That is not what you’d normally associate with flyover country. It is always assumed that schools have the money to implement the stuff NASA posts on its websites. In my 30 years of working for and/or watching NASA I feel that NASA aims virtually all of itself in terms of education and public outreach as if it is only talking to the the non-Walmart parts of the country – where people have a high technical expertise, easy Internet access, vote in urban trends, and have the income to pursue careers in exciting areas such as space exploration. I am going to generalize and will get in trouble for doing so. But NASA focuses on communities where the big buildings are schools. Often in Walmart America the largest building is a Walmart – and you have to drive for many miles to reach it. But here in non-Walmart America when you ask someone to name the largest building in their city or town people talk about lots of universities, arenas, skyscrapers, factories, etc. And NASA is historically a prime magnet for such ambitions. Yet I would submit that while both Walmart and non-Walmart Americas have different business and educational mixes, their residents both share an equal capacity and desire to learn – and explore. In the the other “Walmart” America the focus is more on retail and service economy. With that is a prerequisite focus on technical and scientific skills. In one America (“non-Walmart America”) education, medical, and high-end manufacturing jobs lead the local economy. In many ways there are “Two Americas” but not the ones you normally think about. And certain skilled portions of the labor market pay better than others. It goes without saying that more income usually means more opportunities for people. Households revolve around income – where it comes from – and where it ends up being spent. I always found them – and they were always near big Walmart box stores. at random looking for towns in flyover country that might have foreclosed buildings that could become Challenger Centers. I used to amuse myself by using Google Earth and its street view function to roam the U.S. We were always trying to understand where the underserved education markets were. I used to be on the board of Directors of the Challenger Center for Space Science Education. In my mind there is some overlap between the flyover country meme and what I consider to be a chronically underserved portion of America’s population when it comes to NASA outreach. You’ve all heard me rant about how I think NASA needs to readjust its education and public outreach efforts so as to reach the large sectors of America that do not usually get NASA’s attention. In 2016 people talked about “flyover country” without giving it too much thought as to what it meant other than that’s where Trump voters and/or Hillary haters lived. Tonight I came across another graphic on Facebook. I have had 3 publication requests to reuse my graphic. population that was not alive when humans landed on the moon. Keith’s note: Several weeks ago I posted “ Doing Something Again For The First Time” which focused on the sector of the U.S.
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