Space Program
We believe it is important for our students to discover the wonders and mysteries of our God, and understand that science is a part of His perfect orchestration of life. The 2023-24 school year marked the pioneering year of Veritas Classical Academy’s afterschool Space Program, in partnership with Quest 4 Excellence. We currently offer three different program levels (100, 200, & 300) for grades 3 through 12 that bring challenging and rewarding learning for students.
Student Testimonial
Philip Lee
VCA Student
Veritas Space program taught me valuable management skills, especially how to work with people and succeed as a group. What we were able to do this year could not have been accomplished through the work of one person. It required a team. This may have been the hardest part of everything but it was by far the most rewarding.
This afterschool program was my favorite part of the week. No matter how tiring school may have been, I always looked forward to it. Before beginning the year, I thought that I would become a doctor in the future but now I want to pursue aeronautical engineering and a career at NASA. This is all thanks to what we accomplished through our Space program
Level 100
The beginning level brings 3rd through 6th grade grammar school students together to learn the basics of physics, astronomy, and circuitry. These core principles lay the foundation of the work completed in the higher levels of space program. Our junior scientists run different experiments with heat and receive a powerful introduction to engineering and science.
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Level 200
In the mid tier level, 7th through 8th grade logic students take on more advanced learning of the same principles from the previous level. Level 200 scientists learn how to read circuit diagrams, build experiments from scratch and run their own tests. They also go deeper into more advanced coding that lays a foundation for future scientific endeavors.
Level 300
The level 300 program encompasses the whole school year where dedicated 9th through 12th grade rhetoric students work on an experiment that, after approval from NASA, is flown to the International Space Station for 30 uninterrupted days in space.
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For this past year, our students wanted to see how certain liquids react to various stimulation while in space. They built a small box that contained water, mineral oil and vegetable glycerin, with many parts designed and built at school with a 3D printer. While on the ISS, a tiny computer programmed by the students activated the liquids and recorded data to be analyzed when it returned to Earth. The students saw the fruition of their labor on March 21, 2024, as the SpaceX CRS-30 resupply mission brought their experiment to space.
Student Testimonial
We learned so much about science through our time in Space Quest. It was almost overwhelming being involved in a project connected to NASA and the ISS, that we were making something that would go all the way up to space. One of the things that stood out to me was the importance of teamwork. This was not a project that one person could do, we needed everyone’s help. For me, the more that I could contribute, the bigger the pay off would be at the end. Working as a team built patience, understanding and cooperation with others, three important ideas I will carry with me into the future.
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Space Quest opened my eyes to the beauty of science and STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) that I was not aware of before. It was fascinating to learn how science works hand in hand with God and that his rules and principles are applied throughout the universe. God created all of space with the same attention to detail that he made you and me. While my passion has always been humanities, I realized through Space Quest that science is pretty cool!
Mary Kim
VCA Student