STEM Learning Labs at the Aerospace Center for Excellence

The Ramus SkyLab Innovation Center is a gathering hub of emerging technologies built on a solid foundation of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). With 8,000 square feet of convertible educational space, ACE can utilize an open, cross-sectional design to create a community of STEM learners. This space enables students to work hands-on with a variety of learning tools that allow them to learn at their own pace. Thanks to our internship program, our students had the opportunity to write about each classroom from their perspective.

Redbird Flight Simulator Laboratory

By: Braden Terry, ACE Jr. Intern, CFAA student - 10th Grade

The Flight Simulator Lab will get anyone started with flying. Redbird Flight Simulations donated twenty-two Redbird Jay Flight Simulators to be used as an introduction to flying. These simulators are very durable so that anyone from elementary to collegiate levels can experiment with flight. Each simulator has been programmed for situations specifically for newer pilots. For instance, one program helps someone understand how to land on a runway. It starts the simulation on a perfect glide slope near the runway, which anyone can practice landing. There are so many possibilities here at ACE, starting with the Redbird Flight Simulator Room.

UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) Laboratory

By: Ashlee Driskel, ACE Jr. Intern, CFAA student - 9th Grade

Our UAS Lab enables the students to explore the area of drones and rockets in the aerospace field, which includes flying, assembling, and testing these systems. It allows us to see that not everything is controlled by a person but also by robots or gravity. The drones give a good example of using a controller or device to control the flying robot instead of using a yoke for an airplane. These drones can teach you how to take videos or photos, tricks, and even fly a drone from the touch of a mobile device. The rockets, however, have absolutely no control, but they teach you how Earth affects these rockets by bringing them back to the ground. In conclusion, this room will not only open the studnets eyes when seeking a pilot or engineering career, but both could inspire future drone pilots to join the aerospace field.

3D Printing Laboratory

By: Anthony Benash, ACE Jr. Intern, CFAA student - 9th Grade

In the 3D Printing Lab at ACE, we will be teaching students who visit during field trips or events how to 3D print, design basic models in CAD, and convert files to print. The 3D print side of SkyLab will be a collaborative part of all things ACE. We will assist the UAS Laboratory, Redbird Flight Simulations Laboratory, and the NOAA Laboratory (Science on a Sphere). Some things guests might do while they are here is help design and brainstorm ideas for future projects, including designing accessories, small drones, tools or parts for different things. They may also be given a problem that is affecting a community. Another project could be finding part of the Earth with Science on a Sphere and they will have to come up with a way to solve it with 3D printing.

Science on a Sphere Laboratory

By: Will Coral, ACE Jr. Intern, CFAA student - 10th Grade

Science on a Sphere is a system that projects images onto a sphere to be observed from practically any angle. This allows for a unique experience where you can view planets, moons, or even real-time weather without reducing the object onto a flat map. There are over one hundred seventy Science on a Spheres worldwide, but ACE’s sphere is the only one that can be lifted to the ceiling, allowing the room to be converted into a usable hangar space. There are currently one hundred data sets loaded into the system, including all the planets of the Solar System, moons, real-time weather information, and even a real-time view of the Sun. There is also the ability to add custom data sets, allowing us to project practically any spherical object.

At the the Ramus SkyLab Innovation Center, all students can engage with the future of STEM, aeroSTEM, and aviation by using its’ five tools of learning. With hands-on activities readily available, this is a place where some of the best and brightest future STEM professionals in the world will become modern innovators. Once here, youth and adult aviators can be educated in just about any topic imaginable on the world’s first purposely built STEM, aeroSTEM, and aviation campus ecosystem. We at ACE are a proud provider of educational tourism and museum sciences learning opportunities.

Be sure to visit the RAMUS SKYLAB INNOVATION CENTER at SUN ‘n FUN 2022. Your ticket purchase includes entry to this amazing facility. SEE YOU IN APRIL!