The Aerospace Center for Excellence offers several immersive educational programs to students throughout the year.
Through these programs, elementary and middle school students can experience the aerospace-infused STEM activities, experiments and challenges offered by the center. With things like guest speakers, field trips and science fairs, the Aerospace Center for Excellence reaches all young students with a variety of interests.
Cathy Dal Colletto, the center’s digital marketing coordinator, was one of the recipients of the Aerospace Center for Excellence’s scholarships. After working with the center for over a decade, she’s seen the growth and emphasis of community engagement through the opportunities it provides.
“They’ve constantly implemented more events year-round to engage the community and bring aviation to the forefront and provide more opportunities,” Dal Colletto said.
The Aerospace Center for Excellence offers field trips, including visits to the Science on a Sphere Lab, Flight Simulation Lab and Drone or Engineering Labs. These field trips are free to fifth through eighth graders in public schools.
In September, the center is hosting its Girls in Aviation Day through a partnership with Women in Aviation. In October, the fairytale edition of Lifting Literacy will invite students to explore reading through a STEM lens, and a day of hands-on STEM activities during Wings n’ Things in November will offer fun experiences for free.
Ahead of the holidays, the Aerospace Center for Excellence is hosting the Polar Express: Airmail Edition. Kids are invited to write letters to Santa, eat cookies and more. Tickets for the event will go on sale soon.
“Our education team has really [made] their curriculum and activities STEM-related and have tried to infuse as much aviation as they can,” Dal Colletto said.
In addition to its grade school programs, the Aerospace Center for Excellence announced its preschool program, STEM Sprouts, which is launching this year. Children ages 3-5 years old can join weekly classes to help them learn the basics through hands-on, skill-based learning and play.
The new program runs from September through May and offers a 50 percent discount for parents who are Florida Air Museum members.
For more information on the programs that the Aerospace Center for Excellence offers, visit https://aceedu.org/.
