Students from Lake Houston Middle School and Woodcreek Middle School participated in the Girls STEM Pathway program at Space Center Houston, an initiative designed to empower middle school girls through hands-on science, technology, engineering and mathematics experiences.
The program, supported by Boeing, took place during the 2025-26 school year and included five visits to Space Center Houston between March and April 2026. Through the Girls STEM Academy and Girls STEM Pathway programs, students engaged in engineering challenges, robotics, mentoring, and real-world applications to build confidence and encourage interest in STEM careers.
The experience highlighted the achievements of pioneering women in STEM while connecting lessons to space-related concepts aligned with Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards. Students learned about astronauts involved in past and future space missions and explored the contributions women have made to science and engineering.
“They gave us lessons about famous female astronauts from a long time ago and from now. It was pretty cool to hear about the first woman to go around the moon during the Artemis II launch,” Woodcreek Middle School eighth-grader Jennifer Schaap said.
Students examined how the human body adapts to microgravity, built and launched model rockets, toured Independence Plaza and the Falcon 9 exhibit, and created digital spectrometers. They also experimented with UV-sensitive materials and learned about trailblazers such as Mae Jemison, Katherine Johnson and Sally Ride.
“We learned the history of how things work and the process behind building them. It gave us the chance to create things like rockets and rovers, test whether they worked, and reflect on our mistakes so we could improve them in the future,” Woodcreek Middle School eighth-grader Teagan Sieh said.
For Lake Houston Middle School, the program provided an opportunity to expand access to STEM learning experiences and inspire students to consider future careers in STEM.
“As a new campus, creating opportunities like this for our students is incredibly important. When I first reached out to Space Center Houston about bringing this program to Lake Houston Middle School, my goal was to expose our girls to experiences that would inspire them to see themselves in STEM fields and help them realize the possibilities available to them,” Lake Houston Middle School teacher Jazmine Aguero said.
Campus leaders said experiences like these help students begin exploring future educational and career pathways. By connecting classroom learning to real-world applications, the program fostered confidence, curiosity and a sense of possibility for students across Humble ISD.
LHMS & WMS at Space Center Houston's Girls STEM Pathway by Jessica Rivera