An all-girls STEM team from Echo Trail Middle School will take their science skills to the stratosphere after winning a coveted spot in the nationwide NASA TechRise Student Challenge.
The competition invites middle and high school students across the country to design science experiments to fly on a NASA-sponsored flight test.
Echo Trail had four teams submit entries this year, and one exceptional group of seventh-grade girls advanced to the top 60 teams in the United States.
“I can’t tell you how proud we are of these young ladies and everyone who participated in this program,” said Richard Curley, an Echo Trail teacher and sponsor of the team. “Especially as a new school, what these girls accomplished is just phenomenal.”
Bound for the stratosphere
The team is now deep into a 13-week build process, constructing an experiment that will launch on a high-altitude balloon. Their project will measure levels of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) in the upper atmosphere, which are related to "forever chemicals.” Using specialized sensors and hardware, students will collect data in stratospheric and microgravity conditions.
As part of the challenge, the team received $1,500 in funding along with ongoing mentorship to support the development of their project.
The flight test, conducted in partnership with World View Enterprises, will provide approximately four hours of flight time at altitudes between 70,000 and 95,000 feet. At that height, students’ experiments will be exposed to Earth’s upper atmosphere, increased radiation levels, and breathtaking views of the planet.
A student-driven success
The initiative has been student-driven from the start, Curley said. Aaradhya Nerella, a member of the winning team, first learned about the contest from her mother, an engineer. She brought the opportunity to the school's clubs manager before teaming up with Curley, a social studies teacher who stepped up to sponsor the group.
The team had only about six days to put their entry together and submit it. Under Curley's supervision, the students are leading the entire build process themselves.
Nerella has long been interested in the environment and how human behavior is impacting Earth, she said.
“As soon as I heard about this challenge, I knew that it was time to step in,” Nerella said. “We have more than just an opportunity to learn, we have hands-on experience in soldering, mounting, wiring, sensors, and much more. I love that I have been accepted to take on such a challenge.”
Real-world learning across disciplines
While it may be uncommon for a social studies teacher to sponsor a STEM team, Curley saw the powerful cross-curricular value of the TechRise Challenge.
“This project shows students exactly why their core classes matter,” he said.
The experience strengthens both academic and life skills:
Scientific Process: Students must identify a problem, form a hypothesis, and determine exactly how they will measure and analyze their data.
Critical Thinking: Once the payload returns, students will analyze the flight data to see if it supports their initial hypothesis.
Cross-Curricular Application: The project integrates math for calculations, science for experimental design, and English Language Arts for documenting and presenting findings.
Hands-On Experience: It provides a tangible, real-world application of the concepts students learn in their core classes every day.
What's next?
The team’s completed project must be submitted by May 15. While the official launch date depends heavily on summer weather conditions, students will get to celebrate their hard work beforehand during a nationwide virtual launch party, where winning schools will present their experiments via Zoom.
Echo Trail Principal Dr. Kara Ammerman said she was thrilled for students to get this amazing opportunity.
"This speaks directly to our mission at Echo Trail where we want to provide an environment where students have a strong sense of belonging that supports growth in taking risks, being innovative, and expecting greatness,” Ammerman said. “There is nothing better than to see students take risks and accomplish big things.”