The University of Sunderland has partnered with the Aldrin Family Foundation (AFF) to help inspire pupils at two Sunderland schools to pursue a career in STEMM.
Pupils at Grange Park Primary School and Dame Dorothy Primary School were invited to participate online in an event hosted by the AFF at the British Embassy in Washington D.C. to help inspire them to pursue a career in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine.
Year 5 and 6 pupils took part in an interactive activity where they had to think about their future career and what that might look like if it was done on the moon including directing films with aliens, gardening in greenhouse moon craters and driving F1 cars with hoverboards instead of wheels.
This was led by staff from the University using Giant Moon Maps™ donated to schools around the region as part of the partnership with the AFF.
Later, students in Sunderland got the chance to join other pupils in the US online for a special Q&A session with space industry experts including pioneering aviator Tracey Curtis-Taylor and NASA Astronaut Dr. Yvonne Cagle.
Kate Campion at Dame Dorothy Primary School said: “The event was a wonderful opportunity for the children to bring their space topic to life.
“By imagining future jobs on the moon and considering the adaptations that would be needed to live there, pupils practised their listening and speaking skills in a meaningful context, while also building confidence in expressing their own ideas.
“The children asked thoughtful questions, listened carefully to the answers, and discovered how astronauts solved different challenges while living and working beyond Earth.
“It was an inspiring, thought-provoking experience that supported both their learning and personal development.”
The AFF partnership, launched in 2021, has seen 27 Giant Moon Maps distributed to primary schools across multiple local authorities in the north-east to offer teachers a unique and interactive way to teach children about space and hone critical STEMM skills.
The Giant Moon Maps were developed by the AFF and the project is led by Dr Andy Aldrin, son of Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon.
This was made possible through a collaboration between Together for Children, the children’s services partner of Sunderland City Council, the Reece Foundation and the Sir James Knott Trust.
“This event is a remarkable example of how space and diplomacy can bring young minds together across borders,” said Dr. Andy Aldrin, president and CEO of the Aldrin Family Foundation. “By connecting students from the U.S. and U.K., we’re cultivating a truly global perspective for the future space workforce.”
Wendy Price OBE, Head of Widening Access and Participation at the University, said: “Through our partnership with AFF, we are thrilled to connect pupils and teachers from local schools with space industry experts in USA.
“Linking this event live from the British Embassy in Washington D.C. directly to classrooms in Sunderland gives pupils the unique opportunity to meet aviators and astronauts and learn more about these careers firsthand.
“Our unique partnership with Aldrin Family Foundation, and support from our generous funders, enables us to bring the excitement of space education to pupils across the north-east. This event is part of our wider STEMM outreach programme through which we aim to inspire young people to learn more about space career opportunities available to them.”