The U.S. Space & Rocket Center has been selected to receive a $1 million grant from Blue Origin’s Club for the Future. The donation will support Space Camp and its museum operations, the center said in a news release.

“Our recent auction for the first seat on New Shepard resulted in a donation of $28 million to our non-profit foundation, Club for the Future,” said Bob Smith, Blue Origin CEO. “This donation is enabling Club for the Future to rapidly expand its reach by partnering with 19 organizations to develop and inspire the next generation of space professionals.

“Our generation will build the road to space and these efforts will ensure the next generation is ready to go even further.”

Club for the Future is a nonprofit foundation whose mission is to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM and to help invent the future of life in space. The club and its collaborators are doing this through Postcards to Space, space-focused curriculum, and access to space on Blue Origin’s rockets.

“We are extremely grateful for this donation that will help us move forward on the critical work we do in inspiring the next generation STEM workforce,” said Dr. Kimberly Robinson, executive director and CEO of the Rocket Center. “As a leader in the new era of space exploration, Blue Origin is breaking boundaries for space flight. We are honored to partner with them by actively participating in the Club for the Future’s Postcards to Space program and look forward to further collaborations as Blue expands its role in our community and on our campus.

“We will also be cheering as Space Camp Hall of Fame member Wally Funk embarks aboard New Shepard’s first human flight along with Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos next week.”

Funk, a member of the Mercury 13, attended Adult Space Academy twice and was inducted into the Space Camp Hall of Fame in 2019.

For more information visit, ClubforFuture.org

About Blue Origin