On November 30th, 2022, founder and director of the Cubes in Space program Amber Agee-Dehart came from Virginia Beach to introduce the program to Stamford High School students. Cubes in Space is a global science and engineering design competition in which students design and launch experiments on NASA missions. Founded in 2014, the program has been increasing adolescent interest in STEM and NASA-based career paths and is offered to students ages 11-18. The program is available in 75 counties, with over 2,400 educators, 23,000 students, and 1,100 experiments thus far. The program allows students to move their experiments out of the classroom and into space.
Students are asked to brainstorm, design, and propose experiments that can be placed in 4cm x 4cm x 4cm cubes which are then taken into space-like conditions. There are two opportunities to send your experiment into space: either via a Terrier Improved-Orion Sounding rocket (aka a repurposed ballistic missile) or a zero-pressure helium scientific balloon. For the 2022 school year, with a 2023 launch date, Stamford High School was granted 10 cubes to send into space.
The presentation to potential participants focused on the brainstorming and logistical phases of the program. The experiment design has specific requirements and restrictions per NASA’s sounding rocket office.
For more information, contact supervisor Susan Dougherty or visit the website https://cubesinspace.com/.