Inspiration
We were inspired by the NASA API, which made us consider space in the realms of education. From here, we decided to focus on developing a tool that would be useful in the classroom, for teachers to make content more interactive. This, we realized, would also be the perfect platform to promote the NorCal STEM Education Foundation, as a means to garner interest in heightened involvement in STEM. Although we did not ultimately integrate the NASA API, this is an improvement we would like to make, to have the background images load differently each time by pulling randomly from their archives.
What it does
The website we created currently allows students to navigate from decade to decade, reading about significant contributions and achievements in space exploration. Additionally, there is media, both videos and photos, featured for each event. We would like to make this even more interactive by enlarging the images on a click, to open up a larger gallery which students could scroll through, learning more from brief captions on each image.
How we built it
As a team, we collaborated to both generate content and implement and stylize it using HTML and CSS. We obtained our domain from NameCheap, and used Github to track our coding progress. We put an emphasis on creating an engaging visual experience, then moved to making it more interactive, by implementing a fixed navigation bar and embedding videos.
Challenges we ran into
Since we have little experience with Javascript, it was very difficult to implement some of our more creative ideas to add dimension to the website experience. For example, we struggled with implementing a smooth scroll when using links in the navigation bar, and also with implementing moving graphics that would be more reminiscent of a timeline. We imagined that the navigation bar would have graphics, including a timeline with markers at each decade and a small rocket to show your progress, but were not able to bring these ideas to full fruition.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We are proud that we were able to populate several events on our timeline, and also create a smooth experience for website visitors. As this was a first project for our team, producing a product which could be useful and shows room for growth was a strong achievement.
What we learned
Our less experienced members were able to improve their HTML and CSS skills, and we also were exposed to new W3 methods. Mainly, we learned to orient ourselves within the Hackathon, and see an idea from brainstorming through to implementation.
What's next for Ace the Space Race
We would first like to improve the interactive features on the website. This would include being able to open up photo galleries, and the addition of more events. Also, we would like to implement Amazon Alexa features which would further the potential for interactivity. Finally, we think it may be interesting to expand into an app and add some gaming element, but we have not thoroughly explored this idea.
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