'Engage, Educate, And Accelerate....'

If the Aerospace Center for Excellence can raise another $85,000 by the end of Sun 'n Fun, they will be one step closer to completing their mission to "engage, educate, and accelerate the next generation of aerospace professionals."

ACE, a nonprofit organization, is currently raising funds for SkyLab, a 22,000 square foot expansion of the Florida Air Museum to provide five state-of-the-art science, technology, engineering, and math laboratories. The space will have retractable walls that allow the individual classrooms to transform into one large auditorium.

SkyLab will join other components of the education corridor at Lakeland Linder International Airport, including a museum, a high school aero club, and a high school.

These educational aviation experiences are all connected to ACE's Aerospace Center for Excellence, a nonprofit organization with the mission to "engage, educate, and accelerate the next generation of aerospace professionals," said Education Director Kimberly Brewer.

Brewer has been working with Polk County Public Schools Science and Social Studies Department to develop science curricula for 5th, 6th, and 11th graders. The new curriculum 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 is very exciting to build meaningful experiences for all of our students through the programs being developed in collaboration with the Polk County Public School's Science and Social Studies Department," Brewer said.

The fundraiser has to raise another $1 million to reach its goal of $5.3 million, according to ACE Chief Financial Officer Tracy Neal.

The cost of the expansion itself is just more than $5 million, with the added $300,000 to fill the classrooms with state-of-the-art science technology.

Between 2019 and the beginning of the Sun 'n Fun Aerospace Expo, ACE had raised $4.2 million for the SkyLab, mostly all prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recently, a group donated $100,000 with a matching clause open until the end of the airshow.

So far this week, Neal said that ACE has already raised $15,000 toward that matching goal, leaving an $85,000 gap between now and Sunday afternoon to complete the matching donation and bring the fundraiser to $4.4 million total.

Donation boxes are open at the box office, and Neal said that any donations from the week to ACE or Sun 'n Fun will go toward the SkyLab.

FMI: https://aceedu.aero