Your Mission,
Should You Choose to Accept It: A Guide to Real-World STEM Adventures for the Next Generation of Heroes
The Call to Adventure: You Are a World-Changer!
Welcome, Future Heroes!
Have you ever dreamed of exploring space, building amazing robots, protecting our planet, or creating new technologies that change lives? Guess what? You don't have to wait until you're grown up! Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) are the tools that let you do all these incredible things, right now.
This page is your secret mission briefing! It's a guide to real-world adventures that you can join. You'll move beyond textbooks and become an active participant in solving real problems and making a difference. Think of these not as school projects, but as chances to become a scientist, an engineer, a conservationist, or an innovator.
Every young hero has a mission waiting for them. Are you ready to find yours? Let's go!
Section I: Missions to the Moon and Beyond — Charting a Course with NASA
NASA is all about exploring space and making amazing discoveries! But it's also about you – the next generation of explorers, inventors, and leaders. They call you the "Artemis Generation," and they want you to help send humans back to the Moon and even on to Mars!
NASA has tons of ways for students to get involved, from just being curious to working on big engineering challenges.
The Artemis Generation: Answering the Call to Return to the Moon
The Artemis program is a huge mission to send astronauts back to the Moon, including the first woman and the first person of color, and set up a base there. Eventually, the Moon will be a stepping stone for future trips to Mars!
NASA has created Artemis Student Challenges to get students involved in solving real problems for this mission. These challenges are super varied, so there's something for everyone!
"Send Your Name with Artemis II": A simple way to feel connected – you can have your name sent to space on the Orion spacecraft!
Hands-on Activities: For younger kids, you can build models of rockets or solve space-themed puzzles to start your journey into space exploration.
For students who are ready for a bigger challenge, the Artemis Missions offer real project-based learning experiences, just like what NASA engineers and scientists do.
Student Launch: This is a serious challenge! Teams of middle school, high school, and university students spend nine months designing, building, testing, and launching powerful rockets with scientific experiments inside. You'll even get to work with NASA experts!
Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC): Imagine designing a car that can drive on the Moon or Mars! In this competition, high school and university teams build human-powered rovers to drive across challenging alien landscapes and complete special tasks.
Artemis ROADS (Rover Observation And Discoveries in Space): This challenge for grades 3-12 lets teams act out a simulated mission to the Moon. You'll use robots to explore a lunar landscape, prepare for a rocket launch, and simulate living on the Moon. Each year has a new exciting theme!
App Development Challenge (ADC): Do you love to code? This challenge asks middle and high school students to help solve real technical problems from NASA's deep space missions. Your coding skills could help explore the universe!
These challenges aren't just about learning facts; they give you a real purpose and connect you to humanity's amazing journey into space.
Engineering for New Worlds: The NASA SPARX Program
NASA also wants to bring its engineering secrets directly into your classroom! The SPARX (Sparking Participation and Real-world eXperiences in STEM) program teaches students the Engineering Design Process (EDP) – the step-by-step way NASA engineers solve problems.
SPARX helps teachers bring exciting, hands-on activities to their students.
Grades 6-8: Mission to Mars: You get to be an engineer supporting a pretend Mars rover called the "AstrobioBot." You'll build robot parts, design tools, and learn about the challenges of exploring Mars.
Grades 9-12: Spinoff Technology: Did you know that many things we use on Earth, like memory foam or scratch-resistant lenses, were first invented for space? This challenge asks you to find ways to use NASA technologies to solve problems in your own community!
Gardening in Zero Gravity: The Tomatosphere™ Mission
How will astronauts eat on a long trip to Mars? They'll need to grow their own food! The Tomatosphere™ program lets you become an astrobotanist (a space plant scientist) right in your classroom.
Your classroom gets two packets of tomato seeds. One has been to space on the International Space Station (ISS)!
You plant both sets of seeds without knowing which is which, and you track how well they grow.
The data you collect helps real scientists figure out how to grow food for astronauts on long missions. You're doing real science!
