Could your child be in the next generation of space journalists?
Central Florida nonprofit SpaceKids Global is partnering with Blue Origin’s nonprofit Club for the Future for the SpaceKids Global Press Squad Competition.
SpaceKids Global was founded in 2015 by Sharon Hagle, with the mission to bring space to kids everywhere. Hagle, and her husband Mark, flew on a Blue Origin mission to space in 2022.
“We wanted to make it an educational program. More importantly, we wanted to get kids involved. And in this particular program, not only are they going to be involved, but they are also actually going to be part of the Space Exploration Team. Watching it from right here. Kennedy Space Center, Blue Origin’s mission control. And let me tell you, that is a futuristic Mission Control that’s out of this world, they are going to be so excited,” said Hagle.
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
The competition is open to kids ages 8-12 anywhere in the U.S. enrolled in public, private, parochial, or home school. The first phase of the competition is a lottery. Fill out the entry form here by June 14.
Then, 24 semifinalists will be randomly selected. Hagle says from there, each of those semifinalists will submit a 60-second video explaining why they want to be a member of the press squad. There will be a total of 8 individual students selected as winners on August 2.
Hagle told News 6 Anchor Julie Broughton there are three special categories of winners that will be selected: One of the eight winners will be a child of active-duty military personnel, another of the eight will be the child of an active-duty first responder, and a third will be a member of any Boys and Girls Club in the United States.
Press Squad members will be flown to Central Florida and will tour Blue Origin’s Rocket Park. They’ll also receive interview training from a professional journalist, and interview space professionals.
Hagle told Broughton she and her husband will be traveling to space again but did not reveal the exact timeline. She says she feels a responsibility to share her experiences with children.
“And there are days, as you will know that sometimes you just don’t want to get out of bed. But let me tell you, when I go into the schools, and these kids’ faces light up,, it takes my breath away. And that’s my passion. I want to be able to share with them, I want them to be able to have hands-on projects so that they can become participators, not spectators. And we want to make learning fun again, and I think this is a great way..” she said.
Hagle says since 2015, she has spoken to 790,000 kids worldwide. You can learn more by visiting here.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: