15 Florida Schools Named to Participate in "Butterflies in Space" Program
2,400+ Florida Students Will Benefit from STEM Education Opportunity
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (September 22, 2009) – Last week, Space Florida announced an opportunity for 15 Florida elementary schools to participate in the “Butterflies in Space” program, where classrooms would host a butterfly larvae habitat and compare development of their habitat to that of another test group of larvae flying aboard STS-129, bound for the International Space Station in November 2009. This program, made possible in collaboration with BioServe of Colorado, received an overwhelming reply from Florida schools in response to the initial posting of the opportunity.
The 15 Florida schools selected to participate in the program and receive free butterfly habitats for their classrooms include:
- Union Park Elementary, Orlando – K-5 science labs
- Freedom 7 Elementary, Cocoa Beach – 5th grade
- Eagle’s View Academy, Jacksonville – 7th/8th grade sciences
- Aventura City of Excellence School, Aventura – 2nd/5th grade science
- Robert Louis Stevenson School of the Arts, Merritt Island – 5th grade
- Argyle Elementary, Orange Park – 4th grade math/science/social studies
- Hammock Pointe Elementary, Boca Raton – 5th grade science and writing
- Golfview Elementary, Rockledge – K-6
- Lewis Carroll Elementary, Merritt Island – 5th grade
- Dale Mabry Elementary, Tampa – 5th grade science and math
- Spirit Elementary, Deltona – 5th grade
- Riversink Elementary, Crawfordville – 1st grade
- Glenallen Elementary, North Point – K-5 science
- Holm Elementary, Pensacola – 5th grade math and science
- Poinciana Elementary, Naples – 1st grade science
In total, more than 2,400 students from these schools will directly benefit from the program.
Due to the volume of interest by Florida’s dedicated educators, Space Florida and BioServe agreed to expand the program. Therefore, ANY Florida elementary school that wishes to participate in the experiment will have access to the website BioServe will initiate (announced soon) and will be able to follow the space-based version of the experiment via daily downlinks from the International Space Station. BioServe will also provide instructions on how interested schools may create butterfly larvae habitats for observation in their own classrooms.
If you are a Florida educator and have additional questions about the “Butterflies in Space” program, please contact Emma Rader, Space Florida Education Manager, at erader@spaceflorida.gov.
Space Florida and BioServe wish to thank the Florida Department of Education and the vast number of dedicated teachers throughout the state who responded so enthusiastically to this program.
About Space Florida: Space Florida was created to strengthen Florida’s position as the global leader in aerospace research, investment, exploration and commerce. As Florida’s aerospace development organization, we are committed to attracting and expanding the next generation of space industry businesses. With its highly trained workforce, proven infrastructure and unparalleled record of achievement, Florida is the ideal location for aerospace businesses to thrive – and Space Florida is the perfect partner to help them succeed. www.spaceflorida.gov.
About BioServe: at the University of Colorado, has a 20-year history of developing space flight hardware and conducting space life science experiments. BioServe has flown life science research and hardware on more than 32 space flight missions of the space shuttle, International Space Station (ISS), Russian Mir Space Station, Soyuz Rocket and Progress. BioServe has developed a “smart” incubator and currently has two such units functioning on board the ISS.
# # #
