New Program Offers On-Campus Experience for High School Students

In partnership with the University of Virginia (UVA), and with funding from the Commonwealth, Virginia Space Grant Consortium (VSGC) will pilot a transformative, on- campus summer STEM experience in July of 2013. The Building Leaders for Advancing Science and Technology (BLAST) program will provide hands-on experiences for high school students which can have a positive influence on career choices early enough in their education to influ- ence the coursework they choose in preparation for col- lege education. BLAST will feature a three-day residential experience at UVA and will target rising high school fresh- men and sophomore students who have an underlying aptitude for STEM academics, but have not yet discov- ered the excitement of STEM. Through carefully devel- oped activities taught by UVA faculty members, students will explore STEM fields, rapidly moving from a basic top- ic introduction to an immediate personal application of newly learned principles and knowledge. 

www.blast.spacegrant.org