Experience with the Development and Implementation of Online and Hands-on Rocketry Education and Outreach

Space is increasingly becoming globally competitive, and both U.S. civilian and government agencies continue to increase and grow their activities in space. There is also a dearth in the workforce of highly trained and skilled space scientists and engineers. The overall goal of the program guiding this study is to enhance knowledge and expand the pipeline of students pursuing careers in space. Online learning platforms have gained in popularity due to their accessibility to broader audiences which the pandemic has further fostered. Furthermore, research suggests that incorporating hands-on activities in classrooms enhances student foundational knowledge, hands-on capabilities, and overall engineering design aptitude. Integrating hands-on activities into massive open online courses (MOOCs) could increase student access to more real-life learning opportunities. This paper reports on instructor(s) experiences while developing and implementing an introductory rocketry course with both online and hands-on components intended for high school and early collegiate students.