Astronauts have a unique perspective, orbiting Earth every 92 minutes. They see the amazing diversity of Earth: continents, mountains, oceans, forests, deserts, clouds, rivers, volcanoes, islands, aurora – the whole panoply of our wonderful planet. They see the even more amazing diversity of the human presence on the planet: so many different types of cities reflecting culture, history and topography, agriculture adapted to regional resources, roads that connect us all, ships carrying such a mix of goods across the oceans, even the rich diversity of ways humanity uses the International Space Station to enhance our lives.

That is a powerful message:  from space, the astronauts see not just that we’re one planet, but that our planet is astonishingly diverse!  If we can convey this message about Earth, we can similarly show the power of diversity in our communities, schools, nations – everywhere we live.

Diversity enriches our lives, provides alternative perspectives, enables innovation, and helps each of us value our own role in that diversity. This is an especially important message for impressionable students, who need to see real examples of the power of diversity all around them. Understanding and celebrating diversity is vital for all of us. Space provides a compelling venue for illustrating that message.

This project uses that theme, “Celebrating Diversity from Space”, as the backbone of an educational program for middle school students. This program explored diversity at three levels:  1) diversity of the ASTRONAUTS as crew of the International Space Station; 2) Earth’s GLOBAL diversity in terms of the physical features and human geography of planet Earth and 3) Communities’ LOCAL diversity among the students, communities and life experiences of the participants.

All three realms have the common theme – that diversity is an essential element of success. This program emphasized hands-on and inquiry-based learning, visual imagery, active and engaging discussions, and interesting challenges to drive the learning. We focused on middle school age youth as a pivotal age for sparking interests, personal growth and building healthy inter-personal relations – all in the context of Celebrating Diversity from Space.