NASA and Crayola Education are collaborating to infuse art and creativity with the unique teachings of space. As part of its mission to inspire the world through discovery, the agency is leveraging its compelling science, technology, engineering, and math content with Crayola’s work to bring creativity into classrooms and other learning environments. The two signed a Space Act Agreement April 28 to formalize the relationship.
“Working with organizations that are rooted in educational communities help us make space accessible to more young people,” said Mike Kincaid, NASA associate administrator for STEM Engagement. “NASA is continuously seeking to explore and understand the universe, and part of what we do is to help spark a sense of wonder to inspire others to do the same. We want to build a diverse STEM workforce and creative experiences that make space available to others helps us do that.”
The two organizations, in association with HarperCollins Children’s Books, also are collaborating in honor of the 75th anniversary of the publication of Goodnight Moon, the iconic children’s book by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd, that has been a fixture in many households with small children across the world for decades.
On May 18, Crayola Education will host a “Read Along, Draw Along” of Goodnight Moon, an interactive session in which stories are brought to life through art. The story will be read aloud by NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn who recorded the reading during his expedition aboard the International Space Station. Marshburn recently returned to Earth after spending 177 days in space. The activity also will include an inspirational message from NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy and a question-and-answer session about life and work in space and NASA’s Artemis efforts with Marshburn and fellow NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, who recently returned from U.S. record-breaking mission of 355 days aboard the station.
NASA is exploring the Moon under Artemis, with plans for an uncrewed flight test later this year of the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System rocket, the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to the Moon in preparation for human missions to Mars.
With this partnership, NASA and Crayola will collaborate on several digital and virtual activities and events designed to engage, inspire, and educate the public about space and NASA’s missions. Crayola Education will develop, in collaboration with agency teams and experts, a series of activations to engage the public in NASA mission content and related educational resources as part of Crayola Creativity Week, a free program for schools and homes around the world designed to celebrate children’s creativity and the joy it brings to teaching and learning any subject.
To learn more about NASA’s STEM Engagement, visit: stem.nasa.gov