2025 Aerospace Day Welcomes Over 110 Students and Parents to the Department of Aerospace Engineering
U-M Chapter of AIAA organizations the department’s biggest annual outreach event
On Saturday, April 12, the University of Michigan chapter of AIAA welcomed over 110 students and parents to the Department of Aerospace Engineering for the annual Aerospace Day outreach event. While working together with other labs and student organizations from around the U-M College of Engineering, the student groups showcased a variety of fun activities for the roughly 60 K-12 students in attendance.
Aerospace Day at the University of Michigan has become one of the department’s biggest outreach efforts, bringing in young students from across Michigan and introducing them to aerospace and STEM. During the day-long event, the U-M labs and student organizations engaged with the young students in interactive activities such as building hoop gliders or learning the basics of rocketry and bioastronautics trivia. In addition to the engaging projects the students participated in, Professor Veera Sundararaghavan started the day off as a guest speaker, highlighting what his role within the Department of Aerospace Engineering is, how he joined U-M and offering advice for all of the kids in attendance.
The event also hosted eight student organizations, each showcasing their ongoing projects and initiatives, and the diverse range of opportunities available within the university. A few of the other student teams that participated include: Bioastronautics and Life Support Systems (BLiSS), Black Students in Aerospace (BSA), Collaborative Lab for Advancing Work in Space (CLAWS), Michigan Aeronautical Science Association (MASA), M-Fly, Plasmadynamics & Electric Propulsion Laboratory (PEPL) , Sigma Gamma Tau (SGT), Women in Aeronautics and Astronautics (WAA), and Women in Aeronautics and Astronautics Rocketry Program (WAARP).
We would like to give a special thank you to all of the volunteers who helped throughout the day, as well as the U-M AIAA students who ensure this annual event continues to inspire and encore the next generation of STEM leaders.