At SCSGC, we support NASA’s strategic goal to build the next generation of explorers through outreach and STEM engagement. Participation in outreach is a component of each grant awarded. The goal of outreach is to involve awardees in their community and share their enthusiasm for NASA and STEM with the general public. This may include creating an event or finding an event to participate in. Due to the unique nature of outreach, and not wanting to define it, we do not provide a specific list of rules or necessities as to what qualifies as outreach. This allows for flexibility for the awardees. We do require that NASA SCSGC be incorporated and highlighted throughout the event. The options are truly open-ended, and the possibility for creativity is vast. We encourage taking this unique opportunity and having fun with it! Our team is happy to help navigate this process, answer questions, and help make arrangements.

Outreach Success Stories

McCormick Aubrey – STEM Outreach Award

McCormick has participated in eight outreach events. Those include; Lady Cougar’s STEM Day (TD Arena), STEM Family Night (North Charleston Creative Arts Elementary School), Stingrays STEM Night, Middle School Matters STEM Days (College of Charleston), and the Joint Base Charleston Air Show. Inspired by these events, McCormick proposed the creation of new tactile computer science outreach activities, which are now in the works. Go, McCormick!

“My favorite part about the outreach events is that everyone shares a deep love for science and space. Getting involved in engineering and astronomy is always a blast with Space Grant.”

Tyler Glymph – Undergraduate Research Award

“I recently had the incredible opportunity to participate in an outreach project with the NASA South Carolina Space Grant Consortium during a South Carolina StingRays Hockey game, and it was absolutely amazing! I had the privilege of engaging with not only children but also adults at the event, discussing the wonders of space and igniting a spark of interest in the importance of space exploration. Being brought up in South Carolina myself, I understand the limited exposure to space and aerospace opportunities in our region. These children represent the next generation of leaders, and if we aim to cultivate a diverse and vibrant workforce, it’s crucial to inspire them from a young age, showing them the potential career impact in this field. I am truly grateful for programs like this and for NASA’s recognition of this need, taking action to make a difference.”

Benjamin Elbrecht – Graduate Fellowship

“I love getting the opportunity to demonstrate material science concepts to younger audiences. This year’s outreach was particularly fun for me as I showcased higher level concepts to AP chemistry students such as crystal structures in metals and phase changes. These are core concepts that I use in my research, so I relish getting to introduce them to bright students that could use them in the future.”

Arianna Csiszer – STEM Outreach Award

“My outreach focuses on increasing awareness of SCSGC Opportunities to undergraduate students who are interested in space, research or both. I hope this helps students discover new ways to get involved in research and that this will allow them to get involved in space related research they wouldn’t have otherwise.”

Fermin Redondo – Undergraduate Research Award

“I went back to my old high school to show students the options available to them after college and to get them involved in science. My favorite part of the event was the conversations I was able to have with the students, they were all thoughtful and funny.”

Shannon Depratter – MIST Research Award

“Living Science Museum is a yearly outreach event put on by Theta Tau Zeta Delta that aims to teach children about STEM in an interactive and intriguing way through themed experiments, actors, and a Rube Goldberg machine competition. As president, I have loved participating and aiding in the culmination of this event, especially for SCSGC and NASA outreach. In the space-themed room, I loved seeing the faces of 200+ visitors brighten as they learned about constellations, the solar system, and Sally Ride, the NASA astronaut and first American woman in space.”