CLEVELAND, Miss. — A Delta State University physics professor is bringing new NASA-inspired lessons and hands-on STEM activities to her students after completing the Space Academy for Educators at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Dr. Maria Weber, associate professor of physics and director of Delta State’s Wiley Planetarium, recently completed the six-day professional development program, where educators participated in astronaut training simulations, engineering challenges and simulated space missions while learning classroom activities designed to engage students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Weber said she plans to incorporate many of the activities into her physics and astronomy courses, as well as planetarium programs and youth outreach efforts.
“Their primary goal for us was to impart information that we can take back and incorporate into our classes,” Weber said. “They gave us resources, so I can do a lot of the activities we did with my students.”
During the program, participants completed two simulated space missions, practiced leadership and communication skills, and worked through engineering challenges. One exercise required teams to design a protective lander carrying a rover and an egg representing an astronaut that could survive a two-story drop. Another focused on building heat shields capable of protecting an egg from intense heat.
Weber said the activities can be adapted for Delta State students and may also inspire an escape-room experience centered on the history of spaceflight.
Beyond classroom activities, Weber said the program expanded her understanding of NASA’s human spaceflight missions and reinforced the importance of teamwork in space exploration.
“You don’t really get a good feeling for it until you’re at Space Camp, but so much of being an astronaut is about working on a team and communicating with each other,” Weber said. “There are a lot of different specializations that have to work together, and everybody has to pull their own weight. Otherwise, the whole system crumbles.”
Weber also plans to incorporate ideas from the program into Delta State’s annual ASTRO Camp, a summer STEM program that introduces children to astronomy through planetarium presentations, experiments and hands-on projects.
She said upcoming renovations to the Wiley Planetarium will allow for an expanded experience when ASTRO Camp returns next summer, with new activities aimed at making the program more immersive for students while enhancing workshops and professional development opportunities for educators.
The Space Academy for Educators is hosted by the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and provides teachers with NASA-inspired resources that can be adapted for classrooms across multiple subjects.
