The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE), a Project of the Tides Center, creates and oversees national initiatives addressing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, with a focus on earth and space. Programs are designed to provide an authentic window on science as a human endeavor, and to inspire … then educate.

The Voyage scale model Solar System exhibition in front of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. The Center is making replicas available for permanent installation in communities world-wide.  Click Image for Zoom

Programming
A remarkable array of programs for schools, families, and the public; professional development workshops and institutes for grade K-12 educators; world-class exhibitions for museums, science centers, and universities; and online and Web 2.0 experiences, embrace the notion that science education should be about conceptual understanding at an emotional level, and that scientists and engineers can and should be heroes and role models to the next generation.

Delivery
In this vein, the Center’s programs are delivered by teams of scientists, engineers, and master science educators from the Center and research and education institutions across the nation—scientists and engineers who are passionate about their research and gifted at communicating that passion to audiences of all ages.

Learning Community Model
When the Center’s programs for diverse audiences are combined through the Journey through the Universe initiative, an entire community—thousands of grade K-12 students, their teachers, their families and the public—can be taken to the frontiers of human exploration in a sustainable way. It is a Learning Community Model for science education.

A National Mission
A central objective of the Center’s initiatives is to help continue America’s legacy as a leader on the frontiers of science and technology well into the 21st century by helping to ensure a scientifically literate public and a next generation of scientists and engineers—both of which are of national importance in an age of high technology.