Chris Sommerkamp, Licking Heights fourth grade Gifted Intervention Specialist, is going to infinity–and the classroom.

 

As a member of the inaugural Limitless Space Educators class, Sommerkamp, along with 19 other educators around the world, will dedicate themselves to bringing space research into the K-12 classroom–and preparing the next generation of NASA leaders.

 

According to the Limitless Space Institute, who sponsors the program, “The mission of the Limitless Educator Program is to inspire innovative educators to teach beyond the general curriculum. It is our goal to inspire and educate the next generation to travel beyond our solar system and support the research and development of enabling technologies.”

 

“These kids are the ones that are going to get us to Mars,” Sommerkamp says of her students. 

 

Sommerkamp and her colleagues regularly meet via Zoom to develop space-focused lesson plans for K-12 classrooms. This involves simplifying topics like astrophysics and rocket science to an appropriate learning level. 

 

There is also a hands-on component to the program, with educators traveling to Houston to visit space stations, talk with astronauts about their work and brainstorm how they can integrate current space research and science into the curriculum–even if space itself is not a learning standard for their grade level.

 

For example, learning about space is not a requirement for 4th graders. So, Sommerkamp and her colleagues might take something that is part of the curriculum, like electricity, and create a lesson plan based on how space shuttles are powered.

 

Sommerkamp hopes her participation as a Limitless Space Educator will provide her students with a love of science and space.

 

“They may find a career in the field of space, or they may simply find an appreciation for looking at the stars,” she says. “I hope they gain an understanding of how our world works beyond our galaxy.”

 

As part of her application process, Sommerkamp had to share how she creatively incorporates STEM education into her fourth-grade gifted classroom. She focused on a gaga pit her class built as a group project, in which students had to write letters to the Board of Education, measure the pit’s dimensions, call local businesses for material donations and more. In the process, they learned skills in design, project development, research, writing and professional communication.

 

Sommerkamp defines her overall teaching style as project- and inquiry-based learning.

 

“I love to hand kids an idea and step back. I am all about the engineering end of STEM,” she says. “It’s important for kids because it is the one place that truly takes you out of the box for thinking. It brings the problem-solving in and is about developing your own ideas.”

 

Vicki Willett, district technology integration specialist and friend of Sommerkamp, says Sommerkamp is always willing to take risks and pursue opportunities that will benefit her students. Willett and Sommerkamp are both leaders on the Science Education Council of Ohio (SECO) and frequently work together to teach students a STEM mindset. 

 

“Chris thinks outside the box. She’s passionate about the gifted kids and ensuring they learn,” Willett says. “Above and beyond, she cares. She cares about her kids and she cares about gifted education.”