STEM K-12 Outreach Award 2013-2014
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Section Name: Orange County Name of Person Submitting: Jann Keopke
Section Size Category: Large
Section Officer Position: Vice Chair, STEM K-12 Outreach
The Harry Staubs STEM K-12 Outreach Award is presented to sections that have developed and implemented an
outstanding STEM K-12 Outreach program that meets the general goals of the AIAA, such as 1) increasing
Educator Associate membership, 2) recognizing Educator performance, and 3) increasing the number of actively
engaged members, particularly in the area of STEM K-12 outreach.
To meet these goals, sections are encouraged to provide quality educational resources for K-12 teachers and
students in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). It is based on these goals and
objectives that the Harry Staubs STEM K-12 Outreach Award is presented to the sections.
Educator Associates:
Number of Educator Associates as of date of report: 44.
Please detail any teacher recognition that the section has participated in. Examples: AIAA Foundation Educator
Achievement Award nomination, local teacher of the year, section award, special service citations. None. But,
section had a number of STEM outreach programs that Educator Associates could participate with AIAA
members and students. See below.
Please detail any K-12 educator professional development opportunities that the section has participated in.
These could include teacher workshops, special dinner meetings, tours, hosting training for competitions, trade
show booths. Note: the section can be participating in events hosted by other groups. The section has pursued
numerous activities to support K-12 educator and STEM education. See below.
Please list your section’s member participation in competitions and programs as coaches, mentors, judges, hosts
of local events. These could include FIRST, FLL, Conrad Foundation, Project Lead the Way, Real World Design
Challenge, Space Settlement Design, Future Cities, local and national science fairs as examples. The section has
pursued numerous activities to support STEM education. See below.
Support of AIAA Signature STEM K-12 events:
Did your section host and act as the lead sponsor of any STEM K-12 events that are publicly marketed as AIAA
brand events? Explanation: The Institute level AIAA brand signature events include the Engineers as Educators
workshops, the Educator Academy regional competitions and teacher training workshops. All Sections are now
expected and encouraged to run these programs on a stand-alone basis. Section-level AIAA brand signature
events should also be listed here, as long as the Section was the lead organizer and the AIAA brand clearly
identified.
See below. Section also provided direct support to OC Science Fair, TARC teams including those that went the
Nationals in DC, and UCI DBF that won International. Section sponsored/is sponsoring two AIAA/NAR CoBranded events
1. T-CON (TARC Consolation Launch) is co-branded by the AIAA OC Section and NAR, the National
Association of Rocketry. Since TARC events are hosted on the East Coast and only approximately one in
eight teams qualify to participate in the Finals, T-CON gives all TARC teams, whether they qualified to go
to National Finals or not, the opportunity to participate in a scaled down version of the National Finals on the West coast. Seven teams and approximately 30 team members attended the first annual in 2014
and we have approximately the same number signed up for the 2nd Annual event this year (2014).
2. SPARC (Student Payload Rocketry Challenge) is also co-branded by the AIAA OC Section and NAR. 2014
is the first year for this event and has been advertised to all TARC teams on the west coast, to rocketry
clubs, and to attendees to multiple STEM events attended by AIAA OC Section. SPARC puts the
emphasis more on a scientific or engineering payload than the rocket itself.
Has the section participated in Engineers as Educators Workshop? Engineers as Educators is changing, but
Section directly supports RST aerospace volunteers in after school programs.
Have you identified a local educator that can be trained to be a local resource for this training? Section is
working with Mr Nino Polizzi RST lead, who is now working with a local Magnet School
Has the section participated in the AIAA Educator Academy? No.
If so, have you identified a local facilitator for the workshop? No.
Have you started to plan a local competition? No. (Educators need not be Engineers)
Please detail any innovative local programs that have worked for your section. See below. The Section has
provided donations and publicity to the local Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) teams, a hands-on STEM
(Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) international competition. Section mentored 10 TARC
teams (about 10% of all California teams) Five of those teams made it to the final competition near Washington
DC and one more was an alternate (750 teams total participate across the nation and 100 qualify to attend
finals). Young Professionals were invited to help mentor and help out at launches and several did accept and
helped at multiple meetings and launches. See more details in above section.
