NASA Education Forum To Focus On Students' Vision For Future

WASHINGTON -- NASA will host an education forum with more than 250
college students on Thursday, July 7 at the Marriott World Center in
Orlando. The event will focus on their vision for the future of America's space program.

The forum will take place one day before the final space shuttle
launch and is the agency's first-ever "unconference." A popular trend
in the technology sector, an unconference has no set agenda or
prescribed desired outcome. Instead, it offers an opportunity for the
participants, primarily college students, to guide the discussions,
encourage creative interaction and debate among the attendees.

"We want our student participants to feel free to have an open
dialogue about what is important to them in the context of space
exploration, aeronautics, technology and robotics," said NASA
Associate Administrator for Education Leland Melvin. "Sometimes
having a set agenda or discussion topic can stifle creativity. These
young people are our next generation of scientists, engineers and
explorers. We encourage them to reach higher, and we are anxious to
hear what exciting pursuits they envision for the future."

The student participants will tour NASA's Kennedy Space Center in
Florida and meet a NASA astronaut who will give them an overview of
the final space shuttle mission. They also will witness shuttle Atlantis' launch.

The agency began holding regular pre-launch education forums in August
2007 with the STS-118 shuttle mission that carried teacher turned
astronaut Barbara R. Morgan. NASA has a broad education program to
encourage students to study science, technology, engineering and
mathematics, also known as STEM. Maintaining a high-tech workforce is
critical to NASA's future programs and will help the country remain
innovative and competitive in the global market.

For more information about NASA's education programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/education

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