Scobee Hosts Out-of-this-World Conference
March 6, 2019
The SAC Scobee Education Center hosted the 25thannual Out in Space, Down to Earth STEM Educators Conference this past weekend on Saturday, March 2 at the Scobee Education Center at San Antonio College.
On a crisp Saturday morning, some 80 energized teachers from local elementary, middle, and high schools came to SAC to learn more about different STEM careers and opportunities for their students.
The conference featured Dr. Jeffrey Bennett, a national speaker and author, as the keynote speaker who discussed “The Race Between Education and Catastrophe.” As well, the conference offered various STEM workshops with a heavy focus on space and earth science.
To round out the programming, Steven Smith, Education Specialist at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, provided insight to the educators from the hallowed halls of NASA.
The fun-filled day culminated with a special presentation of the “Hackerman Teacher of the Year” award. Sponsored by the Brooks Heritage Foundation, the award honors a teacher whose commitment to the Challenger Learning Center programs positively impacts students studying science, technology, engineering math and space education in the classroom.
This year’s award was given to Wendy K. Brake, a Gifted/Talented teacher at Leon Spring Elementary. The honor includes one free Challenger mission (valued at $500) and a check for $500.
The Out in Space, Down to Earth conference, which previously took place at Our Lady of the Lake University, has been coordinated by the SAC Scobee Education Center for about five years and is one of the Center’s main outreach initiatives for local educators.
—SAC—