th century. As a resource for AEOs and AEMs in squadrons and classrooms, we have a Women's History Lessons page on our website that highlights accomplishments of women who are pioneers in aerospace/STEM fields.
Our curriculum focus features one of the lessons from Women in Aviation Two -- Sally Ride, the first American woman in space.
The 3rd Annual National High-Altitude Balloon Challenge has recently launched for 2023. Find out how to register your squadron team for the event below.
Also, mark your calendars for key dates to keep in mind: the Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) awards deadline April 25 and the closing of ACE registration for the 2022-2023 school year, March 31.
Upcoming in June, the 2023 National AEO School will be in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Registration for the school filled up quickly, but there is information in this newsletter on how to get on the waitlist in the event of cancellations.
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THIS MONTH: Program updates - AE Safety Check - Curriculum -
Important things to know
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PROGRAM UPDATESROGRAM UPDATES
ACE award nominations for 2022-2023 due soon
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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 2022-2023 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!
And if you aren't a part of ACE yet, it's not too late to join for the 2022-2023 school year. Registration closes March 31.
Sue Mercer
ACE Program Manager
smercer@capnhq.gov
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CAP's 3rd Annual National Cadet STEM Challenge |  | |
Following two successful National High-Altitude Balloon (HAB) Challenges, the program has launched for 2023! Last year,122 squadron teams of over 1,500 cadets developed over 500 science experiments to be lifted to the edge of space as payloads of high-altitude weather balloons in Anderson, Indiana. The winning team, MAR-VA-007 William P. Knight Composite Squadron (pictured) received a $5,000 check from Col. Joe Kittinger (HAB Ambassador who sadly passed away December 9, 2022) and the coveted Kittinger Cup. Will YOUR squadron team be the next Kittinger Cup winner?
The program is open to any interested composite or cadet squadron -- at no cost to the squadron. Squadron teams of two or more cadets (one team per squadron) will develop as many science experiments as will fit in a 40 ml test tube weighing not more than 50 g, which will be launched to about 100,000 feet in the Indiana Wing in August. In addition to the Kittinger Cup and $5,000 grand prize from the Kittinger family, there will be grants from the Air & Space Forces Association (AFA) for winning mission patches, pre- and post-launch videos, and science experiment slides.
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Find out all program details, to include last year’s winners, 2023 schedule, and registration link HERE.
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Read the CAP.NEWS article about 2023 HAB registration being open until 22 May HERE.
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New Jersey cadets reach StellarXplorers finals | |
Six cadets from the New Jersey Wing’s Maj. Thomas B. McGuire Composite Squadron — (from left) Cadet Airman Jadon Domenech, Cadet Airman 1st Class Michael Domenech, Cadet Senior Airman Alexander King, Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Daniel Clayton, Cadet Senior Airman William Weisgarber, and Cadet Staff Sgt. Benjamin Clayton — will compete April 20-22 in the Air & Space Force Association’s StellarXplorers IX Space STEM program national finals.
The team is one of 10 nationwide to reach the championship competition from an initial field of nearly 350 entries.
A cadet team from the Oregon Wing’s Aurora Composite Squadron captured the national championship in 2021.
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It's time to take teachers out of the classroom
and into the sky with a TOP Flight
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The beautiful spring weather brings blue skies and opportunities to fly for any CAP member who is a teacher! Taking a flight in a CAP airplane at a local airport allows the teachers to fly over their schools, video the flight experience to share with students, and connect the dots between STEM concepts and aviation principles. Any teacher can reach out to their state’s Director of Aerospace Education and request a flight -- alone or with another teacher -- with the teachers even getting to take the controls in air! Questions? Contact ae@capnhq.gov.
See Teacher Orientation Program Flight details.
Please use NEW electronic TOP flight evaluation.
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CAP's AE STEM Kit Program -- featured kit | |
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FEATURED KIT -- ANGLEGS: Cadets and students will learn how to classify shapes and angles using the AngLegs STEM Kit. This collection comes with six sets of AngLegs, two snap-on protractors, a set of activity cards, and a plastic tote. Cadets and students will become familiar with angles and move toward an exploration of angles, measurements, and figures while classifying these shapes. Each kit will have enough materials provided for a traditionally-sized class or group of youth (approximately 25).
Aviation Connection: Youth involved with the AngLegs kit and associated lessons will be introduced to flight dynamics, to include the three-dimensional angles of rotation about the center of gravity, known as pitch, roll, and yaw.
The AngLegs STEM Kit is recommended for ages 8 and older.
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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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MAKE SURE YOU DRESS FOR SAFETY
Did you know that what you wear could be important when it comes to AE safety? ABUs and similar uniforms are not tailored and could be baggy, especially as cadets move from one size to the next. Think about the AE lessons that involve hot glue guns and other items that can reach high temperatures -- baggy clothing is dangerous and may even catch on fire. Unfortunately, it is equally dangerous to have unprotected skin while using many of these same items, along with items like glues that bond to the skin. If you can, find a way to reduce the amount of “bagginess” by using armbands or similar items to reduce the bagginess of your sleeves.
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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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2023 NATIONAL AEO SCHOOL
Registration filled quickly for 2023 National AEO School in Cocoa Beach, Florida, scheduled for June 12-16. However, we have a waitlist in the event of cancellations. We typically get a small number of cancellations. For more on the school and to be placed on the waitlist, click the link below.
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CURRICULUM SPOTLIGHT
Sally Ride
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March is Women's History Month. In this lesson, cadets and students will learn about Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. She was one of the first six women selected as a NASA astronaut candidate in 1978. Learners will also build a highly detailed paper model of an important communications satellite. The lesson is Chapter 10 in the CAP booklet Women in Aviation, Volume Two. Or find it here. Civil Air Patrol has additional resources and lessons honoring the contributions of women in STEM. Visit our Women's History Lessons page for more lessons and resources.
Photo credit: NASA
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Each month, this space features important highlights or answers to frequently asked questions. Here are four things you need to know as an AEM or AEO. | |
AEOs and AEMs: STEM Kits are not limited to one per year | |
AEOs and AEMs, there are no restrictions on the number of STEM Kits you can apply for within a fiscal or school year. Once you have received your STEM Kit, used it for a minimum of six hours and turned in a STEM Kit evaluation, you are eligible to apply for your next kit for your cadets or students. For full information on the program process, click the link below. Have questions? Email stem@capnhq.gov. | |
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. | |
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.
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