Look Back: Year 9. Promise and Uncertainty

2021-2022 was an extraordinary period for Magnitude.io filled with both promise and uncertainty. While the pandemic was raging, our work continued on. Great partners helped us redefine what these moments meant for learners around the world. ExoLab-9 launched aboard the SpaceX-23 cargo resupply spacecraft on 29 August 2021 along with 2,200 kg of payload to the International Space Station. ExoLab-9 carried Trifolium pratense (red clover) with the nitrogen-fixing bacteria Rhizobia leguminosarum for the second time…

So Fun Scholarship 2024 [Look Back: Year 10]

In honor of our co-founder, I am pleased to announce the 2024 So Fun Scholarship will open on 21 June.  Last year we had applicants from 6 countries, with awardees across 3 age groups. The scholarship program is in memory of the inspirational work of education leader and co-founder of Magnitude.io, Tony Fun Tong So whose middle name was literally “Fun.” Three $500-awards will be granted this year. Awards will be given, one for each…

10^n

Welcome to a month-long celebration of our 10th anniversary! During the month of June we’ll reflect on our last 10 years, showcase some of our projects, announce some cool new initiatives, and collectively have a deep look toward the future. When Tony and I started Magnitude.io in the summer of 2013 our hope was to create a global experience. We’ve done this by bringing learning moments right to the edge of discovery. It took almost…

World Space Week – Day 6: ISS National Lab and Space Tango

Over the last few days we have been able to share just a few of our International partners and NGOs. None of this could be possible if we could not get our experiments to space! In addition to the launch vehicles (Cygnus, Dragon) required to get us there, today we’d like to express our gratitude to two institutions that without them, none of this would be a reality: The International Space Station National Laboratory, and…

World Space Week Day 5 with Magnitude.io – Germany and Sri Lanka

While our ExoLab missions exist in orbit 400 km above the planet, we study how to improve life here on Earth. This occurs in many different ways around the world, but it most often starts with teachers. Many partners have been with us for several years already. The unique partners we introduce today are CodeDoor with the Media Center for schools (M@US) in the Gießen-Vogelsberg region in Germany and Dreamspace Academy, a non-profit social enterprise…

World Space Week with Magnitude.io – Day 4: Senegal and South Africa

When Tony and I started Magnitude in 2013, we had no idea where it would go. We just knew we wanted to make a difference in the world through extraordinary learning moments. A few years later in 2017 our first mission to the International Space Station became a reality (yet even today I still have no idea where it will go)! What I do know is that we could not possibly do the things we…

World Space Week – Day #3: Kenya and Morocco

A newly planted tree whip will not bear fruit immediately. It must be given ample water, light, and good soil. The young tree must also be given time to grow and mature. So too with the young minds and knowledge. A constant source of insight and inspiration for Magnitude.io comes from our NGO partners. They too understand that education often feels like planting young trees. The partners we would like to celebrate today are Zaidi-STEM…

World Space Week with Magnitude.io – Day 2!

After 9 missions to space, Magnitude.io has engaged schools, science centers, libraries, and museums around the world. World Space Week is a wonderful opportunity for us to share and celebrate the amazing work of our partner organizations as co-create experiences not just today, but for the future that is just over the horizon. For Day #2, we’d like to share the interconnected partnerships established in New South Wales, Australia and the Greater Sydney Area.  …

World Space Week with Magnitude.io

Join Magnitude.io from October 4-10 as we celebrate the on-going work of our partners and NGOs through World Space Week! With this year’s theme of sustainability, we will introduce some of our partners and the work they are doing in preparation for our next mission, ExoLab-10: Carbon Farmer. (You still have two weeks to join us!) Opportunities For Youth in Africa (OYA) For the first day of World Space Week 2022 we’re showcasing Opportunities for…

So Fun Scholarship Awardees

We are awestruck and inspired by the Tony So Fun Scholarship applications from students all around the world! It was a pleasure to read through all of the applications, and really tough making the decisions. We encourage all students to continue to strive toward their goals of the world they imagine. One award was planned to be given for each age category of applicants: ages 13-15, ages 16-18, and ages 19-21. To apply, students had…