Developing Aerospace Pathways Through K12 Community Science Activities

The University of Maine's Aerospace Science and Technology in Secondary Schools (ASTSS) program aims to develop innovative pathways into STEM and specifically into Aerospace Engineering. In this context, a pilot project with Bangor High School (BHS) was initiated that uses Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) to engage high school students in citizen-science activities that are of direct relevance to their local community. In order to safely conduct these activities, the ASTSS project provides support at two levels. The first is UAS operation-focused, and includes developing training elements that can be used by teachers and mentors to introduce elements such as basic UAS technology, regulatory framework, mission planning, and mission execution. The aim here is to support recreational flyers in achieving FAA TRUST certification and to safely operate their UAS. The second element is the definition of community science projects that leverage UAS for the collection of data. A catalog of suitable projects is being developed by university earth science researchers that can be adapted to different high school environments and locations. These projects include studies on coastal erosion, geology, geomorphology, agriculture and forestry, snow coverage, and water quality. For this pilot project students from Bangor High School (BHS) are conducting water quality sampling and testing in Maine's Taunton Bay, an estuary in Hancock County. In a number of extracurricular field trips, students collect water samples using drones. These samples then undergo standard water chemistry analyses, as well as Pre and Polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) contamination research which has become a significant public issue in the state of Maine. To date, the project has not only been adopted in extracurricular club activities, but also in an increasing number of curricular elements, with the participation of thirteen BHS students and three UMaine undergraduates. The goals of the project consist of increasing high school student participation in STEM activities that are of direct societal relevance, and to introduce UAS as vehicles to expose students to aerospace technology and related career paths.