March 28, 2024

Great Mills Is 2nd at National Space Challenge

National Space Challenge
GMHS’ StellarXplorer team, Tahsin Machine, receives a ceremonial check during the National Championship Award Ceremony in Colorado Springs on April 13, 2019. Pictured from left are Finnegan O’Neill, Clayton Crownover, Josh Hoffman, Bradley Wohlfarth, Nick Zhou, and Alex Motamed. Not shown is coach and mentor Allen Skinner.

The Patuxent Partnership is helping to publicize the great success of Great Mills High School students at the National Space Challenge.

Great Mills High School placed second at the National StellarXplorers Championship in Colorado Springs in April. For the second year in a row, the school participated in the StellarXplorer competition, and for a second year they were able to advance to the national stage and win big. In its first season (2017-2018), the team won the championship … and more than $3,000 in scholarships for each student on the team.

Similar to CyberPatriot, the StellarXplorer program was created and produced by the Air Force Association and features an exciting, space-focused competition that utilizes professional tools to address real-world problems. The program offers a hands-on, space design challenge that involves all aspects of space systems development and operation with a focus on spacecraft and payload.

The GMHS team, Tahsin Machine, was one of the 10 finalists and returned to Colorado Springs in April to defend its championship. Once again, the Great Mills team impressed the judges and earned second place, getting $2,000 in scholarships for each member of the team.

The Patuxent Partnership has sponsored the team since it formed in 2017.

“The success of the Great Mills High School team has been remarkable and demonstrates the high caliber of students in St. Mary’s County,” said Bonnie Green, TPP’s executive director. “Allen Skinner has done a great job cultivating interest and engagement in STEM activities within the school system. I look forward to seeing the growth of the StellarXplorer program within the region.”

For more information on the StellarXplorer program, visit the event’s website.

About The Patuxent Partnership

The Patuxent Partnership is a nonprofit member organization that fosters collaboration between government, industry, and academia to advance education through STEM-based initiatives; to advance technology through speaker programs, forums, and networking; to advance science and technology transfer through the exchange of ideas, information, and data related to technologies; and to increase workforce development through an array of initiatives. 

To learn more about The Patuxent Partnership and its programs, visit its Leader member page.

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