ACE: Association for the Cohabitation of Exoplanets

Grades: 4-12
Duration: Full day
VA Standards of Learning: 4.1, 4.5, 4.6; 5.1, 5.3, 5.8; 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4; ES.1, ES.2, ES.3, ES.6

ACE is a STEAM education expedition that introduces students to six different engineering disciplines: Aerospace, Agricultural, Biomedical, Civil, Electrical, and Mechanical. Students use real NASA data on Trappist 1e, an exoplanet being identified for a future human colony, to engage in a series of fun learning challenges. Students work as a team to come up with solutions for creating a viable and sustainable colony using elements of the Engineering Design Process, and their own creativity.

ACE can be scaled to make it deliverable to any grade, K-12, with additional modules to personalize the mission. Such modules could include paper circuitry, programming with Micropython, mock interviews, and more...