Please list any STEM education activities where section members got involved in a section activity for the first
time (or nearly first time). Section members were invited to the STEM activities, and a few members attended
for the first time the remote launches of the TARC teams. The section’s YP Vice Chair also participates for the
first time, and others times after that, in the STEM outreach program and answer students questions.
Who can we contact for more information about these events? Jann Koepke and Bob Koepke
AIAA OC Section Education Outreach 2012-2013 Summary
The AIAA OC Section Education Outreach has had a very proactive year inspiring the youth of the Orange County
California area. Though we have had a much filled year, we always make safety a top priority so that we are
allowed to continue to expand our outreach programWe have three long range programs that fill the entire year
with STEM activities.
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AIAA OC Rocketry Club (year-round on-going project) is NAR Section #718 (National Associaton of
Rocketry). We are listed on the NAR web site (http://www.nar.org/NARseclist.php) and promote the
club at multiple events throughout the year. The club has met for several years once each month and
attends at least one rocket launch each month. The club has proven and excellent source of team
members for multiple rocketry challenges. The club also has a web site at http://aiaaocrocketry.org/.
TARC (September to May on-going and expanding project: Team America Rocketry Challenge http://www.rocketcontest.org/) is a national contest for 7th through 12th graders. Students are
challenged to design, build, and fly a rocket with an egg payload meeting certain criterion.
Approximately 750 teams enter, 100 teams qualify to go to finals in Washington DC. Last year we
mentored 5 teams. This year we mentored 10 teams (50 team members from 13 cities and 16 schools),
five more than we were allowed so we engaged other organizations to sponsor our teams. We had one
team with the IEEE AESS, one team with University High School in Irvine, CA, one team with the
Environmental Nature Center in Newport Beach, CA, and two teams with the Avid Math Academy in
Irvine. And we helped several other teams. We had 35 meetings, several WebEx training sessions, and
22 launches. Of those 10 teams, five made it to the final competition and one more was an alternate
(just under 1/3 of the 17 teams from California attending finals). Teams did well at finals, although none
placed in the top ten in the fly-offs. One team did place 3rd in the presentation competition.
SPARC (Spring to October new project) Student Payload and Rocketry Challenge. This challenge was
conceived by AIAA OC Section in January of 2014 and approved and co-branded with NAR. We have
communicated with NASA IV&V in West Virgina and they will be piloting a variant of this project.
Students are challenged to design a scientific or engineering payload using a microcontroller prototyping
platform called Arduino. They will gather and record data or video and optionally send via RF to a
ground station. Students write a short proposal and have it approved at the beginning of the challenge.
Students design, build and fly their rocket and payload across the summer and officially launch in
October as well as write a complete report on their project using the scientific method for scientific
payloads. And they participate in a Rocket Science Fair. Section has a SPARC page on the AIAA OC
Rocketry web site that includes multiple teaching tutorials (http://aiaaocrocketry.org/?page_id=1545 –
pages are being built May through summer). We are enlisting AIAA members and engineers from
industry as mentors and using Young Professionals as judges.
In addition to the long term projects, we have participated in many outreach events each lasting from one to
three days
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T-CON (1st annual now a recurring event with 30 team members and 45 total attending in 2013). This is
the TARC Consolation launch providing an experience similar to finals for West Coast TARC teams
whether they made it to finals or not (TARC finals are always on the East Coast)
Youth Fair and Livestock Show at La Mirada (new event serving 150 students) – air rocket build and
launch
Girls Incorporated (new event serving 120 students) – foam rocket build and launch
Village Of Hope Summer Camp (recurring event serving 25 students) – air rocket build launch for
underpriviledged students
Quest Therapeutic Camp (recurring event serving 30 students) – two day camp with foam and water
bottle rocket build and launch for emotionally troubled kids
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Avid Math Academy presentation (new event serving 30 students) – promoting TARC resulting in two
new TARC teams
TARC Kick-Off presentation (two sessions - recurring event serving 20 students at each) – promoting
TARC resulting in several new teams
Girl Scout Rocket Build (recurring event serving 50 students) – scouts build small Estes rockets and get
them ready to fly
Girl Scout Rocket Launch (recurring event serving 20 students) – scouts repeatedly fly their newly built
rockets
Orange County Model Engineers (recurring event serving 150 students) – air rocket build and launch.
