NASA Student Launch Initiative and 4-H STEM Engagement

Authors

• Kelly Dziak, Rutgers, The State University of New JerseyFollow

Volume

64

Issue

1

Abstract

In 4-H programs, youth take the lead as scientists and engineers in their project work. NASA's Student Launch Initiative challenges youth to design and launch high-powered rockets carrying scientific payloads. This competition models the work process of real-world NASA contractors. In 2023 and 2024, the Morris County New Jersey ResistoJets Rocketry 4-H Club competed as the only team representing the 4-H youth development program. This experience intentionally placed youth in authentic roles as scientists, researchers, engineers, and educators. The goals of NASA's Student Launch Initiative and 4-H align to provide a rich learning experience for youth interested in STEM.

Authors’ Contribution Statement

K.D. was solely responsible for all aspects of this manuscript and program work including program design and implementation, data collection and analysis, literature review, and manuscript preparation, submission, and revisions. K.D. read and approved the final version of this manuscript.

Data Availability

No datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Dziak, K. (2026). NASA Student Launch Initiative and 4-H STEM Engagement. Journal of Extension, 64(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.66752/1077-5315.5641