Keith’s note: Cutting NASA Education and then doing a book reading – While the Administration seeks to end all funding for NASA’s education efforts – as if that somehow makes it all better. Who comes up with these ideas? NASA’s tweet: @NASA Tomorrow, Aug. 4, @SLOTUS Usha Vance will join astronaut Suni Williams at @NASAJohnson to read a space-related book to children. Submit questions at http://go.nasa.gov/4mqU0xZ and watch NASA+ starting at ~2:45pm ET to see if your question is selected: http://go.nasa.gov/45iyPqK

Dear OSTEM Community: The new Administration has issued several Executive Orders (EOs) and implemented policy and guidance that may affect grants and cooperative agreements.  Consistent with this direction, OSTEM is working diligently to comply with the requirements of the new EOs, and policy and guidance, as well as comply with court orders resulting from litigation related to these EOs.

Keith’s Note: If you have read NASAWatch for the past 28+ years then you’ve been reading my rants about lack of quality education and outreach at NASA – regardless of the name that NASA affixes to the office that is supposed to be doing this. NASA has an unparalleled and unvarnished brand identity with decades of embedded global reach that continues to grow unabated. Yet the agency squanders this opportunity by underfunding its educational activities, refusing to coordinate activities internally, and installing managers who do not have formal education administration backgrounds. According to the NASA OIG Audit of NASA’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Engagement: “OSTEM’s performance goals are unclear and lack robust metrics, making it difficult to correlate goals to outcomes or measure success” … “OSTEM does not collect comprehensive cost or obligation data that would benefit decision-makers.” … “Furthermore, we identified issues with OSTEM’s monitoring of grants and cooperative agreements, including missing documentation in the grant and cooperative agreement files, insufficient post-award monitoring, and incomplete grant closeouts. Similarly, OSTEM does not track grant subrecipients, relying on prime recipients to ensure subrecipients are aware of award terms and conditions.” … “In our view, NASA may be missing opportunities to invest limited resources in less competitive jurisdictions, and we estimate that $12.6 million could be put to better use within EPSCoR over the next 5 years.” … “OSTEM is missing opportunities to target NASA’s future workforce more directly.”

Keith’s note: According to “High school shop class is back—and it’s showing students alternatives to ‘traditional college’” on CNBC, “Thirty years ago, high school shop class seemed on track for extinction. As school funding became a matter of standardized test scores in reading and math, the budget tightened for classes that taught woodworking and printmaking. … the priority turned toward securing students spots in four-year degree programs. But with more job openings in the trades and more questions around the value of a four-year college degree, high schools are turning their attention back to equipping the next generation with hands-on technical skills.” OK, am I the only one who sees an opportunity for NASA? Why doesn’t NASA push the building of cubesats in shop class instead of napkin holders? You can buy cubesat kits for a few thousand dollars – and much if not all of the tech specs needed can be found online – with components 3D-printed or bought on eBay. The future of space utilization is not just ‘rocket science’ anymore. We’re going to need a much wider array of skills on Earth and offworld in the decades ahead for the Artemis Generation. Where are these new “space collar” jobs going to be taught? According to NASA elementary schools have already done this. Just sayin’

Keith’s Note: There is a NASA Advisory Council Meeting (NAC) today and tomorrow. If you have nothing better to do and want to listen to a bunch of people put forth opinions and ideas that NASA simply ignores, then tune in: Oh yes: Why is there never anyone under 40 – or under 30 – on the NAC? With all this talk about Artemis Generation, education, STEM diversity etc. there is no one on the NAC representing the ACTUAL sector of society that is moving into NASA and the global space industry. is there anyone on the NAC STEM committee who is actually a member of the Artemis Generation? No. Meeting info

Keith’s note: Sources report that the NASA Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM) has been moving all of its contracted work to MORI Associates Inc. under a contract awarded on a sole source basis via JSC under a new umbrella contract called Communications, Outreach, Multimedia, and Information Technology (COMIT). OSTEM AA Mike Kincaid has had previous experience working with MORI when he was at JSC. This sole source contract is being […]

NASA Releases Interactive Graphic Novel “First Woman” “We crafted this graphic novel and digital ecosystem to share NASA’s work in a different and exciting way,” said Derek Wang, director of communications for the Space Technology Mission Directorate at the agency’s Headquarters in Washington. “We set out to make the content both engaging and accessible. From space fans of all ages to hardworking educators looking for new ways to get students […]

Name of Information Collection: Generic Clearance for the NASA Office of STEM Engagement Performance Measurement and Evaluation (Testing), Federal Register “Methodological testing will include focus group discussions, pilot surveys to test new individual question items as well as the complete form and instrument. In addition, test-retest and similar protocols will be used to determine reliability characteristics of the forms and instruments. Methodological testing will assure that forms and instruments accurately […]

NASA Lands in Oakland! New Partnership with Chabot Space & Science Center Will Create NASA Learning Opportunities in the East Bay, NASA Ames “A new partnership between NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley and Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, California, is now underway. Anchoring the partnership, a new visitor center for Ames will provide an immersive, dynamic STEAM environment called “The NASA Experience,” opening at Chabot […]

Keith’s note: By now you must be bored with my daily critique of how NASA organizes and presents itself to the public, policy makers, news media, and the rest of the world – especially when it comes to education. (see Fixing Education And Outreach At NASA. Part 1: STEM Engagement Office) To virtually everyone, everywhere, NASA.gov online resources are how people learn what NASA does – and where they go […]