SGOTUS joins Guardians to bring ‘STEMtoSpace’ to DC students

Published March 27, 2024

WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- The Second Gentleman of the United States, Douglas Emhoff, joined U.S. Space Force Lt. Gen. DeAnna M. Burt, Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Operations, Cyber, and Nuclear, and other volunteer Guardians for a STEMtoSpace event at Takoma Elementary School in Washington, D.C., March 20.

Students at Takoma Elementary School build toy rockets — Students at Takoma Elementary School join Space Force Guardians, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, and Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt, Space Force Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Operations, Cyber, and Nuclear, to build toy rockets March 20, 2024 in Washington, D.C. The event aimed to create excitement about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. (Official White House photo by Cameron Smith)

STEMtoSpace started as a campaign in honor of the Space Force’s first birthday and was designed to connect Guardians with K-12 students to share the importance of science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM. The now-annual campaign highlights careers related to space and the role the Space Force plays in supporting national security.

The event brought together over two-dozen 4th and 5th graders with volunteer Guardians to engage in a variety of STEM discussions and activities. The culmination of this event involved the design, build and launch of balloon-powered rockets across different teams.

During their remarks at the event, Emhoff and Burt emphasized the importance of learning about STEM at a young age to inspire students and help them develop skills that will generate new ideas and creative solutions to complex problems in the future.