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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- A grand opening celebration is set for Wednesday, August 26, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the new Jack Swigert Aerospace Academy, 4220 E. Pikes Peak Ave.

The aerospace-themed middle schools was created through a partnership between Colorado Springs School District 11 and the Space Foundation.

The school opened August 18 with more than 500 students and on-site support from the Space Foundation education team. The space-related curriculum is designed to drive proficiency in science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM).

Colorado Springs School District 11 (D-11) and the Space Foundation signed an agreement this summer to create the Jack Swigert Aerospace Academy in the former Emerson Middle School building. Space Foundation education personnel will be on-site to provide support and enhanced professional development for Swigert Academy teachers.

The academy will align with Mitchell High School, where District 11 plans to create aerospace career pathways. Later this school year, the Space Foundation Discovery Institute, a national space-based educational center, will open on the Swigert Academy campus.

 The Jack Swigert Aerospace Academy is named in honor of Colorado native and astronaut John L. “Jack” Swigert, who served on NASA’s Apollo 7 and Apollo 13 missions. Swigert’s death from bone cancer in 1982 shortly after being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives inspired the creation of the Colorado Springs-based Space Foundation.