Actura with the California Association for STEAM Education (CASE) and Space Center Houston have collaborated on more opportunities for youth to attend Space Center University®, a five-day hands-on education program. As a part of the collaboration, youth will have access to a newly developed robotic solution provided by CASE, including a special FlipRobot curriculum developed for Space Center University®.

Robotics is fast becoming an integral part of STEAM education as a field which involves coding, developing and operating robots and encourages a wide plethora of survival skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, computational thinking, design thinking, collaboration, communication and most importantly, curiosity and imagination. Educational robotics’ value also lies in developing and understanding the application of STEAM education in and out of the classroom.

Many programs and courses, in and out of the classroom, have started to facilitate this form of teaching, and Space Center U is one of them.

Combining classroom theory with cognitive and tactile tasks, Space Center University® simulates astronaut training and real-world NASA experiences. Students discover areas such as robotics, rocketry, thermal protection systems and space habitats.

In this collaboration, Space Center Houston and CASE will provide an immersive robotic experience tailored for groups participating through CASE. The objective of the robotic challenge is to build a rover module to collect rocks from a Mars landscape in the shortest amount of time and most efficient way possible. A new option that will be given to a group of students is to use FlipRobot to complete that challenge. The FlipRobot curriculum, as well as the hardware and software solution, have been developed specifically for this challenge in close collaboration with CASE and Space Center University®. CASE Senior Space School students will be the first in the world to experience this unique programme in July 2019.

David Sunton, Chief Officer at California Association for STEAM Education (CASE) Foundation says: “We are delighted to be collaborating with Space Center Houston on robotic learning applications. We share a commitment to provide interactive, engaging, and exciting STEAM programs underpinned by the foundations of the Seven Survival Skills by Dr. Tony Wagner. This helps develop students’ interest in the areas of STEAM, leading students to utilize STEAM skills after high school. A new and renewed interest in these subjects will prepare young people for leading occupations of the future.”

“Students will need these skills to successfully navigate the fast-changing workforce shaped by automation, robotics, artificial intelligence and globalization, enabling them to become 21st century leaders.” 

Daniel Newmyer, Space Center Houston Vice President of Education adds: “We look forward to collaborating with CASE on delivering hands-on robotic opportunities for CASE Space School students as part of their Space University program.”