Higher Orbits
Whitney Zatzkin
whitney@higherorbits.org
T-minus One Week And Counting!
Chicagoland Students Set to Explore Higher Orbits
Leesburg, Virginia -- July 13, 2021 -- With the support of Scot Forge and The Shores of Turtle Creek, Higher Orbits celebrates the fourth year of Go For Launch! Spring Grove, held July 20-23, 2021.
“Growing, continued partnerships like the ones we have in Spring Grove help influence an entire generation of STEM explorers and student researchers,” said Michelle Lucas, Executive Director of Higher Orbits. “When you can truly plant the seeds of opportunity in a community, it is exciting to see the waves of career change, self confidence, friendships, and adventures unfold.”
Further building a local network of space enthusiast champions in Spring Grove, Higher Orbits is grateful for the support from its Mars Rover sponsors for this event: Hampton Inn by Hilton in McHenry, Astro Craft Inc., Billy’s Spring Grove, Quality Tire Service, Brunch Cafe. Higher Orbits is also grateful to its Lunar Colonists sponsor, A.H. Management Group, and its Intergalactic Voyagers sponsors, A-B Emblem, uniphi space agency, Space Tango, and Space Shirts. Astronaut air travel to this event has been provided through United Miles on a Mission.
As the flagship, hands-on educational experience at Higher Orbits, Go For Launch! delivers a multi-day, in-person, truly out-of-this-world experience to 8th-12th grade students. Go For Launch! leverages spaceflight and space exploration as the launchpad for students to develop and strengthen their skills in STEM, teamwork, communication, research design, and leadership. Go For Launch! students work side-by-side with an astronaut for the entire event – learning, growing, and developing the life-long skills that create a successful, meaningful future.
Go For Launch! Spring Grove features Astronaut Mike Foreman, a veteran of two space flights with 637 hours in space, including 32 hours and 19 minutes of extravehicular activity in five spacewalks. Students attending the event will work in teams alongside this astronaut to develop real-life research studies they hope to see fly one day in space. Study design and methodologies must meet flight-ready requirements for both storage, available space, and on-orbit capabilities. To-date more than a dozen students have had their research flown to space.
Open to students grades 8 through 12, Go For Launch! Spring Grove will be held July 20-21, 2021 at The Shores of Turtle Creek. Student researchers can be enrolled in any school in the state, including home school, but must be available for both days of the event. Interested students can register online at: https://higherorbits.org/events/go-for-launch-spring-grove-3/ Scholarships to attend GFL! are available.
“Space inspires! Exposure to space exploration helped shape my own career as an Astronaut Trainer and I want every student, regardless of their background, to have the same opportunity to see science-driven careers as an achievable goal,” says Michelle Lucas. “Higher Orbits is thrilled to be a part of each student’s journey to make the world a better place through their creativity and determination today, and in the future careers they hold.”
About Higher Orbits
Founded in 2015, Higher Orbits is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization delivering an experiential learning lab for secondary school students across the United States. Higher Orbits focuses on the multi-faceted worlds of space exploration, research, and spaceflight in order to launch the next generation our world desires.
From novice to advanced level activities drawing from the Science Futures by Design curriculum at Higher Orbits, students from all STEM backgrounds find the Go For Launch! event experience to be a user-friendly environment to learn, explore, and inspire others.
For more information, visit: https://higherorbits.org/.
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