STEM Engagement at Wallops
Opening young minds to the wonders of Earth and space sciences is a NASA mission embraced by Wallops. Our long history of supporting education and our unique capabilities make Wallops an ideal laboratory for the development of aerospace education. Students of all ages benefit from Wallops programs and resources. We implement diverse activities, including rockets, balloons, scientific aircraft, remotely piloted aerial vehicles, small satellites, data instrumentation, and launch range projects.
NASA RockSat Program
These hands-on programs connect higher education students from across the United States with opportunities to fly their experiments into space on NASA Wallops Flight Facility sounding rockets. RockOn and RockSat started in 2008 and have provided thousands of students and faculty with real-world flight experiences and experimentation. Most students get started with RockOn, but it is not required.
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Space Club Scholars Program
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center has partnered with the National Space Club and Foundation to offer a six-week program for high school students within a 50 mile radius of NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Va. The Space Club Scholars program provides students an in-person educational opportunity at NASA.
RockOn 2025 Application is now OPEN
Apply now to be a apart of sending a rocket to suborbital space from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia.
Learn more about RockOn 2025 Application is now OPEN
Student and Educator Opportunities
Wallops supports numerous programs that provide K-12, community college, undergraduate, and graduate students the opportunity to build and fly an experiment and engage in hands-on, authentic learning.
Wallops Education Center
The Wallops Education Center gives educators the opportunity to access NASA unique content. Educators such as teachers, home-school teachers, college faculty, and scout and after school program leaders have the opportunity to attend professional development workshops at the Education Center.
High Altitude Student Platform (HASP)
HASP is designed to carry student payloads to an altitude of about 36 kilometers with flight durations of 15 to 20 hours using a small volume, zero pressure balloon. It is anticipated that the payloads carried by HASP will be designed and built by students and will be used to flight-test compact satellites or prototypes and to fly other small experiments.
Wallops Rocket Academy for Teachers (WRATS)
The Wallops Rocket Academy for Teachers (WRATS) provides high school educators with a technical flight experience that will reinforce science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) concepts. WRATS provides an authentic, hands-on rocketry experience based on NASA’s sounding rocket engineering and science data collection.
contact the Wallops STEM Engagement Team
Dr. Joyce Winterton
Senior Advisor for Education and Leadership Development
Victoria Stoffel
NASA Education Specialist
Patricia Benner
Education Coordinator
STEM Engagement Stories
NASA EXPRESS Newsletter Sign-up
Are you looking for the latest NASA resources for teachers, parents, caregivers, and students? Subscribe to the NASA EXPRESS newsletter to get the latest NASA STEM opportunities delivered to your inbox every Thursday.
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Join the Artemis Mission to the Moon
Make, launch, teach, compete and learn. Find your favorite way to be part of the Artemis mission.
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Be A NASA Intern
NASA offers paid internships for high school and college-level students to contribute to agency projects under the guidance of a NASA mentor.
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