Section II: The Arena of Innovation — Science & Engineering Competitions
If you love friendly competition, teamwork, and pushing your brain to new limits, these competitions are for you! They're like sports for science and engineering, where you get to build, experiment, and collaborate with friends.
The Ultimate Academic Track Meet: Science Olympiad
Imagine a track meet, but for science! Science Olympiad is like that. Teams of up to 15 students compete in 23 different events covering everything from the human body and Earth science to chemistry, physics, and building strong bridges.
Something for Everyone: If you love identifying fossils, you're just as important as the person who can build an amazing device!
Variety of Events: You might take a written test, do a hands-on lab experiment, or build something right there on the spot.
Levels of Competition: Teams start at local Regional tournaments (like the Winston-Salem Regional tournament hosted at Wake Forest University!), then move on to State, and maybe even the National Tournament!
Science Olympiad doesn't just teach you facts; it builds confidence, helps you make great friends, and can even show you what you want to be when you grow up!
Building the Future, One Robot at a Time: The FIRST® Ecosystem
FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a global community where building robots is as exciting as any sport! They have programs for different ages to help you learn about engineering.
FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL) Challenge (Grades 4-8): In this program, teams build and program amazing robots out of LEGO bricks to complete missions on a themed game mat. You'll also research a real-world problem and come up with an innovative solution. It's all about teamwork and discovery!
FIRST® Tech Challenge (FTC) (Grades 7-12): This is for middle and high schoolers who want to go deeper! Teams design, build, and program bigger robots using reusable kits and real programming languages like Java. You'll compete in exciting head-to-head matches, where two teams work together against another two teams. This teaches you strategy, communication, and how to "Coopertition®" – compete fiercely while also helping others!
The FIRST programs let you grow your skills year after year, learning leadership, time management, and the courage to try new things.
The Path to Prestige: Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge
If you love doing your own science experiments, this is the competition for you! The Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge (formerly Broadcom MASTERS®) is the top STEM competition for middle school students (grades 6-8) in the country.
Exclusive Entry: To get in, you first have to do your own science project and compete at a local science fair that partners with the Society for Science. Only the top students get nominated!
Finalist Week: If you're one of the 30 finalists, you get an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C.! You'll present your project and work in teams on exciting hands-on STEM challenges that test your creativity and teamwork.
Big Prizes: There are over $100,000 in prizes, including a $25,000 top award! But the best prize is meeting other kids who are just like you and discovering all the amazing possibilities for your future.
Section III: Guardians of the Planet & Data — Environmental and Citizen Science Missions
Do you care deeply about nature, animals, and making our planet a healthier place? These missions let you get your hands dirty, use your computer skills, or follow along with huge projects designed to heal the Earth.
Answering the Call of the Wild: The National Parks Service Youth Conservation Corps (YCC)
Do you want a real summer job protecting America's beautiful national parks and forests? The Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) is a federal program that pays young people (ages 15-18) to do important conservation work.
Real Work, Real Pay: You'll earn at least minimum wage for 40 hours of work a week, for 8-10 weeks in the summer.
Hands-on Conservation: You could be building and fixing trails, cleaning up campgrounds, improving homes for wildlife, helping restore rivers, or preserving historic buildings.
Explore and Learn: You'll also go on educational trips to learn about the nature and history of the places you're protecting. This is a great way to see if a career in the National Park Service is for you!
(In Winston-Salem, you can look for YCC opportunities at nearby national parks or forests!)
Become a Digital Scientist: The Zooniverse Platform
You can be a real scientist without even leaving your computer! Zooniverse is the biggest platform in the world for "people-powered research," also called citizen science.
Help Real Scientists: Researchers have tons of data (like telescope images or photos of animals in the wild) that they need help looking through. You can help classify images, identify animals, or transcribe old documents.
No Experience Needed: Anyone can join! You just create an account, pick a project you like, follow a quick tutorial, and start contributing.
Many Missions: You can help classify galaxies, hunt for new planets, identify wildlife in Africa, or even transcribe historical records. Your contributions help make new scientific discoveries!
Following the Front Lines: The Ocean Cleanup Inspiration
Did you know there are giant patches of garbage floating in our oceans? The Ocean Cleanup is an amazing non-profit organization with a huge goal: to clean up 90% of floating ocean plastic pollution by 2040!
