Rocket Lab Space Education Program Surpasses 20,000 Students, Expands Program Internationally to Meet Demand
Auckland, New Zealand. April 26, 2023 – Rocket Lab USA, Inc’s (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab”) space and STEM education programs have reached a milestone of more than 20,000 students across New Zealand through school visits, rocket factory tours, after school rocket clubs and virtual STEM outreach events.
The company’s Space Ambassadors program is Rocket Lab’s free education program aimed at increasing space knowledge and STEM engagement across students, teachers, and community organizations. Since Rocket Lab launched Space Ambassadors in July 2021, more than 129 Rocket Lab engineers and technicians have been trained to provide interactive educational experiences for students, from building bottle rockets and breaking down orbital mechanics, to understanding materials science and talking space career pathways. Almost 300 (277) schools and community organisations have now participated in a Space Ambassador event.
Other notable achievements since the program was launched includes:
- Approx. half of the schools visited by Rocket Lab are classified as ‘low decile’ or from high deprivation communities (43%).
- Approx. half of all students engaged in Rocket Lab’s STEM education activities and programs were girls or identified as female.
- Approx. one in five New Zealand schools have registered to receive Rocket Lab’s education outreach as a Space Ambassador school, with an estimated student reach of 400,000+.
- Within Rocket Lab’s Space Educators program dedicated for teachers, more than half of all the New Zealand teachers in the program were from low decile schools, taught STEM in the classroom, and identified as women (57%, 78%, and 64% respectively).
Due to popular demand, Rocket Lab is expanding its education outreach and programs globally, particularly through the United States where the company has a launch site, production complex and growing space systems businesses. Within the United States schools in more than half of all states have registered for the program while internationally, more than 600 schools have registered as a Space Ambassador school, with an estimated reach of more than 1,000,000+ students. More than a quarter (37%) of these schools are located in high deprivation communities, aligning with Rocket Lab’s commitment as a foundational member of a newly-formed coalition of space companies, led by Vice President Kamala Harris, to focus on inspiring, preparing, and employing a diverse and inclusive space workforce, for the U.S. Government’s the Interagency Roadmap to Support Space-Related STEM Education and Workforce.
With registrations now open for Space Ambassador schools for the remaining school terms in 2023, the number of schools registered to engage with Rocket Lab’s free education programs and resources is expected to grow exponentially.
Schools interested in registering to be a Space Ambassador school can apply at https://www.rocketlabusa.com/careers/education/
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