NASA Scientist Visits Nevada School's STEM Fiesta Night

Students at Empire Elementary launched bottle rockets they built at home while a NASA Mars scientist watched from the sidelines, celebrating a night where classroom learning blasted off into real-world possibilities.

Empire Elementary in Carson City recently hosted its STEM Fiesta Family Night, drawing families and community members for an evening packed with hands-on science, technology, engineering, and math activities. The space-themed celebration transformed the campus into an interactive learning playground.

Doug Ming, a NASA planetary scientist who has worked on several Mars missions including the Curiosity rover, headlined the evening with stories from his career exploring the solar system. His presentation helped students and parents connect classroom lessons to actual careers in space exploration, making distant planets feel suddenly within reach.

The night also featured a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the school's new Living Wall project, a sustainability initiative that started as a student idea during last year's STEM Tank competition. The Carson City Schools Foundation funded the winning concept, proving that student innovation can create lasting change in their own school community.

Throughout the evening, families rotated through engineering stations, science experiments, and immersive learning experiences across campus. Students showcased their Día de Mercado projects, where English as a Second Language learners practiced real-world language skills through market-themed presentations focused on culture, communication, and entrepreneurship.

The student-designed bottle rockets provided the evening's most exciting moments as families watched their home projects soar. Glow Show art displays added visual wonder to the celebration while demonstrating how creativity and science intersect.

The Ripple Effect

Empire Elementary's commitment to STEM education extends far beyond one exciting night. For three consecutive years, Governor Joe Lombardo and the Governor's Office of Science Innovation and Technology have recognized the school as an "Established STEM School," the state's highest designation.

This recognition follows rigorous evaluation using the Nevada STEM Framework rubric, including classroom visits, lesson observations, and student interviews. The designation signals to parents and the community that Empire Elementary meets the highest standards of STEM instruction and serves as a model for schools statewide.

The success of STEM Fiesta reflects strong community partnerships, with volunteers and local organizations providing resources and support. These connections create opportunities for students to explore STEM through engaging experiences while strengthening bonds between the school and broader Carson City community.

Events like this inspire the next generation of innovators by showing students that science isn't just textbook material but a pathway to exploring Mars, solving environmental challenges, and turning creative ideas into reality.