West Ada teachers hang out with NASA scientists
Four West Ada Galileo STEM Academy teachers are at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston this week. Galileo STEM Academy students and teachers are participating in the Microgravity University for Educators program hosted by NASA. The team is the only group of elementary school teachers participating. Students designed and engineered a mock satellite deployment system for NASA — a Satellite Launching Experimental Device (SLED). The SLED was tested on a special microgravity floor at the space center.
“We are having a blast,” said Kellie Taylor, an engineering teacher at Galileo STEM Academy.
Read more about the Galileo STEM Academy SLED project here.
Meridian teen to pitch business idea in New York
Danica Burback, a freshman at Rocky Mountain High School, is headed to New York to pitch her business idea for the opportunity to win a college scholarship. As CEO of Burback Medical, Danica created a modified towel that allows people with limited mobility to dry themselves after bathing without assistance.
Danica is part of The Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) – a program that teaches middle and high school students how to start and run their own business. YEA! was developed at the University of Rochester in 2004. The Meridian Chamber of Commerce introduced the program in 2014.
The Meridian Chamber hosted a Shark Tank”-like event this month where 24 students pitched business ideas before a group of Meridian investors. The panel named Danica the local winner, sending her to represent the Treasure Valley at the semifinals in the Young Entrepreneurs Academy competition in New York this summer.
Throughout the program, students develop business ideas, write business plans, conduct market research, pitch their plans to a panel of investors, and then launch and run their own fully formed companies and social movements.
Win a grant for your teacher
Do you have a teacher who inspires you? You can nominate a teacher who inspires and he or she could win a $500 grant for their classroom and an unlimited wash club membership from Mister Shine Carwash.
Nominations end May 1. Click here for more details.
