Civil Air Patrol National Aerospace Education Officer Conference Soars High

Aerospace Educators’ knowledge of aerospace
“soars” at the National Aerospace Educator Conference
in Pensacola Naval Air Station.

Pensacola, Florida – Civil Air Patrol Aerospace Education Officers from around the country attended the National Aerospace Education Officer Conference at the Pensacola Naval Air Station the week of June 24, 2014.  The aerospace educators participated in presentations on teaching today’s youth about the relevance of aviation and space endeavors to their daily lives and to encourage careers in the S.T.E.M. endeavors in aerospace, science, engineering and mathematics.

Lt. Col. Kathy Beauford, Director of External Aerospace Education for Louisiana and Robotics Project Manager, presented “Are We Alone in the Universe?”, Lunar Nautics and “A Field Trip to the Moon.” The educators then designed their own moon base using the S.T.E.M. approach which applies the principles of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.  Lt. Col. Beauford wore

Lt. Col. Kathy Beauford “makes space”
presenting “Design your own Moon Base”
in a replica of Astronaut Neil Armstrong’s
Apollo Moon Suit.

and demonstrated a complete replica of the Moon Suit which Astronaut Neil Armstrong wore on the Moon.

Other presentations included the 30 free aerospace education materials and programs offered by the Civil Air Patrol such as aviation, space, model rocketry, flight simulators, Robotics, Advanced Math, The Space Station, remote control airplanes, astronomy, remote sensing from space, satellites, and computer cyber security. Civil Air Patrol materials also include K-6 Curriculum Programs, free S.T.E.M. kits, teacher orientation flights, and $250 grants to classroom teachers.

The educators trained in the airplane and Jet simulators at the Pensacola Naval Air Station, launched model rockets, and toured the Pensacola Naval Air Museum.

Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with 60,000 members nationwide, operating a fleet of 550 aircraft. CAP, in its Air Force auxiliary role, performs about 85 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 71 lives annually. Its unpaid professionals also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 25,000 young people currently participating in the CAP cadet programs. CAP received the World Peace Prize in 2011 and has been performing missions for America for 72 years. CAP also participates in Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor and teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans. Visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com or www.capvolunteernow.com for more information.