Surrey city council has approved a $15,000 contribution to fund a Princess Margaret Secondary School design team that will be competing in a NASA competition.
Passed unanimously by council on Monday (Feb. 26), the funding comes as the Surrey high school requested the city to sponsor their team, which will be competing at this year’s Human Exploration Rover Challenge in April. The competition is sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA.
The only Canadian team chosen, Princess Margaret’s LeoCraft Design Team will be heading to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama from April 19 to 20.
“The Team is an extra-curricular club composed of ten grade 11 and 12 students and two teachers from Princess Margaret Secondary school. The Team will be representing their school and the City at the 2024 HERC by demonstrating their strength in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines,” reads a city corporate report.
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The school asked for the city’s support to go toward costs of designing, constructing and testing the team’s LeoCraft rover.
Since council agreed to contribute, the rover will feature a city logo.
“We hear a lot of negative stuff these days about schools and Surrey and this is just a testament to what’s forgotten, which is the teacher. This didn’t happen without great education for these young people,” Coun. Mike Bose said at the council meeting.
“Using their outstanding abilities, their education to actually achieve this goal (of being) invited to participate in this NASA competition. We can’t forget the good work that is done by the teachers and the brilliance of so many students in this city.”
