Ras Al Khaimah: The Wellspring School, a LifePlus International School in Ras Al Khaimah, has launched a first-of-its-kind in the Middle East and Africa region space exploration venture that will see students learn about the universe, science, coding and much more.
Proudly partnering with Quest4Excellence, a Silicon Valley education company working closely with Nasa, students at the school have already enjoyed an introductory module where they uploaded coded experiments directly to the International Space Station.
At the invitation of His Highness Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, The WellSpring School was honoured to establish a Kindergarten through 12th Grade American Curriculum International school in 2015. The school is committed to bringing innovation and creativity in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) to its students. This Space Education Programme aims to give students a hands-on project-based learning experience that will deepen their knowledge of project & group working, computer coding, basic engineering skills, project planning and execution against real-world conditions.
Sending coded messages to ISS
At the heart of this great opportunity is entrepreneur Danny Kim, CEO of Quest4Excellence, and an Education Advisory Committee member for ISS National Lab commissioned by Nasa. He was recently in the UAE, running the ISS Quester for students at The Wellspring School. During this introductory module, students coded messages to send to Bimo, a robot on the ISS that displays the student’s pictures and messages.
Martin Klopper, LifePlus CEO, commented: “This initiative aligns 100 per cent with the strategic priorities of the education sector as the nation seeks to position itself as a major global player in space exploration. It also embodies the constant desire of His Highness Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi to improve the quality of education in Ras Al Khaimah and to provide opportunities for creativity and innovation in the delivery of teaching STEM subjects to students.” Jeff Kingma, the WellSpring head of School, believes “the opportunity to partner with an esteemed education company from the United States will open new educational doors in the UAE and will greatly benefit our students”.
LifePlus operates six international schools in China, one in the UAE and plans to start one in Cairo, Egypt, in 2024.
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After-school activity for students
In the next academic year, The WellSpring School plans to offer more of these ISS Quester workshops as the first step in STEM programme development. There will be the chance to join the ISS Inspiration Station (Level 1) as an after-school activity for students of grades 4-12. To soar even higher, middle and high school students will have the means to join ISS Space Programme Apprentice (Level 2) as a STEM elective within their weekly schedule. The intention is to inspire a new era of scientific innovation through the future leaders of Ras Al Khaimah, the UAE, and the world.
