The first Friday in May is National Space Day, which makes today a fitting time to announce a contest that will give eight students an opportunity to tour Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket factory in Florida.
The National SpaceKids Press Squad Competition is being organized by SpaceKids Global, a Florida-based nonprofit organization dedicated to getting elementary-school students interested in science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics, also known as STEAM.
Entries are limited to students aged from 8 to 12, and must be submitted via SpaceKids Global’s Press Squad webpage by June 14. Twenty-four students will be randomly selected as semifinalists. Those students will be asked to submit 60-second videos explaining why they want to see a rocket launch. Judges will then choose the eight winners — who will include a member of an active-duty military family, a member of a first-responder family, a member of a Boys & Girls Club, and five other students chosen to reflect geographical diversity.
The winners (and an accompanying parent or guardian for each student) will be brought to Florida for a tour of Blue Origin’s Rocket Park manufacturing facility, a visit to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex and press training by a professional news reporter.
The SpaceKids Press Squad will get a chance to interview employees at the Blue Origin factory. And if the timing is right, they’ll be able to watch a live webcast of a Blue Origin New Shepard rocket launch in Texas and interview spacefliers remotely. Check out the Press Squad webpage for details.