In January 2023, we will kick off our after-school programs in Vancouver and Portland, a new ACCESS (Aerospace College and Career Exploration and Selection System) cohort, our next Private Pilot Ground School, and more. Details can be found on airsci.org, as well as program registration forms.
This year has seen our organization expand geographically and programmatically. From our free summer camps in Hillsboro and Portland to our expansion to the Pearson Field Education Center, Airway Science for Kids, Inc. spent our 30th year expanding on Bob Strickland’s original dream.
This past year over 4000 BIPOC, LGBTQ+, women, individuals with disabilities, foster children, families living on limited incomes, and English language learners had the opportunity to do something unusual for their community. ASK provided an opportunity for them to “Explore Aerospace” with programs that, like our organization, live the principles of equity for all. Our communities deserve, and now have, an ally to walk beside them on their journey into a career in Aerospace. Along the way, we’ll make sure they know who their community pioneers were and that ASK will stand beside them to ensure they have safe, accessible, and impactful programs that take them from their initial interest to settling into their dream jobs.
From our humble beginnings working out of a Boys & Girls Club in Portland in 1992, Mr. Strickland’s programs are now offered at three physical locations—our Hillsboro Airport Hangar, our Aerospace Training Center in the Albina District of Portland, and at the Pearson Field Education Center in Vancouver, WA. We also do work directly in our Hillsboro, Clark County and Portland Public Schools, as well as using our Badge in a Box, to present Aerospace activities to students. Our groundbreaking programs include those held in our dedicated Kerbal Education Lab with a curriculum that makes Kerbal Space Program more than a game; it becomes a comprehensive laboratory to explore the concepts of Aerospace with programs that engage, inspire, and provide opportunities for our students to succeed in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. With each success a student experiences at ASK, whether it is in the Kerbal lab, while studying for their Private Pilot’s License, building a real airplane, or participating in our Electric Aircraft Design competition, students gain knowledge, experience, and confidence. Our successful alumni also demonstrate the potential our youth have for success, and each year we proudly celebrate the next generation of Aerospace Innovators.
We look forward to spending 2023 Exploring Aerospace with you!
Julia Cannell
Executive Director Airway Science for Kids
