Sally Ride Science at UC San Diego

High schoolers can explore STEM education in a summer learning lab at Sally Ride Science Academy – and it's ! In “STEM Design Team Academy – Student Fellows,” teens will hear from a STEM professional on real-world environmental challenges and then work with credentialed educators to design daily STEM lesson plans. Registration deadline is June 29 for the program, offered through a partnership between UC San Diego Extended Studies, UC San Diego Pre-College Programs and San Diego County Office of Education: https://buff.ly/CFxZLtf

Sally Ride posed with crewmates during NASA mission STS-7, from June 18-24, 1983, which made her the first American woman in space. In this scene aboard shuttle Challenger, Ride is holding a bag of jelly beans that President Ronald Reagan sent along on the flight. After the mission, the crew gave Reagan a small package of the jelly beans that had flown in space. https://buff.ly/Ym99C5N NASA photo

On June 21, 2003, Sally Ride was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Applauding Ride was retired astronaut James Lovell, commander of Apollo 13. Seated, from left, were Gordon Cooper, Scott Carpenter and Buzz Aldrin, all previously inducted into the Hall of Fame. https://buff.ly/9U2tCsl NASA photo

Join the movement toward small, sustainable dwellings in “Tiny Houses,” a summer workshop during Sally Ride Science Academy. Students in grades 4-5 will learn about the architecture of tiny houses and then create their own tiny-house design. The academy offers inspiring STEAM workshops for grades K-12. Register for workshops, offered through UC San Diego Pre-College Programs and UC San Diego Extended Studies, by June 29: https://buff.ly/QIuQYYD

Forty-three years ago, on June 18, 1983, Sally Ride blasted off aboard shuttle Challenger to become the first American woman in space. Ride, who was 32, was also the youngest NASA astronaut to have flown in space. She is shown heading for the launch pad walking next to STS-7 mission Commander Robert Crippen. Behind them are crew members Norm Thagard, John Fabian and Frederick Hauck. https://buff.ly/315nQe2 NASA photo

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association - ITA has announced that Abigail Williams from The College of Wooster is the winner of the 2026 ITA Sally Ride STEM Award, now in its fifth year. The $8,000 award was endowed by Sally Ride’s life partner, Tam O’Shaughnessy, to assist a female college tennis player who plans to pursue graduate studies in a STEM field. Ride played tennis at Stanford before earning her doctorate in physics and becoming the first American woman in space.

Williams, who recently graduated from Wooster with a degree in biochemistry and molecular biology, plans to pursue her doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania in preparation for a career in vaccinology. Learn more: https://buff.ly/fLG2dgR

There's still time to enroll in summer's Sally Ride Science Academy, coming in July! Workshops for kindergarten through high school are designed to inspire creativity, confidence and discovery. In "The Making of a Super Hero," kids in grades 2-3 will look at the concept of the hero in literature, TV shows, graphic novels and movies. Enrollment deadline is June 29; go to link in bio to see the schedule of workshops, offered through UC San Diego Extended Studies: https://buff.ly/QIuQYYD

in 1963, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space when she launched aboard Vostok 6. It would be 20 years before NASA followed suit by sending Sally Ride into space. Tereshkova is 89 now and has received many honors, but she never flew in space again. https://buff.ly/315nQe2

On June 15, 1983, Sally Ride sat in the copilot seat of a T-38 jet getting ready to fly from Houston to NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the launch of shuttle Challenger three days later. The launch of mission STS-7 made her the first American woman in space. Learn about the impact of Ride's historic flight: https://buff.ly/315nQe2 NASA photo

Sally Ride’s parents, Dale and Joyce, were on hand to celebrate her graduation from Stanford University in June 1973. Ride majored in English and physics. She continued on at Stanford to earn her master’s degree and doctorate in physics before joining NASA and becoming America’s first woman in space. In 2019 Stanford renamed a residence hall in Ride's honor. https://buff.ly/v2yDjT5