Air and Space Hackathon
The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum is looking for ways to inspire and connect diverse populations to sustainable and growing pathways in STEM. The Museum aims to present inspiring stories of diversity in the past, present, and/or future.
In collaboration with Deloitte, the Museum applies its unique set of expertise, facilities, programs, and industry partnerships to launch a hackathon for high school students considering entering STEM fields. The result will be an immersive experience for participants that is the beginning of an ongoing journey. The event:
- Provides educational opportunities for underserved populations to advance and apply their skills in a competition hosted by the Museum
- Offers human-centered design and solution development education to help students understand their end-users and proactively develop solutions for diverse populations
- Brings attention to the need for diversity in STEM careers in aerospace/aeronautics
- Introduces and connects diverse populations to sustainable pathways for growth in STEM fields
What's a Hackathon?
A hackathon (also known as a hackfest or codefest; a portmanteau of hacking marathon) is a design sprint-like event; often, in which computer programmers and others involved in software development, including graphic designers, interface designers, project managers, domain experts, and others collaborate intensively on software projects.
The goal of a hackathon is to create functioning software or hardware by the end of the event. Hackathons tend to have a specific focus, which can include the programming language used, the operating system, an application, an API, or the subject and the demographic group of the programmers. In other cases, there is no restriction on the type of software being created.
Check out the 2022 Hackathon Winner
Challenge Statement
How might we design a web or mobile prototype using Figma to spotlight the issue of equitable access to emerging advanced air mobility and commercial spaceflight infrastructure? Designs will be created to display at a selected exhibit in the National Air and Space Museum. Solutions should be aimed at a K-12 student audience and could include interactive maps, websites, games, quizzes, mobile applications, etc.
Interested in Participating
If you are a high school student or educator and are interested in participating in this event please reach out to the National Air and Space Museum's educational staff at NASMTeachers@si.edu for further details.
Date
The date of the Hackathon is February 9, 2024 to February 11, 2024.
Past Challenge Statements
2022: How might we design a web or mobile prototype using Figma to highlight inspiring stories of diversity in the past, present, and/or future for a selected exhibit in the Udvar-Hazy Center? Solutions should be aimed at a K-12 student audience and could include interactive websites, games, quizzes, mobile applications, etc.
2021: Develop a technology or software prototype around astronomy that will allow the National Air and Space Museum to more effectively educate K-12 students on future STEM careers and opportunities and diversity in astronomy and aerospace and inspire them to learn more about the various paths these careers could take. Solutions could include interactive websites, games, mobile applications, etc.
2020: Develop a technology or software prototype that will allow the National Air and Space Museum to more effectively educate young women on STEM careers and opportunities in aerospace, and inspire them to learn more about the various paths these careers could take. Solutions could include interactive websites, games, immersive media, mobile applications, etc.
Questions?
Please direct any questions to NASMTeacher@si.edu