Stopping New Plastic: They have special "Interceptors" that catch plastic in rivers before it reaches the ocean.
Cleaning Up What's There: They also have huge systems to collect plastic from the giant garbage patches in the ocean, like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Follow Their Journey: While they don't have a direct program for kids to join on the water, you can follow their incredible progress, challenges, and successes on their website and social media. It's an inspiring example of how science and engineering can solve enormous environmental problems!
Section IV: The Creator's Workshop — Coding and Making
In our world today, knowing how to code is like having a superpower! It lets you build apps, design websites, program robots, and discover hidden patterns in data. These groups help you learn these skills and become a digital creator.
Closing the Gap: The Girls Who Code Movement
Girls Who Code is a global organization that wants to get more girls and non-binary students involved in technology and show them how fun and creative coding can be!
Supportive Community: They create a "sisterhood" where you feel safe to experiment, learn, and grow together.
Free Programs:
Clubs (Grades 3-12): These free after-school clubs (in-person or online) teach you the basics of code and let you build projects that solve real-world challenges. You don't even need to know how to code to start a club – the leaders learn with you!
Summer Programs (Grades 9-11): Free online summer programs give you a more intense coding experience and a peek into the tech industry.
Girls Who Code teaches you to be fearless and gives you an amazing community to support you on your journey!
(In Winston-Salem, you can check with local community centers, libraries, or universities like UNC Charlotte for Girls Who Code clubs!)
Democratizing Digital Creation: The Raspberry Pi Foundation
The Raspberry Pi Foundation helps young people around the world learn about computing and digital technologies. They make it fun and easy to learn how to code and build amazing things.
Code Club (Ages 9-13): These clubs are often in schools or libraries and use fun, step-by-step guides to help you create your own games, animations, and websites.
CoderDojo (Ages 7-17): These clubs are free, community-based, and often more self-directed. You can learn to code and build projects with other kids in your community.
Both programs provide free resources and are led by volunteers, making it easy for anyone to learn to be a digital creator!
Section V: Finding Your Local Headquarters — An Action Plan for Engagement
These national and international programs are amazing, but their real power comes when you join them in your own community! Here’s your step-by-step guide to finding your local mission.
Your Mission Toolkit: A Step-by-Step Guide
Start with Your School: Talk to your science, math, and technology teachers, your librarian, or after-school program leaders. They often know about existing teams like Science Olympiad or FIRST®, or they might even run a Girls Who Code or Code Club!
Check Local Community Hubs: Look at the websites or call the youth services departments of your public libraries, community centers, and local museums. These places often host programs like CoderDojo and Girls Who Code clubs.
Use National and Regional Finders:
Science Olympiad: Find your state's official Science Olympiad website (like the NC Science Olympiad site hosted by NC State University). These sites list regional tournaments (like the Winston-Salem Regional tournament!) and can help you find local teams.
FIRST®: Use the official FIRST Team & Event Search tool. You can also look for your region's "Program Delivery Partner" or "Affiliate Partner" (for North Carolina, check out FIRST North Carolina). They have the best local knowledge.
Embrace the "Start Your Own" Mission: Don't worry if a local club or team doesn't exist yet! See it as an opportunity to be a leader. Groups like Girls Who Code, the Raspberry Pi Foundation, and FIRST provide tons of free resources and support to help you, your parents, or your teachers start a new team or club in your community. This is a chance to build amazing leadership and project management skills!
Launching Your Legacy: Your Future Starts Now!
The world of STEM is open and waiting for you. Your journey can begin with a single line of code, a seed that's flown to space, or a blueprint for a lunar rover. It could be a weekend helping clean up a local park or an evening classifying galaxies from your computer. There's a mission for every interest, a pathway for every skill level, and a community ready to welcome you.
The most important step is the first one: reach out, ask questions, and sign up. That single action is the start of your personal adventure in science and technology—a journey that can build a legacy of innovation, discovery, and impact.
The mission, should you choose to accept it, begins now!