Statewide Iowa — Thousands of Iowa students in grades K-through-12 are getting a taste of what it’s like to rocket into orbit as well as more down-to-earth pursuits in a mobile classroom venture from Iowa State University.
ISU industrial design professor Pete Evans coordinates the Forward Learning Experience, or FLEx, which combines creative thinking, STEM programs and emerging technologies in a commercial cargo van.
FLEx is partnering with ISU’s Women in Science and Engineering program, or WiSE, and recently landed a grant from the Iowa Space Grant Consortium. With that money, Evans’ team merged virtual reality with a motion base to offer students thrill rides in a flight simulator.
Launched in 2014, Evans says FLEx has reached 80-thousand students in all corners of the state with plans to further broaden its scope in the year ahead. The flight simulator is versatile and can also offer realistic rides on everything from rollercoasters — to farm tractors.
New programs in the coming months will include a celebration of NASA’s new Artemis program, offering glimpses of upcoming ventures to the Moon and to Mars.
