Schools
Shutdown Could Mean No NASA Conference for Clark Creek Students
The partial shutdown of the federal government could result in a planned NASA Spacebot video conference with Clark Creek STEM students not taking place.
While most school children will feel little, if any, impact of the partial government shutdown in Washington, D.C., that won't be the case for some students at Clark Creek STEM Academy.
The shutdown, which is the result of Congress' inability to agree to continue funding the federal government, could sideline the school's planned NASA Spacebot video conference on Thursday.
NASA was one of several federal agencies that's been forced to shutter most of its services and furlough 97 percent of its staff.
If affected government operations are restored, the conference set aside for fifth-grade students will occur in two sessions: 9:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.
Clark Creek STEM Principal Dr. Jennifer Scrivner said NASA officials informed the school that if the shutdown extends into Thursday, they will be unable to proceed with the conference.
The principal said teachers at the school have explained to the students about the probability of the conference's cancellation. She also said they are reassuring students they will try to reschedule it in the future.
"We try to take everything we can and make it teachable," she said, adding teachers are using the development to inform students about the three branches of the federal government.
It's the second year Clark Creek, located in southwest Cherokee County, has utilized the partnership with NASA, which allows students to engage in an engineering design process in which they build a robotic arm that can lift a cup off a table.
The students are able to talk with NASA engineers in its global classroom and interact in real time via the video conference tool. Engineers are able to provide feedback to the students and those students can modify their project based upon their feedback.
Dr. Scrivner noted she hopes the NASA engineers are able to return to work so her students can move forward with accomplishing this portion of their curriculum.
"We’re just hoping both sides of the aisle come together to fund the government so NASA can continue these strategic partnerships with our schools," she added.
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