We have had a number of request in the past week for more baseline options for program participation, to both reduce cost and to allow single schools to participate if a district-wide approach will not work for them.
To provide maximum flexibility for participation in the SSEP we have therefore defined 3 possible levels of participation:
Option 1) the full community-wide engagement initiative in STEM education (the original program scope), consisting of two components:
• a Flight Experiment Design Competition across your community, with students vying for at least one experiment slot reserved for you aboard STS-134;
• a Community Program: programming meant to engage your students, their teachers, and their families, and which includes a National Team of scientists and engineers spending a week in your community to talk to 2,000-4,000 of your students—one classroom at a time, and providing presentations to families and the public;
Option 2) Option 1 above, but without the programming delivered by the National Team of scientists and engineers;
Option 3) the ability for an individual school to reserve a single experiment slot on STS-134, but without the community-wide experiment design competition and community-wide programming.
These new Options are now integrated into this website as text in purple marked with ‘NEW‘ on the Home page, the About SSEP page, and the How to Participate page. Also note the new Table in the Cost section on the How to Participate page, which provides a handy summary of program elements for each of the 3 Options, together with cost.
We are working to open this program up to as many school districts and schools that want to participate.
-Jeff
