Celebrating National STEM Day at Space Center Houston: 'We are Space City for a reason'

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Friday, Nov. 8, is National STEM Day, and Space Center Houston hosted students from around the region to participate in special events curated just for the day.

The video above is from a previous report on how STEM education could help students.

National STEM Day was first celebrated in 2015 to encourage all students, especially young girls and minorities, to explore STEM-related careers, those in science, technology, engineering, and math.

President and CEO of Space Center Houston William T. Harris spoke to ABC13 Meteorologist Elyse Smith on Friday.

"We're all about everyone participating. And we've had a particular focus on girls and women to encourage them to pursue STEM fields. It's heartening to see success in that way," Harris said.

While there are fewer women than men in STEM jobs, a recent study from the National Science Foundation found that the number of women in STEM workforce grew by 31% from 2011 to 2021, from 9.4 million to 12.3 million. There has also been an increase in STEM careers in Houston, with the city being a hub for energy, healthcare, and space exploration, noted Harris.

"We are 'Space City' for a reason. We have so many jobs in those professions."

One of the special exhibits on display for Friday only was a prototype of a lunar terrain vehicle produced by Intuitive Machines. This is an example of one of the machines that could be used during the Artemis missions on the moon.

Elsewhere, students could operate small, animatronic robots that could pick up blocks and move them across a room.

National STEM Day occurs every year on Nov. 8 in the United States.

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