24 Pakistani students partake in US Space and Rocket Centre’s Space Camp

At least 24 students, selected by a panel of judges for their winning projects, from three schools in Karachi are currently participating in the US Space and Rocket Center’s Space Camp in Huntsville, through a Washington-funded grant.

According to an official statement, the US Consulate General Karachi collaborated with its implementing partner — The Dawood Foundation’s (TDF) MagnifiScience Centre — to promote and expand Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in 50 schools in the port city.

The US grant was comprised of three components: STEM training for 100 Pakistani teachers; educational field trips of over 1,000 students to the MagnifiScience Centre; and a culminating science project competition.

This US grant aimed to galvanise an increase in STEM education and encourage Karachi schools to allocate more resources to train staff that will enhance learning outcomes.

“In turn, students will be motivated to pursue careers in science fields, thereby meeting the increasing demand for STEM graduates in industry, academia, and research,” read the statement.

The US has an ongoing commitment to supporting STEM education in Pakistan through many past and varied educational programs, including sending cohorts of Pakistani students to Space Camp in 2011 and 2015.

Washington also supports inclusive STEM education, green technologies, and entrepreneurship for young people around the world to sustainably develop their own countries’ economies and communities.

In her remarks, US Consul General Nicole Theriot said: “I am thrilled that we were able to send such bright and talented young students to Space Camp in the United States as a reward for their creativity and commitment to further developing Pakistan through green technologies and entrepreneurship.”

She added that they were proud to promote the US-Pakistan ‘Green Alliance’ framework, focused on supporting Pakistan as it strengthens climate resilience, pursues energy transformation, and fosters inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

Theriot also said, “I’m confident these students will continue to grow in their education and make important contributions to Pakistan — and the world — to help meet the pressing needs of the present and future!”

The inter-school competition was organised around the topic of eco-sustainability and entrepreneurship, and science kits were issued to all of the schools’ competing teams to use as a resource.

Eight students and one teacher from three schools were selected by a panel of judges for their winning projects, and all three teams, totalling 24 students and their three teachers, recently travelled to Huntsville, Alabama to participate in Space Camp.

The three winning science projects were a synergistic effort among each team member’s contributions through co-equal brainstorming, cooperation, and collaboration that produced these impressive results:

KMA Girls & Boys Primary School’s team: “Chicken Feathers — Go Green before the Green Goes”. Through their project, chicken feathers were used to create paper.

Evergreen Elementary School’s team: “Anti-Sleep Glasses”. Through their project, anti-sleep glasses were developed with a built-in alarm that helps reduce the incidence of vehicle accidents caused by driver fatigue.

KMA Boys Secondary School’s team: “Plastic Road”. Through this project, waste plastic is used to create roads that can have a life span of 50+ years.