Audience
Educators, Students
Grade Levels
Grades 5-8, Grades 9-12, Informal Education
Subject
Careers, Engineering Design
Type
Hands-on Activities, Videos
NASA Role Model: David Wilcox
NASA Center: Wallops Flight Facility
Topic: Mechanical Engineer
Original Air Date: Aug. 12, 2020
Learn about the career of a mechanical engineer at NASA and the steps he took in his educational career to become a program manager at NASA’s Special Projects Office. From beginning a career with sounding rockets as an intern, he now manages various projects, such as balloons and parachutes.
STEM Short Activity: Eggstronaut Activity
Objective: Investigate the effect of parachute shape and size to slow the descent of an egg.
Duration: 90 minutes
Materials Needed: Hard boiled or weighted plastic eggs, parachute material (plastic bags, tablecloths, wrapping or tissue paper), string, scissors, stopwatch, tape and/or glue
Difficulty: Medium to Difficult
“NASA STEM Stars” is a webchat series. Each chat introduces a science, technology, engineering or math career, addresses a STEM topic and highlights a NASA mission. The chat includes a STEM activity that students can do at home. After the interviews, experts answer students’ questions.