SpaceTime's Mission -
Engage Minds, Focus on Fun!
Our mission,
as Captain Picard of the Next Generation Enterprise would put it, is to
 
ENGAGE!
And by "engage" we mean to get kindergarten through 6th grade kids engaged in science and learning. Though it is certainly a high priority of ours to educate as well, our primary goal is to get kids engaged in and enthused about learning science through hands-on, minds-on educational activities, exercises and demonstrations. And our primary tool for making this happen is our trademark focus on fun methodology, which is built into every one of our programs.Simply put, SpaceTime's focus on fun methodology is a method of making sure that every program component is fun for the specific age range of children being presented to. It, along with our "Five-E's" learning strategy, is built into the design of every activity, exercise and demonstration in our programs and is an integral component of the extensive training regimen that all of our instructors go through before getting in front of their first class.
Though our mission is to get kids engaged in science in general, we make it happen through space science-based programs. These programs cover all facets of space science including astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, space exploration science, exobiology, planetary science and stellar science but also include most areas of physical science as well (the Earth is, after all, in space).
For most of the twentieth century the United States has led the world in the area of K-6th grade science proficiency. However, for the last twenty years America has been losing ground in science education. An analysis of the recent Trends in Mathematics and Science Study showed that, between 1995 and 2005, U.S. fourth graders' scores in science dropped six points and their ranking among 15 nations dropped from second to sixth. At the high school level the U.S. now ranks 20th behind Iceland and the Slovak Republic in terms of science proficiency.
It is possible to live and enjoy life without a science education... just as it is possible to live in a land whose language you do not speak or understand.
Background Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech