THIS MONTH: Program updates - AE Safety Check - Member Story - Curriculum - Important things to know

CAP squadrons across the nation desire to “adopt” ACE classrooms to extend STEM concept instruction, provide aviation career options and introduce the CAP cadet program to ACE students in grades 5-8. The ACE program is designed for grades K-6, but many middle schools use the 6th-grade ACE curriculum for grades 6-8. Thus, these are the perfect grade levels for CAP squadrons to “adopt” and support through the school year. 

The program can be delivered in person or virtually, as is pertinent for each squadron/teacher collaborative team. The ACE Plus program is easy to do -- having the squadron adults and cadets teach a minimum of three lessons. All lessons and hands-on materials are provided to the squadron and teacher at no cost. If the squadron leaders and teachers desire to do more, the sky is the limit with additional opportunities for the students! Squadrons can do as much as the teacher desires beyond the three ACE Plus lessons! Extra demonstrations or field trips can truly make the collaborative adoption program exciting for the students. 

Interested teachers should contact their state’s Director of AE (list found HERE) and request to be “adopted” and submit the teacher section of the Request to Collaborate form, below. Find out more at the ACE Plus link below. Click the link for the ACE Plus guide, below, and click on the chapter for which you need information.  

Any educator member of CAP can request a Teacher Orientation Program (TOP) flight each year to fly above their local school and geographic area. The pilot will provide a detailed pre-flight briefing about the parts of the airplane and will allow the teacher to take the controls during flight to see how all those parts work and connect to STEM principles being taught.   

• Teachers should find another educator member of CAP and plan their flight together NOW! When two teachers fly, the pilot will make two take-offs and landings to allow both teachers time in the front seat to fly the plane.
• Each state has its own point of contact with whom to start the discussion of the flight. See the list of state Directors of AE HERE.

All information about the TOP flight program is found on the TOP flight webpage. Click the link below.

FEATURED STEM KIT - SPHERO BOLT/SPHERO CODE MAT: The Sphero BOLT/Sphero Code Mat STEM Kit is more than a robot kit; it's a learning experience that inspires cadets and students through its interactive applications. Sphero BOLT is a small orb wrapped in polycarbonate plastic, capable of rolling around, changing colors, running programs and being controlled by a smartphone or tablet. Working with the Sphero Edu app, BOLT will motivate, create and excite users as they paint, swim and/or dance with the help of the Sphero Edu app and youth imagination. This kit comes with Sphero BOLT a charging base with USB charging cable, 360-degree protractor with heading, directions, and clock, sticker sheet, Quick Start guide, Sphero Code Mat with Solar/Soccer theme, 3 packs of activity cards featuring 20 fun coding challenges and games. Tip sheets and lessons are found in the Learning Management System section of CAP's member portal, eServices. Student and adult creativity will guide the unique usage of this kit! The kit is recommended for ages 8 and older.

NOTE: Not included but needed for this kit is a device which can download the free Sphero EDU app to operate the Sphero BOLT.

If you have a safety topic you would like to be included in this space, please email kcooper@ner.cap.gov.

In this activity, cadets and students will design and build a mechanism to move a Sphero robot in simulated microgravity. CAP members can apply for the Sphero STEM Kit as part of CAP's STEM Kit Program. Learn more here. This activity is featured in CAP's booklet, Exploring STEM with Spheros! -- which is available in eServices in the AE Downloads and resources section. Or find it here. 

Meet Lt. Col. Mary Albright, Aerospace Education Officer with Anoka County Composite Squadron (NCR-MN-021) in the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities in Minnesota. She is also Minnesota Wing Director of Cadet Programs along with holding other duty positions within the squadron. She found Civil Air Patrol when her daughter mentioned an interest in astronomy and flying more than 12 years ago. And her daughter's involvement led to her own involvement.  She started as a testing officer, but soon began wearing several "duty hats," she recalls. After a cadet leadership role as Deputy Commander for Cadets, she took on responsibility in AE. "Aerospace Education and STEM are so important – especially with interactive learning classes. So, I wanted to take a more active role integrating these two areas – Cadet Programs and Aerospace Education -- together for the greatest impact." She enjoys leading the cadets in StellarXplorers and CyberPatriot competitions, Air and Space Forces Association's national STEM competitions. With the Anoka County squadron, she has established a culture in which the cadets are encouraged to be innovative, and it has paid off. "Some of our most recent cutting-edge achievements include fielding a team for the High-Altitude Balloon Challenge and being selected as one of the few teams worldwide to participate in the Great Lunar Expedition for Everyone (GLEE) organized by the Colorado Space Grant Consortium. Through GLEE, we are programming a LunaSat that will be on a future Lunar space mission." Click the link below to read the full story.

"The first time we used the Hydraulic Engineering STEM kit was incredibly exhilarating. The cadets were working in small groups, building these machines, and the energy was off the charts. It was the very first STEM kit I ever requested for our cadets. They loved every minute of it. I feel it truly cemented our unit’s yen for more STEM that exists to this day."

-- Lt. Col. Mary Albright, AEO in Minnesota Wing

and Wing Director of Cadet Programs

Each month, this space features important highlights or answers to frequently asked questions. Here are four things you need to know as an AEM or AEO.

AEOs and AEMs, there are no restrictions on the number of STEM Kits you can apply for within a fiscal or school year. Once you have received your STEM Kit, used it for a minimum of six hours and turned in a STEM Kit evaluation, you are eligible to apply for your next kit for your cadets or students. For full information on the program process, click the link below. Have questions? Email stem@capnhq.gov.

All Aerospace Education Members (AEMs) are offered an annual FREE “in-kind renewal." The online renewal email is sent 60 days prior to the membership expiration date. A renewal banner appears at the top of the eServices sign-in page 90 days prior to expiring. (You can’t renew earlier than 90 days.) Find additional information at the link below.

AEOs, this is the perfect time to reach out to your AEMs whose memberships expire within 60 days or whose memberships have expired. For more guidance, see Recruiting and Retention of AEMs on the AEO Resources page link below.

Please note: CAP has several categories of membership, but each member can only be assigned one category of membership. Any adult uniformed member, who is an educator, may access all the resources available to an AEM. 

Civil Air Patrol Aerospace Education

Contact: Aerospace Education

https://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/ae