Skylab

One of the most successful of the Skylab educational efforts was the Skylab Student Project. A nationwide scientific competition was sponsored by the National Science Teachers Association and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in which secondary students were encouraged to submit proposals for experiments to be conducted on Skylan in Earth orbit the following year. After the official announcement of this project, over 4,000 students responded with 3,409 proposals. The winning 25 students, along with their parents and sponsor teachers, visited Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), the lead center for Skylab, where they met with scientists and engineers, participated in design reviews for their experiments, and toured MSFC facilities. Of the 25 students, 6 did not see their experiments conducted on Skylab because the experiments were not compatible with Skylab hardware and timelines. Of the 19 remaining, 11 experiments required the manufacture of additional equipment. This photograph is a group shot of the 25 winners, parents, and sponsors when they met for the first time on the steps of Building 4200 at MSFC in the Spring of 1972.