A recent survey from Lockheed Martin, meant to see if students were prepared for a workforce that could potentially send humans to Mars, asked middle and high school teachers about their students’ interest in STEM education, finding that only 38% of educators believed a majority of students seemed “naturally interested” in STEM-related subjects.
California schools’ use of science education nonprofits, such as NASA — which already has numerous partnerships with schools and governments — demonstrate a valuable strategy by which educators may be able to reinvigorate their students’ interests in science and engineering.