The Applied Physics Laboratory recognizes the importance of a strong relationship with the local and extended community and its leaders and representatives. The APL Community Relations Office focuses on educational outreach and secondary school career education.

Contact: Community/Education Outreach Coordinator

Community Relations
Sharing time, talents and resources

• APL staffers contribute more than a half-million dollars a year to the United Way Campaign and volunteer thousands of hours in community service activities.
• APL staffers serve on educational and other local advisory boards working to enhance the well-being of the community.
• Speakers can be requested on APL programs or science subjects of general interest.
• The Maryland MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement) Program motivates and prepares elementary, middle and high school students to study math, engineering and related technical fields.

Educational Outreach
Guiding tomorrow’s scientists and engineers

Examples of school outreach programs are listed below; contact the guidance/mentor office of the local schools for more information.

APL participates in school Mentor Programs with the Howard County Public School System and other nearby public and private high schools. Students work one-on-one with an APL staff member on a science project for the school year. These projects fulfill credit requirements toward graduation.

The Mentor Student Learning Conference, held each May at APL’s Kossiakoff Center, brings together more than 100 mentor students in the Howard County Public School System program to present papers and exhibit projects.

In the Science, Mathematics, and Technology Research Program, students collaborate with technical staff members, who advise them on individual science research projects. These projects are for high school credit and some are tailored for competitions such as the Intel Science Talent Search.

Students in Project Lead The Way (PLTW), an engineering curriculum in many schools, can request internships at APL through their school PLTW teachers.

School-sponsored Career Day Visits and Tours
These visits to the Laboratory provide quick-look opportunities to learn more about real-life work and current technology and last from 1 to 4 hours. APL supports:

• Career Days opportunities
• Tours of select facilities

Talented APL engineers perform Fun with Science Shows either at APL, or at middle or high schools.

Under the Maryland Educators Summer Research Program, qualified teachers work at APL for eight weeks during the summer developing educational materials for the classroom, based on our space science programs, or other non-classified projects of national interest.

The Johns Hopkins University, as part of the Maryland Space Grant Consortium, participates in the Space Science Internship Program for teachers.

APL and the Howard County Public School System host a Maryland State Department of Education Summer Science Program (space science camp) for Maryland middle school students each June. Among their many activities, students team up to design their own NASA Discovery mission and fabricate a mock spacecraft, including instruments that would be flown aboard. Information on this program can be found on MSDE Summer Center’s web page under programs