Exciting news from one of our club members! This is very exciting news for the Midlands S.T.E.M. Charter School in Fairfield County.
ARISS lets students worldwide experience the excitement of talking directly with crew members of the International Space Station, inspiring them to pursue interests in careers in science, technology, engineering, and math, and engaging them with radio science technology through amateur radio.
Join us in congratulating the Midlands S.T.E.M. Charter School students, teachers, and Michael Grimsley, KF4W in such an honor. Micheal’s letter to his students is below.
Good Afternoon Mighty Maverick Family,
I’m excited to announce that our school’s application to make a scheduled contact with the International Space Station (ISS) was accepted. About 10 of our students will have a chance to ask one of the astronauts aboard the ISS a question. Students will communicate through amateur radio, which our SC AMSAT Ambassador and the Columbia Amateur Radio Club will support.
This education contact will take place sometime at the beginning of next school year. Right now the window is Jul – Dec of 2024, but that will narrow as we get closer to the date. This is going to be a huge publicity boost for our school and community. What is more STEM than using amateur radio to talk to an astronaut orbiting in low Earth orbit at 17,000 mph?
This event will take the entire school to pull off. There will be lessons to teach in every content area, as well as a contest to choose the 10 students who get to ask their questions. We will also need lots of advertising leading up to the event and lots of technical support on the day of.
I hope you are as excited as I am about this amazing opportunity for our school. I promised Ms. Prince I wanted to do this in my interview, and now it’s finally happening.
Michael F. Grimsley, M.Ed., M.Mu.Ed.
Assistant Principal (MS/HS) / Band Director
Midlands S.T.E.M. Charter School