JSAC News

This summer, over 1,000 students came from around the country to visit JSAC.   Among those visitors were three very special groups, the City of Refuge, Lawson State College and Spark Academy, all of whose students experienced a “glimpse of a day in the life” of a JSAC student.  The City of Refuge is a non-profit organization that provides support to Atlanta families in crisis. Their students built mini robots which they later used to compete against one another in their first ever “robot race”.  They also tried their hand at operating a “tabletop” sized robot and eventually, tried to manipulate the life-sized robot into shooting balls into a target. 

Lawson State College hosted a NASA sponsored summer program for high school students. During their last week of camp, the students were treated to a field trip to JSAC.  They boarded a bus in Birmingham, Alabama and 3 hours later, arrived at JSAC. Fifty high school girls, many of whom had never been to Atlanta before, experienced a grand tour before having lunch and then diving into their robotics building activities.  A few lucky girls even won an autographed book on Dr Johnson’s life by correctly answering questions from the tour.  Two JSAC students, a high schooler and a college student talked to the high school students about their interest in STEM. Finally, Dr. Johnson shared some words of wisdom with them and encouraged them to shoot for the moon.
 
Students from Usher’s Spark Academy came from different parts of the country to experience everything JSAC has to offer.  Spark Academy students are mentored from middle school through college and given opportunities to learn about various careers.   From gaming to robotics to car hydraulics to finances, these students were immersed in it all at JSAC.  Towards the end of their day, the students were treated to a surprise visit from Dr. Johnson.