WYOMING: Space Grant high school students outreach project
Wyoming Space Grant was able to launch a balloon launch at Shoshoni High School with Arduino payloads. After bursting at a relatively low 82,000 feet, the payload returned to Earth and landed on BLM near Arminto. They were able to collect a nearly full dataset of ozone and UV measurements in the stratosphere.
This flight was part of the LIFT Project, the space grant’s undergrad outreach program that focuses on high-altitude ballooning.
Funded by the National Science Foundation, the LIFT Project (Learning to Integrate Fundamentals through Teaching) is a multi-disciplinary science outreach program that unites University of Wyoming undergraduates with in-state K-12 teachers. The objective is for the undergraduates to design and build authentic K-12 STEM-related projects and curriculum for high-altitude ballooning. In collaboration with partner teachers, the undergraduates are given the opportunity to test out their projects with K-12 students. This culminates in a high-altitude balloon launch event at the partner teachers’ schools during the fall. The undergraduates also have the opportunity to participate in other outreach events, test launches, and perhaps even conference presentations.