THIS MONTH: Program updates - AE Safety Check - Curriculum - Important things to know

Civil Air Patrol’s 2023-2024 National ACE Lift-off event was conducted at Goldsboro Elementary Magnet School (GEMS) in Sanford, Florida, with the CAP Lake Composite Squadron Color Guard posting the Colors. The school was honored as the 2023 National CAP ACE School of the Year, with STEM teacher, Mr. Robert Wakeland, as the 2023 National CAP ACE Teacher of the Year, landing the school the privilege of being the site of this academic year’s ACE lift-off for over 500 ACE schools across the nation.

CAP’s Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) program is a K-6 multidisciplinary educational experience that uses the aerospace theme to promote academics with a focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), character education, and physical fitness for living a healthy and drug-free lifestyle. The program is in its 17th year and has impacted three quarters of a million students nationwide since its inception.

Pictured below: Guests join GEMS adult and student leadership teams and CAP ACE mascots, CAPPY and Air Bear, with the school's GEMs astronaut mascot and ACE banners. 

As found on the Air &Space Forces Association’s Outstanding Cadet Awards page, each year, every CAP cadet and composite squadron can request an awards packet to present to one outstanding cadet. The AFA is proud to support these accomplished cadets with an award package containing a medal and ribbon. 

Annual request dates are Dec. 1-Jan. 15, but AEOs can work with their commanders now to begin requesting the 2024 award. Send all request forms to afa@capnhq.gov as CAP NHQ/AE accepts the requests and sends the award packages. (NOTE: Cadets do not have to be selected now, but the award package requests should be submitted now so that when the squadron makes the cadet selection, the package will be ready for the award presentation.)

While still awaiting CAPR 39-3 (page 24) information update, please see correct information at both the Cadet Programs Individual Cadet Awards page and the Aerospace Education page for AFA Squadron Awards.

As the AFA is the sponsor of this award, please follow guidance at the information link below for AFA awards to connect with and invite the closest AFA chapter to send a member to make the presentation. Presentations can be done in person or virtually. CAP provides an annual report to the AFA; so please take a photo of the presentation and return with the after-action report due to afa@capnhq.gov. Use the links below to begin your request.  

Any K-12 classroom teacher can apply for the competitive $599 grants provided by the Air & Space Forces Association (AFA) to fund a STEM project or program, such as this teacher’s trip to the Kennedy Space Center. It is easy to complete the online application, which needs to be submitted by Dec. 15. Good luck, classroom teachers!

FEATURED STEM KIT - ROBOTICS WORKSHOP:  Build and program robots with the Robotics Workshop STEM Kit, a complete robotics engineering system. Using sensors, motors, a core controller, and hundreds of snap-together building pieces, you can follow the instructions to assemble 12 different robots. The versatile parts also allow you to make robots according to your own designs over and over again. This fun robotics curriculum starts out with instructions for building simple robots, teaching you how the sensors can be used to control the robots. Build an ultrasound robot that can avoid obstacles, a line tracker robot, a touch sensor robot, and a doodling robot. Move on to more complex robots that have multiple functions, such as a ball-manipulating robot, a crawling robot, and a grabbing robot. Finally, build some functional, helpful robotics including an automated door-opening robot and a protected robotic safe to store your valuables. After you have mastered all the robotic models in the instructions, you will have the tools and knowledge you need to go on and build and program your own amazing robotic creations. The robots can be controlled directly in real-time and programmed to perform series of commands using an easy-to-use, free downloadable app on tablets and smartphones. The app wirelessly connects to the core controller using a Bluetooth low-energy connection. You can create more complex programs using the open-source visual block programming editor "CB1 Blockly" on a PC with a USB connection to the core controller. A 96-page, full-color manual features step-by-step illustrated building instructions and instructions for how to program and operate the models.This kit is recommended for ages 10 and older.

Aerospace Education Excellence (AEX) Program

AEX Award registration for squadrons and AEMs:  

Make sure your squadron or classroom applies for the 2023-2024 AEX Award program in eServices. AEX program activities should take place from Oct. 1 to 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.

News and Events

Region/Wing Commanders Course attendees

experience new STEM Kits, learn more about AE

At this month’s annual Region/Wing Commanders Course conducted at Maxwell Air Force Base, the course attendees were able to work with the national headquarters AE team to confirm the importance of external AE programs in building collaborative teams, garnering funding and other resource support, and creating public awareness of and interest in working with and/or joining the local squadron. 

Additionally, the attendees were able to experience new STEM Kits available to support any squadron AE program. As shown in the photo, wing commanders competed in coding and racing Spheros while learning how to integrate CAP’s free STEM Kit program, both internally and externally. 

AEOs: How did you prepare for the Yeager test?

The completion of the Yeager Award is an important part of the Aerospace Education Program for Senior Members, and now it is a required item in the Volunteer University Level II. National Headquarters/AE is looking for learning aids that have been developed by our members to help Senior Members study for the Yeager test, based on the text Aerospace: The Journey of Flight. We realize that not all of the learning resources will help everyone, and so we are looking for a variety of types, -- such as videos, chapter summaries, recordings, tricks of the trade, etc. -- that have proven successful in your wing or unit. The ultimate goal is to make them available on the AE webpages to support our members’ achievement of the Yeager.

If you have something that you recommend, we would love to see it and consider it for inclusion in this repository. Please contact Lt. Col. Karen Cooper, National AE Manager, to discuss your item at kcooper@ner.cap.gov.

(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, National AE Manager, who works in safety and risk management on the AE National Headquarters Staff and is also the Northeast Region DCS/Aerospace Education.)

If you have a safety topic you would like to be included in this space, please email kcooper@ner.cap.gov.

November is Native American Heritage Month. Bessie Coleman was the first person of African American/Native American descent to earn a pilot's license. In this lesson, participants will learn about this aviation pioneer and then build a highly detailed paper model of a Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny." This aircraft was used by student pilots and barnstormers such as Coleman from 1915 until well into the 1930s. The lesson is found in Civil Air Patrol's Women in Aviation, Volume One booklet (pictured) as Chapter Three. Or find it here. Find additional resources on Native American pioneers in aerospace and STEM here.

Meet Lt. Col. Jean-Marie Nixon, Delaware Director of Aerospace Education (DAE). She joined CAP in 2011 to assist her late husband, Lt. Col. Patrick Nixon, with the Arizona squadron in which he was a commander. Originally only believing she would be a Civil Air Patrol member for a short while, she recalls with a laugh, she has served in many areas since that time. She is master rated in seven specialty tracks. With a career path including having a master's degree in psychology and working in child protective services, she began learning more about Aerospace Education along with the cadets she was helping in that first squadron. Growing up, she had discovered aerospace education from her father, who while in the Army was in charge of the NATO helicopters and then later, helicopters in Vietnam. "My father loved aviation," she says. "He taught both my sister (CAP AEM Cynthia Ann Sowers of Pennsylvania) and me about life through flying." Her current duty positions include roles in Operation Pulse Lift blood drive, character development and chaplain support along with aerospace education. "I enjoy working with others in CAP and hope to inspire a love of aviation in people of all ages," she says of her AE work. "The youth are the future – their time is right around the corner." Click the link below to read her full story.

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.

There is a new FAQ page for AEOs on the Aerospace Education web pages of GoCivilAirPatrol.com. You will find answers to your questions about serving as an AEO. This will especially be good to check out for new AEOs, but veteran AEOs might find some answers to questions they have as well. We encourage all AEOs to check out this page Here is an example of one of the questions and the answer. Follow the link to find out.

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, 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. 

Civil Air Patrol Aerospace Education

Contact: Aerospace Education

https://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/ae