Find Your Place in Space Week – Washington, DC Events

NOAA, NSF, and NASA are partnering with the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum to host a solar eclipse viewing event on the National Mall that is open to the public for free. By being on the National Mall, which happens to be one of the best eclipse viewing areas within D.C, we hope to reach the local community, eclipse enthusiasts, Cherry Blossom attendees, and anyone else that walks by. The three agencies and other Smithsonian museums will all have a booth on the walkway of the Mall. At these booths, we will have an activity, information about each of us, and staff that can address questions. We hope to educate the public audience on the Sun, Solar Eclipses, space weather, and how to safely view the eclipse. This event will be a free 4-hour Total Solar Eclipse viewing event that could bring in over an estimated 9,000 people.

Explore More! in STEM is a pop-up program for ages 8+ that focuses on a particular STEM concept and relates it to the museum or African American History and Culture. In this lesson, people will learn about African Americans that have worked or are currently working at NASA, and the Artemis mission.

The purpose of this event is to educate local youth about topics in physics like astronomy and allow them to have a safe way to view a quarter-century total eclipse. They will get an opportunity to learn science and participate in hands-on activities while seeing successful black students who are studying STEM at the university level. This event will be one of the many inspirations in elevating the interest and curiosity in STEM for these young, bright students. The age groups will be split into younger children (Grades K-6) and older youth (Grades 7th+).

Explore More! in STEM is a pop-up program for ages 8+ that focuses on a particular STEM concept and relates it to the museum or African American History and Culture. In this lesson, people will learn about African Americans that have worked or are currently working at NASA, and the Artemis mission.

The NASA Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) Small Business Listening Session series is a collaborative platform aimed at promoting dialogue, understanding challenges and barriers, exploring opportunities, and strengthening support mechanisms to empower small businesses and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in their engagement with NASA’s procurement activities.

NASA will provide American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters available on site during selected hours. Disability-focused Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to extend the invitation to other area organizations who serve the deaf community. we would like to have students from DC’s Gallaudet University

The U.S. Department of Education, in partnership with EXPLR, co-present the first-ever National STEM Festival, a celebration of student achievements in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This event aims to highlight innovative student-led solutions addressing critical global challenges. Attendees will have the opportunity to witness pioneering solutions that address some of today’s most significant challenges, organized across six thematic areas: Environmental Stewardship, Future Foods, Health and Medicine, Powering the Planet, Tech for Good, and Space Innovation.

Earth information from space supports decision makers, partners, and people in developing the tools needed to mitigate, adapt, and respond to our changing planet. At the Earth Information Center, visitors can see how our planet is changing in areas that affect lives and livelihoods– from temperatures in our cities to sea level rise, greenhouse gas emissions to agricultural productivity. The center showcases large, awe-inspiring visualizations, as well as interactive media, stories, and narratives, to show how viewing Earth from space can improve lives in the face of disasters, environmental challenges, and climate change.

We will use our social media accounts to promote the “Your Place in Space” website, which contains hundreds of compiled Space STEM Federal Resources compiled by the Smithsonian in collaboration with the National Space Council. See: https://ssec.si.edu/fed-space-resources