Steve Culivan, aerospace education specialist at Stennis Space Center, conducts a professional development workshop for fourth- through ninth-grade educators. During the Nov. 4 'Learning with the Stars' workshop, educators spent time learning about different aspects of the universe and enjoying a presentation of Stennis' portable planetarium.

Master of ceremonies Steve Culivan, an employee of Penn State University and aerospace education specialist at NASA's Stennis Space Center, talked to a crowd of more than 300 who attended the Jan. 5 kickoff of the 2008 FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition season. The students, coaches and mentors from three states who attended also watched a live broadcast from FIRST's Manchester, N.H., headquarters that revealed this year's competition challenge, and received parts kits from which they built robots to meet the challenge.