THIS MONTH: Program updates - News and Events - AE Safety Check - Curriculum - AEO Story - Important things to know

Congratulations to all schools, teachers, and students that participated in CAP's Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) Program this year. Because of you, the program has reached new heights! As of March, there are…

Over 100,000 students

Over 600 teachers

Over 500 schools

And the numbers are still rising!

K-6 teachers and students across the nation are enjoying the interactive program designed to engage and inspire early-aged youth toward an interest in aviation, space, and other STEM-related careers. The ACE Program uses the aerospace theme to integrate academics, character education, and physical fitness while helping students connect content skills with real-life application.

If you haven’t registered for the ACE Program this year, there’s still time! Registration closes March 31. Click HERE to go directly to the online registration form.

If you have registered, your job is not done! You have two more tasks to complete:



1)   Nominations are being accepted for the following (click each box to go to the nomination form):

Send your nominations to ace@capnhq.gov by April 25.  Attach any pictures, work samples or other material to support the nominations.

2) Submit your Completion Form.

Completion forms should be submitted by May 31.

Last call for ACE Plus, a squadron adopt program for 5th-8th grade classroom ACE teachers

Classroom ACE teachers in grades 5-8 who have been “adopted” by a local CAP squadron, please send 1-2 good photos of the squadron adults and cadets working with the students in your classroom to our team as we also want to recognize an Outstanding ACE Plus Collaborative Team with an end-of-year award. 

• If your team wants to be considered for the ACE Plus Collaborative Team award, please send a write-up about your partnership using the ACE Plus Award nomination form by April 25.

1) If you have not been adopted and want to try to connect with a CAP squadron for end of year activities, there is still time to do so!! By April 1, please send a Request to Collaborate Form to your state’s Director of AE (see list HERE) and copy adopt@capnhq.gov. 

a) If you have sent your form but did not get a connection in your state, please resend your form to adopt@capnhq.gov.

2) If you have been working with your CAP team, hopefully you can plan 1-2 more visits if you did not get your desired activities and photos completed. 

Check out the links below to learn more.

Registration opens for 2024 National AE

High-Altitude Balloon Challenge for Cadets

The fourth annual national AE cadet STEM challenge, the Col.Joe Kittinger CAP National High-Altitude Balloon Challenge for Cadets (HABC), will officially open team registration on April 1 and close on midnight local time May 12 (late registrations will not be accepted).

• Early registrations will be accepted from the commander or AEO starting NOW. (Cadets may not register.)
• Whoever registers should notify the rest of the leadership team (to include the DCC) and seek interest from cadets who wish to join the squadron team. 

If a squadron desires to field a team this year, the following information should be helpful:

1) There is no cost to the squadron for this program.

2) There is a limit to only one HABC team per squadron.

3) Any number of cadets can work on a team (2-20+, but ensure all cadets will have a way to contribute to the team).

4) Cadet team member names will be requested AFTER registration closes, so there is time to build the desired team.

5) Teams can begin working on their science experiments to fit in the science capsule as noted on the guidance photo (at top) before the capsules are shipped to the teams. (Will be shipped on May 17.)

6) Teams will be provided shipping boxes and labels to ship their experiment capsules to the Indiana Wing launch site for the August launch date. 

7) The challenge competition includes areas where different cadets can make contributions: team mission patch (digital or hand-drawn); pre-launch video; post-launch documentary video; and one science experiment informational slide. 

8) Scoring rubrics for each category are provided so the teams know prior to submissions exactly what is expected for each category.

Find out more in the HABC webpage (which will be fully loaded by April 1).

Teacher Orientation Program flights ready for lift-off!

Any educator member of CAP – AE member (AEM) or educator who is a uniformed squadron member – may receive a Teacher Orientation Program (TOP) flight each fiscal year (October 1- September 30). How can educators request a flight each fiscal year?

1. Send an e-mail to the state’s volunteer CAP Director of Aerospace Education (see list HERE) to request a flight.
2. Include name, CAP ID#, city/state, and possible dates for the flight.
3. If another educator member wants to fly, send that person’s information, as well.

• If two educators fly at the same time, each will get a chance to sit in the front seat and take the controls of the airplane. Yes, the educators can fly the airplane!

After the flight, the educator(s) should submit the quick online evaluation for CAP to track and support this program. Educators can post their experience photos on their Facebook page and tag @capaerospace!

Educators, plan YOUR own flight path with a CAP pilot during the beautiful days of spring!  

