The Rural Technology Fund and Teachers in Space are launching another cohort of Infinite Sky STEM, giving rural students a unique, hands-on opportunity to explore careers in the commercial space industry. Five classrooms were selected to build working CubeSat Emulators and launch them on a High Altitude Balloon Mission to carry out real experiments. Meet the five inspiring educators leading these exciting projects below!
Wesley Martin is a high school science teacher in Sparta, TN.
Wesley serves as an administrator for the 21st CCLC STEM program, providing after-school STEM activities and lessons to all elementary schools in the district. He also sponsors the school Science Club, which has competed in regional Science Olympiads and Science Fairs across the state.
“Overall, my goal has always been to provide every student more and greater opportunities to experience STEM and the sciences each and every day.”
Wesley plans to bring Infinite Sky as a collaborative project through the school’s STEM classes and the Science Club. He also plans for involved students to share their project and progress with the elementary schools in the district!
He wrote, “It sounds like something exciting that could bring attention to science in our county. I’m always looking for ways to bring opportunity to our kids and school to highlight what they are capable of achieving with guidance and excitement.”
Christina Adamson is a technology instructor in Howard City, MI.
Christina’s middle school provides STEM courses, where the project will be integrated. The students will also share the information with their middle school science classes.
Even school media will be involved, sharing updates on the project and interviews about what students learned.
Christina shared, “What interests me about this project is the ability for my students to see that they have created something real, that has connections to the world outside of the classroom. I feel like my classroom is a good fit for this project because we’ve spent the past three school years building a solid and growing STEM program that provides students will all kinds of hands-on learning experiences that they can take with them to their other core classes and keep them exited enough about STEM that they’re talking about it at home, too.”
Amy Gourlay is a Librarian and Computer Science teacher in Niles, MI.
Amy teaches coding and computer science, and is working to integrate STEM with her fellow teachers. Their next focus is STEM careers.
This project will be utilized with her 8th-grade students, who work with her on rotations.
Gourlay shared, “We are constantly on the lookout for unique projects to keep the students interested in STEM.” Her 8th grade students work on Web Design, so this project will stretch their exposure into different career environments.
Beth Ann Pope is a 6th-grade math and science teacher in Verbena, AL.
Beth Ann has taught 2nd, 3rd, and 5th grade in prior years. “Starting last year, I moved to 6th-grade math, science, and digital literacy, and I will be teaching those subjects again this year.”
This project will be integrated throughout the 6th grade at her school, being brought directly into her classroom curriculum.
Beth Ann shared, “I am interested in this project because I am looking at new ways to create some hands-on experience for my students. They do not get very many opportunities like this because of the area they live in. They would love working on this project, and be able to learn so much from it.”
Christa Bell is a high school Media Specialist in Higginsville, MO.
Christa plans to integrate the project with interested students before and after school. She shared, “The project aligns neatly with our physics and Earth/Space science curriculum, and we plan to engage multiple classes as well as our after‑school STEM club, ensuring equitable participation across grades and interests. With established community science and engineering partnerships, my students are ready not only to launch a CubeSat emulator but to further grow their STEM skills and career aspirations far beyond this project.”
Christa wrote, “My classroom is a strong match: we’re a public rural school that hasn’t had access to aerospace technology in hands-on form. Our students thrive in collaborative, project‑based learning environments—evidenced by their enthusiasm for STEM club soldering and coding projects.”
“I’m drawn to the Infinite Sky STEM project because it provides my rural high school students a once‑in‑a‑lifetime, fully-supported opportunity to design, build, and launch CubeSat emulators—connecting classroom learning in physics and Earth science with real-world space engineering and data analysis.” — Christa
Our second cohort of Infinite Sky officially kicks off in mid-August, with the high-altitude balloon launch scheduled for April, 2026! Stay tuned for updates!
We are thrilled to be part of another cohort of Infinite Sky STEM.
To see the launch of our first cohort’s CubeSat Emulators, check out this link!
