FALLS CHURCH, Va., June 1, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Northrop Grumman Foundation has announced the national sponsorship of middle school students and teachers from across the country to attend Space Camp® this summer, from July 29 to Aug. 3, at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center (USSRC) in Huntsville, Ala. This is the fourth year that the foundation has funded Space Camp® sponsorships.
"At Northrop Grumman, we strive to inspire and excite student interest in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines – this is particularly important for middle school students," said Sandra Evers-Manly, president of the Northrop Grumman Foundation. "We are thrilled to be able to provide these students and their teachers the opportunity to attend the Space Camp program to experience firsthand the importance of science and math principles when it comes to space exploration."
This year's sponsored space campers are 16 middle school teachers from nine states and 48 middle school students from 12 states and the District of Columbia, representing 29 schools from across the country.
| School Name | Participants | Location |
| Providence Middle School | 1 student | Huntsville, Ala. |
| Madison County Elementary | 1 student | Gurley, Ala. |
| Joyce Clark Middle School | 1 teacher, 2 students | Sierra Vista, Ariz. |
| Dana Middle School | 1 teacher | Hawthorne, Calif. |
| Rogers Middle School | 1 student | Hawthorne, Calif. |
| South Gate Middle School | 1 teacher, 2 students | South Gate, Calif. |
| Joe Walker Middle School | 1 student | Lancaster, Calif. |
| Endeavor Middle School | 1 student | Quartz Hill, Calif. |
| Twin Peaks Middle School | 2 students | Poway, Calif. |
| Adams Middle School | 1 student | Redondo Beach, Calif. |
| Boston K-8 | 1 teacher | Aurora, Colo. |
| East Middle School | 1 student | Aurora, Colo. |
| South Middle School | 1 student | Aurora, Colo. |
| Vanguard Classical School | 1 teacher, 4 students | Denver, Colo. |
| Madison Middle School | 1 teacher, 1 student | Titusville, Fla. |
| Alice B. Landrum Middle School | 1 student | Ponte Vedra, Fla. |
| Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women | 1 teacher, 4 students | Baltimore, Md. |
| Jefferson Middle School | 1 teacher | Hyattsville, Md. |
| Winston Education Campus | 2 students | Washington, D.C. |
| Howitt Middle School | 2 students | Farmingdale, N.Y. |
| Smith Middle School | 1 teacher, 2 students | Killeen, Texas |
| Austin Middle School | 1 teacher | Lewisville, Texas |
| De Zavala Middle School | 1 teacher, 3 students | Irving, Texas |
| Travis Middle School | 1 student | Irving, Texas |
| Eisenhower Middle School | 3 teachers, 4 students | Lawton, Okla. |
| Syracuse Junior High | 1 teacher, 4 students | Syracuse, Utah |
| Langston Hughes Middle School | 2 students | Reston, Va. |
| Luther Jackson Middle School | 1 teacher, 2 students | Merrifield, Va. |
| Jefferson Middle School | 1 teacher, 2 students | Washington, D.C. |
Student campers will experience the ultimate space adventure this summer, participating in activities such as rocket building and launching, experiencing weightlessness in an astronaut-training simulator and simulating space travel preparation. Their science teachers will accompany the students to Huntsville to attend the Space Academy for Educators, a program to provide teachers the tools to enhance how they present science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) concepts in their classrooms.
The sponsorship is part of Northrop Grumman's K-12 Initiative, which aims to advance the United States' excellence in STEM by encouraging instruction from elementary school through high school.
The sponsored students were chosen based on their potential to become high achievers in math and science. They all fall within the ages of 12 and 14 and will be in seventh or eighth grade at the time they attend Space Camp®. The sponsored educators must teach either seventh or eighth grade science, and be selected by their school principal or district.
The USSRC Space Camp® is the premier provider of authentic, inspiring and entertaining educational experiences in space science and aviation. The Space Academy for Educators amplifies that mission by using the excitement of the program to create an immersive learning environment where teachers learn new ways to present concepts in their classrooms effectively. Additional information about this year's Space Camp® can be found at http://www.spacecamp.com/
The Northrop Grumman Foundation supports diverse and sustainable programs for students and teachers. These programs create innovative education experiences in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. For more information please visit www.northropgrumman.com/foundation.