Utah entrepreneur getting kids fired up about space science


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SALT LAKE CITY — As we celebrate Pioneer Day 2016, there is an excitement about a new frontier. The female CEO of one Utah company is helping kids get fired up about the science of space.

High atop a parking garage in downtown Salt Lake, a group of kids are on a mission to launch a balloon into space.

"There really hasn't been a more exciting time in space since we put someone on the moon," Sunny Washington, CEO of Ardusat, said.

In fact, Washington, an entrepreneur, thought it was a great time to help students, especially girls, tap into the future of space exploration. "We can't ignore 50 percent of the population. We have to get girls involved in this, because it is critical to us."

Washington started up her own business in 2014 and hired teenager Harleigh Roberts as one of her first employees. "It was really exciting and kind of intimidating because they were just barely starting," Roberts said.

The start-up is Ardusat, a company that helps students do hands-on experiments and then launch them into space on satellites.

The rooftop balloon launch earlier this month was a chance to quickly collect some data that might trigger new experiments to go up in space on a future satellite mission.

Jane Coates, soon to be a senior at Olympus High School, is another student working for Ardusat.

"It's a stepping stone that most people just dream of. We're given the opportunity to learn and develop our talents," Coates said.

(Photo: Sandra Olney, KSl-TV)
(Photo: Sandra Olney, KSl-TV)

Coates and Roberts, soon to be a senior at Skyline High School, find their work both fascinating and rewarding. They can often be found assembling the miniaturized satellites called CubeSats kids will use to program their experiments before they hitch a ride into space on a large satellite. "Definitely the engineering side of it is really fun to have your hands on and build it and knowing, 'I built this,'" Roberts said.

Coates agreed. "I'm building something, something that's going up into space and that's going to make a difference," she said,.

Ardusat's space experiments are already changing kids' attitudes about subjects like science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). These are important areas where women are needed in the workforce.

"When we look at where the markets are going and the jobs that are available, we have a huge gap in need and demand and the actual supply," Washington said.

Educators across the U.S. and around the world are now using Ardusat experiments to try and pique students' interest in so-called STEM majors and careers.

"We're seeing some of these countries where space is a really important part of what they want their children to learn," Kevin Cocco, Ardusat's chief technology officer and co-founder of the business, said.

(Photo: Sandra Olney, KSL-TV)
(Photo: Sandra Olney, KSL-TV)

Roberts is amazed at what kids will take away from a hands-on experiment. "The fact that little kids can comprehend the science and learn it as they go is really cool to see," she said.

"I didn't think that a company like this would be interesting to like 8-year-olds, but these kids were like, 'Oh my gosh, the pressure is going up,'" Coates said.

Cocco believes this is truly where science education is headed.

"Students doing these hands-on experiments, I think, prepares them for the future," he said.

And today, Washington's success inspires two young women. "It's crazy she's done all this," Roberts said.

Coates said, "I've never seen the example of a woman starting a tech company."

That is "mission accomplished" for Washington. She said, "And, there's just all sorts of things to be excited about."

This year, in states across the nation including Utah, the K through 12 science curriculum is being updated. Washington expects Ardusat's hands-on experiments to fit perfectly into some of those new lesson plans.

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