Blue Origin’s nonprofit Club for the Future and STEM2 Hub partner on new statewide STEM program to inspire Florida students to envision the future of life in space.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Club for the Future and STEM2 Hub announced today the ‘Dream Big Florida’ postcard program to provide more than one million Florida students direct access to space through Blue Origin’s reusable rockets.
The program gives K-12 students access to space by asking them to create postcards with their dreams of the future and vision for life in space answering the question, “Why do you think Earth needs space?” The postcards will be collected at the district level and sent back to Club for the Future in the first month of school. Blue Origin will then fly the postcards to space and back on upcoming New Shepard rocket launches, and mail them back to students with a ‘Flown to Space’ postmark.
The program will reach students in the first month back to school, providing teachers and students with an engaging activity to kick off the school year and inspire them to think about a future of life in space.
“This partnership and this project provide young people across the state of Florida with something that once seemed implausible: access to space,” said Kathleen Schofield, Executive Director, STEM2 Hub. “But more than that, each postcard represents the inner voice of a young person, a chance to be bold and dare to dream about the future, to ignite a spark of entrepreneurship, and set out on a path they may never have dreamed possible!”
“Club for the Future was launched last year by our founder to inspire students to pursue careers in STEM and help visualize the future of life in space to benefit Earth,” said Josef Reinke, Director, Club for the Future. “We are beyond excited to partner with Florida’s amazing STEM2 nonprofit, STEM2 Hub, and bring access to space to more than one million students across Florida through our ‘Send a Postcard to Space’ program.’”
“Florida is the unquestioned leader in the global aerospace industry and we must continue to cultivate creative ideas. Through this partnership, Florida schools can become the incubators for innovation in the space economy,” said Daniel Davis, Space Florida Board Member and President & CEO of the Jax Chamber. “Today’s students are the entrepreneurs of tomorrow who will create and build the space economy. This project offers the opportunity to produce over two million ideas for space innovation and we look forward to seeing those ground-breaking ideas.”
To help students think about why Earth needs space, teachers and students can access the Club for the Future’s standards-aligned curriculum or engage via a series of thought-provoking prompts outlined on Dream Big Florida’s microsite.
More information about Club for the Future can be found here, and about STEM2Hub here. Follow the program’s progress on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook via the hashtag, #DreamBigFlorida.
About Club for the Future
Club for the Future’s mission is to inspire youth to pursue careers in STEM and help visualize the future of life in space to benefit Earth. Founded by Blue Origin in 2019, the Club brings together teachers and K-12 students from around the world to engage in activities giving youth direct access to space through Blue Origin’s reusable launch vehicles. Core to the Club’s success are programs built with strategic partners to develop curriculum and additional avenues to inspire the next generation to think about the future. For more information, visit www.clubforfuture.org.
About STEM2 Hub
STEM2 Hub convenes, inspires and invests in the STEM2 field by providing the essential missing elements to accelerate the growth of STEM2 education and careers in districts across the state of Florida. Follow these links to see the STEM2Hub corporate board membersand for more information about the STEM2 field.
Contacts
Club for the Future
Sara Blask, Sr. Manager, Public Relations
Media@blueorigin.com
STEM2 Hub
Makayla Buchanan, Executive Director, Clay Education Foundation
makayla.buchanan@myoneclay.net