NASA Joining Forces With Military Families For Education Programs

Ann Marie Trotta

Headquarters, Washington

ORLANDO, Fla. -- NASA's Office of Education will kick off a new campaign on Thursday, April 28, focused on reaching out to America's military families and engaging them in agency activities to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. This initiative supports the Joining Forces campaign announced by First Lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, earlier this month.

During the NASA Education Pre-Launch Summit at the Peabody Hotel in Orlando, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Associate Administrator for Education Leland Melvin will lay out the agency's plan to share educational resources and programs with students of military families.

Bolden will deliver the keynote luncheon address at 12:30 p.m. EDT and join invited military families afterward for hands-on STEM education activities. Military families also will attend the launch of space shuttle Endeavour on Friday as NASA's guests.

Media interested in covering the keynote address and education activities should contact Ann Marie Trotta by 3 p.m. Wednesday. All activities will take place at the Peabody, located at 9801 International Drive in Orlando.

This outreach to military families is just one of many programs NASA education offers using the excitement of exploration to engage the nation's youth in STEM-related studies. The goal is to open the door to exciting future career options.

For more information about NASA's education programs, visit http://www.nasa.gov/education.

- end -