Lockheed Martin and RAFT Collaborate to Inspire Youth, Promote STEM Education Through Massive Do-it-Yourself Hovercraft Kit Program
San Jose, CA (PRWEB) April 25, 2014 -- Silicon Valley, CA-based nonprofit RAFT (Resource Area For Teaching) is proud of its partnership with Lockheed Martin to provide student attendees with tangible learning tools at the USA Science & Engineering Festival, April 25-27, 2014. The festival takes place during the U.S. Senate-backed National Science Week at the Washington D.C. Convention Center.
As the festival’s founding and presenting sponsor, Lockheed Martin will distribute 80,000 RAFT build-it-yourself hovercraft kits to attending students this weekend, the largest science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) event in the world. The hovercraft kits provide a hands-on experience for students to learn about friction, air pressure and inertia from assembling a gliding vehicle model made from a CD, balloon, sports bottle cap and foam. The tangible process of building is important for students to master the practices behind the new national education standards.
Volunteers, including Lockheed Martin employees assembled the 80,000 kits earlier this year. This effort represents more kits than RAFT has ever assembled in a year. Through this nationwide introduction, RAFT aims to share its proven hands-on learning techniques with a larger teacher and student audience to enhance STEM education for a new generation. Dozens of kits, including the hovercraft, are available to the public at raftstore.net.
About RAFT
RAFT (Resource Area For Teaching), believes the best way to spark the love of learning for the next generation of thinkers, innovators, problem-solvers and creators is through hands-on learning. A nonprofit organization since 1994, RAFT serves 12,000 educators each year that teach over 900,000 students. Find out more about RAFT and how to get involved at raft.net
Michelle Berg, RAFT (Resource Area For Teaching), http://www.raft.net, +1 (408) 462-1229, [email protected]
Share this article