OCME has multiple events each year
Long Beach National Robotics Week (new event serving 200 students) – air rocket build and launch
Orange County Fair Imaginology (recurring event serving 1,000 students) – three day STEAM event with
air rocket build and launch and a presentation on rocketry
Orange County Model Engineers (recurring event serving 400 students) – air rocket build and launch.
OCME has multiple events each year
Children’s Day (new event serving 300 students) – air rocket build and launch
Youtheca (new event serving 100 students) – similar to a trade show for high school students to present
opportunities for participation including STEM projects
Rockets on the Hill (recurring event) – tied to the TARC finals where students and mentors have the
opportunity to show off their rockets to Congressman and talk about what they have learned
ASAT conference (recurring event) one TARC team gave a presentation and three more teams set up
science fair type displays showing their projects and were available to speak with ASAT attendees
ASAT conference (recurring event) Jann and Bob Koepke gave a presentation on the section’s
Educational Outreach program through rocketry
(https://info.aiaa.org/Regions/Western/Orange_County/ASAT%20Conference%202014%20Presentation
s/Koepke_Educational%20Engagement%20(ASAT%202014).pdf)
We also attended the Regional Leadership Conference to talk with other AIAA sections about STEM projects.
We have seen interest sparked time and time again in the youth of Orange County and have seen many
participants go on to prestigious universities pursuing Aerospace and Engineering degrees. We look forward to
continuing our outreach next year and beyond.
University of California Irvine (UCI) AIAA Student Section is within the AIAA OC Section area, and the AIAA OC
Section is very active in supporting the UCI Student Section, and the UCI DBF program as delineated above in the
other sections. No new initiatives this year in regards to California State University Fullerton (CSUF), or Chapman
University. No involvement of the section with the Region Student Conference.
The AIAA OC Section does not have a scholarship fund, but provides small funds for prizes to the OC Science and
Technology Fair. The Section provided judges for the Fair.
The Section has provided donations and publicity to the local Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) teams, a
hands-on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) international competition. Five TARC
teams made it to national. A Student TARC team presented a paper at the ASAT conference, and three other
teams provided a Poster standup presentations to ASAT attendees.
The Section provided donation and publicity to "Rocket Science Tutors (RST)" (www.rocketsciencetutors.com), a
STEM after-school program that bring aerospace professionals into the classroom. RST operates at four Middle
Schools and one High School in Santa Ana, California. RST provided 1,000 plus student-contact hours this school
year, and conducted an annual field trip to University of California Irvine (UCI). RST lead Nino Polizzi also
presented an ASAT paper and attended the Awards Banquet.
The Section invited the OC Science and Technology Fair winners to present Poster Standup personal discussion
to the section’s Southern California Aerospace and Technology (ASAT) conference attendees. And, one 6th
grader presented a Poster and hardware from his award winning Science and Technology project.
The Section recognized and supported the University of California Irvine (UCI) AIAA Student Section, and their
aircraft Design, Build, Fly (DBF) team. This team when to the International Competition, and won "Second
Place." The student Program Manager (Lawrence Tg, AIAA Student Member) won our Student of the Year
Award, and received that award at our Awards Banquet. The UCI DBF team and their academic advisor also
provided an ASAT paper.
The Section promotes interesting activities to reach out to the membership community and families that would
also be opportunities to engage the members and serve their needs. In so doing, the Section provides
opportunities for networking, which is the lifeblood of AIAA, and in membership recruitment and retention
activities.
TARC (Team America Rocketry Challenge)
TARC Finals near Washington DC
TARC - Rockets on the Hill (On Capitol Hill in Washington DC)
T-CON at Friends of Amateur Rocketry near Edwards Air Force Base
La Habra Youth Fair and Livestock Show
Girls Incorporated
Village of Hope Summer Science Camp
Quest Therapeutic Camp (photos of students not permitted)
Avid Math Academy Presentation
Girl Scout Rocket Build
Orange County Model Engineers
Girl Scout Rocket Launch
Long Beach National Robotics Week
OC Fair Imaginology
Orange County Model Engineers
Children’s Day
ASAT Conference
Youtheca