Grant Program Wants to Help 1 million Students Explore Space
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 08/24/21
A
company that provides people with access to online telescopes wants
to enable a million students this year to explore space from
computers in their classrooms and homes. Slooh,
which maintains a set of telescopes in multiple sites around the
world, has launched the "Slooh
Space Exploration Grant"
for the new school year.
The
grant will provide one teacher from each public school in the United
States with access to the Slooh interface as well as professional
development and 40 student licenses. Those student seats will allow
learners to use robotic telescopes to view space phenomena, including
lunar changes, solar flares, asteroids, living and dying stars and a
variety of nebulae. The value of the grant is $750, and it's being
made available to teachers in grades 4-12 who teach in schools with
at least 100 students.
Normally,
an annual student subscription to the service is $50.
"Space
exploration is a powerful – and truly magnificent – way for
students to build their scientific knowledge and practices, while
tying celestial phenomena to STEAM concepts," said Michael
Paolucci, founder of Slooh, in a press release. "Our new grant
provides an equitable opportunity for students across the country to
reap the benefits of space exploration as they become well-informed
citizens and 21st century thinkers."
To
apply for the grant, teachers need to fill out a short application,
which asks them to explain how Slooh will support space exploration
for students in their school. Applications for the first round of
judging are due by October 18, 2021. Additional rounds of grants will
be made available throughout the rest of the school year.
Grant
applications are available through Slooh.org.
About the Author
Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.