EdUCE, Educate Utilizing CubeSat Experience: A Pragmatic Approach to Shatter Barriers to Space

The Educate Utilizing CubeSat Experience (EdUCE) project uses CubeSats to further develop and incorporate an innovative STEM approach to enhance scientific knowledge of K-12 students and teachers. Space technology is an advanced form of engineering that combines aspects of aerospace, mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering. In brief, EdUCE’s multidisciplinary science teachings provide a foundation to the early education of students. Through practical hands-on experiences into the design of complex engineering systems, the student understands applications and relationships for each discipline and their impact in engineering. Small satellites are used as the mechanism to deliver STEM concepts. At the University of Florida (UF), the Advanced Space Technologies Research and Engineering Center (ASTREC), a National Science Foundation Center, has been coordinating this activity fulfilling a charter goal to promote this approach among local K-12 schools and like-minded community organizations. This paper discusses the methodology, the activities, the systems developed, the practices, and the future actions based on past lessons to increase awareness of space technology and, in general, the human capacity development process through space system engineering outreach programs to engage K-12 students and teachers. To improve global awareness, associations with universities in other countries have been established and their role is also detailed