jan 1, 1957 - Sputnik was launched

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When Russia launched Sputnik it started the Space Race between the U.S. and Russia. This race affected schools significantly. It caused the NDEA to be created which forced schools to focus on math, science, and foreign language to hopefully help with national defense. I think the space race is what sparked the idea of STEM today. At the time of the Space Race focusing on math and science helped create scientists to beat the Russians but the focus on math and science lead to STEM. Today STEM is a significant part of schooling and helps many students reach their full potential.

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