GRC did this 4 years ago on my very first week here at NASA. It was overwhelming to see the waves of people excited about NASA. I think they are expecting over 50,000 people this weekend if the wonderful Cleveland weather holds out (although the event is rain or shine). This is true open NASA in my opinion – open the doors and let the people in! It is also a breath of life for employees because you can rise above the minutia of daily work and see for a moment the wonder of what we do.

GRC is also opening up its satellite facility, Plum Brook Station on 5/31 and 6/1. This facility is a short drive from Cleveland to Sandusky and has the worlds largest vacuum chamber.

NASA is currently accepting proposals for the development of a Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) learning game. An MMO is a video game where hundreds or thousands of people simultaneously “play” by interacting for cooperation and/or competition in a rich, immersive virtual environment. Using this technology NASA can create a scientifically accurate world for “hands-on” experience in fields from microgravity to chemical engineering. Developing skills along they way such as strategic thinking, problem solving, plan formulation and execution, team-building and cooperation, and adaptation to rapid change.

The key demographic that NASA hopes to reach with this effort is high school students as well as middle school and college students. I hope that the results will not just encourage learning for those students looking to pursue a career in the sciences but will also be fun enough to spark interest in space exploration for everyone.

I think I can take a night off from Azeroth to “play” NASA.
NASA Learning Technologies Request for Information: Development of a NASA-based massively multiplayer online learning game