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

2024 National AEO School has sold out

Thank you for your interest in the 2024 National Aerospace Education Officers School. The 21st Annual CAP National AEO School has sold out. The school will be held on Patrick Space Force Base, Cocoa Beach, Florida, June 24-28. An email was sent out earlier this month simultaneously to all DCS/AEs, DAEs, and AEOs announcing the opening of registration.

Interested AEOs may join the waitlist for the school. For those who cannot attend, video recordings of the school will be available after the event.

This year’s school is open to Aerospace Education Officers (AEOs) only. Click the link below for more information on the school and to join the waitlist.

CAP's 2024 NASA Globe Solar Eclipse

Project brings citizen science opportunities

On April 8 a solar eclipse will cross North America. To make the most of this rare astronomical event, the Civil Air Patrol has partnered with NASA’s GLOBE Eclipse Project to give youth the opportunity to become Solar Eclipse Citizen Scientists, even outside the path of totality.

NASA is sponsoring the GLOBE Program, which includes a dynamic GLOBE Observer app. GLOBE Eclipse is a temporary tool in the GLOBE Observer app that will help with documentation of air temperature and clouds during an eclipse. 

All classroom, community, and homeschool educators anywhere in the United States can register as a CAP Solar Eclipse Classroom and choose to implement a classroom mission, including Astronomy, Biology, and Weather. Click the button below to register your classroom and find resources for each mission. AEMs, you can share this information with colleagues who are not AEMs.

Beginning the week of April 1, classroom instructional videos on the eclipse lessons will be available on CAPaerospace YouTube channel.

In addition, Civil Air Patrol units also have a separate Solar Eclipse Mission that is specially designed to be implemented by teams of 5 to 10 CAP cadets. CAP units can register to participate in this mission here. Civil Air Patrol members will have the opportunity to collaborate with over 250 squadrons nationwide to create a data set that stretches across 7 time zones. CAP teams will use their skills to collect data about the effects of a Solar Eclipse on weather and track the impact of Solar Eclipses on VHF radio operations.

For more information, contact Capt. Shannon Babb, Solar Eclipse Citizen Science Mission Director and Rocky Mountain Region DCS/AE. 

(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.

Meet Capt. Shannon Babb, the Rocky Mountain Region Deputy Chief of Staff for Aerospace Education (DCS/AE), who has been a CAP member for a decade. After serving in IT and Public Affairs with CAP, she moved to the Aerospace Education program to assist with external AE. Outside of Civil Air Patrol, she works as the curriculum/instructional specialist at Central Utah Water Conservancy District. "I am someone who is both a professional scientist and a professional educator," she says. "I use that combination of skills to help take complex topics and turn them into hands-on curriculum resources that can help communities engage STEM topics." One way she is specifically promoting STEM topics is as director of CAP's Solar Eclipse Mission in conjunction with the upcoming April 8 solar eclipse that will cross North America. The project, which also focused on the annular eclipse that occurred last October, actually started five years ago. "The seeds for the CAP Solar Eclipse Mission were planted in 2019, when I realized that an Annular Eclipse was going to cross the state of Utah." It developed into a mission for teams of CAP cadets to collaborate with more than 250 squadrons nationwide to create a data set -- that stretches across 7 time zones -- about the effects of a solar eclipse on weather and on VHF radio operations. "This was an opportunity for Civil Air Patrol to help make significant scientific discoveries during the 2023 and 2024 solar eclipses," Capt. Babb says. An additional aspect of the mission works with NASA's Globe Eclipse Project to give teachers the chance to become citizen scientists. (Find out more in the Events section of this newsletter). Click the link below to read Capt. Babb's full story.

"When done right, AE not only gives cadets knowledge and skills that they can use for the future, but it hands them a literal universe of possibilities."

-- Capt. Shannon Babb, Rocky Mountain Region DCS/AE

It's Women's History Month. In this lesson, cadets and students will learn about Harriet Quimby, a woman of multiple firsts in aviation. Quimby was the first woman to receive a pilot license in the U.S. (1911) and fly solo across the English Channel (1912). Learners will build a model of the Bleriot XI, the airplane that Quimby used to fly across the English Channel. Then, they will fly their models with fishing line across a "channel." In the simulation, they will study how variables such as angle of string, weight of plane, length of string, and position of control stick affect the model's flight. The lesson is Chapter Two in CAP's Women in Aviation Volume I book. Or find it here. (Image credit: United States Postal Service)

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.

Are you a newly appointed Aerospace Education Officer? Congratulations! Check out this list of tips on how to get started and how to find help. Click the button to learn more.

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.

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 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