Background: The Young Falcons program was born out of a collaboration between STEM-ED and Higher Achievement which led to a pilot program initiative at Elliot-Hine Middle School in Washington DC in the Fall of 2015. The concept involved finding dedicated STEM volunteers and building a community which would be able to support hands-on STEM lessons on a weekly basis. The overall goal was to provide middle school students in underrepresented areas the opportunity to experience the excitement of STEM and to learn and grow as students on a consistent basis. You can read all about the wonderful Higher Achievement mission and find ways to contribute in your local community here.

Evolution: Together with Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) and Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) STEM support, the Young Falcons program took off in the Los Angeles Area in the Spring of 2017. Weekly lessons support the STEM development of 105 5th grade students at El Rincon Middle School in Culver City. Volunteers from all over the LA Air Force Base community support the weekly initiative.

Lesson Plans: The lesson plans are primarily geared toward middle-school aged students. Each lesson stresses the scientific method: what's the problem/objective, what are the constraints, what's the plan - then: design, build, test/analyze, redesign as needed, and ultimately, reflect. The instructor should define the problem, provide the materials, and help the teams walk through the rest. An Excel bill of Materials list can be found here [Note: total semester cost per student is $17.36 based primarily on Amazon.com prices, although that cost can be reduced by looking elsewhere for materials]

Each lesson in the semseter-long program focusing on the scientific method: what's the problem/objective, what are the constraints, what's the plan - then: design, build, test/analyze, redesign as needed, and ultimately, reflect. Lesson plans and list of materials, along with accompanying lecture videos, can be found here.

Each 1.0 hour lesson should be split into four main parts listed below. Additional details can be found in the Tips & Tricks document.

1) 2-5 Minute overview of lesson:
2) 5-8 Minute talk on the physical principles of the lesson with some type of math/science emphasis.
3) 45 Minute hands on learning and doing activity
4) 5 Minute debrief and time to reflect.

Weekly lesson plans have been uploaded below. Short videos for each lesson are in the work and will be posted soon. A list of materials can be found here

Lesson 1: Airplane Derby
Lesson 2: Launch It
Lesson 3: Land It
Lesson 4: Walk It
Lesson 5: On Target
Lesson 6: Catapult
Lesson 7: Roller Coaster
Lesson 8: Gravity
Lesson 9: Going Up
Lesson 10: Kinetic Cars
Lesson 11: Make it the Tallest/Widest

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