Sky Lab Is A 22,000 Square Foot Extension Of The Florida Air Museum

Walking down the education corridor at Lakeland Linder International Airport, one can find a museum, a youth aero club, a high school, and, soon, a full science, technology, engineering, and math laboratory.

These educational aviation experiences are all connected to the Aerospace Center for Excellence.

ACE is separate from Central Florida Aerospace Academy, although the two are intertwined in Lakeland. CFAA is a public high school, but ACE is a nonprofit organization with the mission to "engage, educate, and accelerate the next generation of aerospace professionals," said Education Director Kimberly Brewer.

While Brewer handles the "engage" and "educate" elements, Scholarship Director Richele Floyd continues the "accelerate" part of the mission.

ACE owns the physical building that CFAA occupies and leases. In the spirit of furthering aviation education, 90% of the revenue from that lease goes directly back into the school in the form of scholarships that are open to students, giving more than $300,000 annually. Since 2012, 122 new young pilots have earned their private pilot certificate, thanks in part to the scholarship program. 

Multiple students have gone on past CFAA to become airline pilots or joined the military, and one just opened his own mechanic shop here at LAL, Floyd said.

"These students are very ambitious," she said.

ACE's current biggest project is fundraising for the Sky Lab.

Sky Lab is a 22,000 square foot extension of the Florida Air Museum to provide an airport classroom for students, which will include five laboratories in STEM. The space will have retractable walls that allow it to be separated into individual classrooms or one giant auditorium.

The fundraiser has currently raised $4.2 million but needs to reach $5.2 million. There will also be an additional $300,000 to fill the classrooms with state-of-the-art science technology, Brewer said.

Brewer has been working with Polk County Public Schools to develop science curriculum for 5th, 6th, and 11th graders, whose existing requirements most line up with what could be taught in the Sky Lab. She has been assisting in revisions to the curriculum which would infuse ACE's resources, including oceanic and atmospheric sciences, force and motion, and weather.

Although the current focus is on Polk County, where Brewer taught public school for five years, the program will be expanding.

"It's really exciting to be able to provide opportunities for all of these people, not just those who can pay to be here," Brewer said.

Currently, educational opportunities such as the Destination Aviation summer camp have seen attendees from all over, including internationally. Programs are also expanding in size, such as the Classroom to the Sky seminar for educators, which will bring in double the number of teachers this year as it has in the past. 

Floyd, who has been at ACE for five years and was the education director prior to Brewer, said that programs such as these are constantly being built upon as new educators join the ACE team and bring new ideas.

FMI: https://aceedu.aero/