Apollo Gilruth Continuum Award For Academic Excellence Recipients Named For 2018

Published In Midwest Flyer – August/September 2018 issue

DULUTH, MINN. – The top Gilruth Continuum aviation science students – Siri Pilate, Gina Udd, Lyvia Lyons, and Ellie Stumme – received the Apollo-Gilruth Continuum Award for academic excellence in the 2018 school year from the Duluth Aviation Institute, Sky Harbor Airport.

The Duluth Aviation Institute supported the 6th grade science teachers with curriculum and classroom kits for the two-month aviation science unit this past school season. The recipients excelled in all curriculum aero-activities, extra credit projects, and in the post-test.

The top 15% of the students who excelled throughout the program were rewarded with the Kundel First Flight Event at Lake Superior College Center for Advance Aviation on May 12th. These top students received a Young Eagles flight at Duluth International Airport.

In collaboration with the school districts, the Duluth Aviation Institute has been bringing aviation into the classrooms since 2010 and is currently presenting the Gilruth Continuum program at Ordean East, Lincoln Park, and Marshall School in Duluth and Jedlicka Middle School in Proctor. During the 2017-18 school season, classroom science teachers, Sandy Pearson, Peter Froehlingsdorf, Tanya Jackson, Josh Gookins, William Benson, Deb Showalter, and Dave Johnson, presented the Gilruth Continuum aviation science unit to 850 sixth grade students.

Creating partnerships for success, the Duluth Aviation Institute called upon EAA Duluth-Superior Chapter 272 and Lake Superior College Center for Advance Aviation to assist with the EAA Young Eagle flights.

Without financial support, this unique opportunity could not have happened. The Monaco Family Charitable Fund, Perkins Foundation, and Lark O’ the Lake Café saw the need and provided substantial financial support to the institute, but additional funds are required to support the institute’s vision. Persons who share their passion for aviation and STEM education are encouraged to send a donation to: Duluth Aviation Institute, Hangar 10, Sky Harbor Airport, 5000 Minnesota Avenue, Duluth, MN 55802.

The Duluth Aviation Institute’s vision is community inspired and enriched by the art and science of aviation. Robert Gilruth, Father of Human Space Flight and child citizen of Duluth, was inspired in his youth to become an aeronautical engineer resulting in great contributions to the world. As the first director of the Johnson Space Center, Robert Gilruth led the national effort to achieve the objective of “landing man on the moon and bringing them safely back to earth.”

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