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Partnership builds on decade-long relationship with 4-H to inspire young people's interest in STEM through engaging, high quality educational content

GERMANTOWN, Md., Nov. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Hughes Network Systems, LLC, an EchoStar company (Nasdaq: SATS), today announced a partnership with National 4-H to provide local 4-H, Boys & Girls Clubs, Inc, and YMCA locations based in rural and underserved communities throughout America with STEM Challenge kits. These STEM Challenge kits include innovative hands-on STEM activities for youth looking to expand their knowledge beyond traditional STEM education.

"Hughesnet is committed to serving rural America," said Peter Gulla, senior vice president, Hughes. "Beyond internet connectivity, we're proud to support 4-H and especially their work providing quality STEM education."

The 2024 STEM Challenge kit, Food for Thought, teaches kids about food security in fun ways as they use science, technology, engineering, and math to explore the world of food production and its supply chain. The kit uses three hands-on, engaging activities to teach kids ranging from 8 to 14 important STEM concepts and problem-solving skills in group settings:

• Food Fighters: This collaborative board game gamifies learning about the global food supply chain. Students work together to secure their town's food supply, making strategic decisions and building teamwork skills.
• Chew on This: This entrepreneurial challenge encourages students to think critically about food waste reduction. By brainstorming innovative uses for food scraps, students develop problem-solving and design thinking skills.
• Know to Grow: This hands-on engineering activity introduces students to plant science and controlled environment agriculture. Students design and build efficient growing environments, fostering an understanding of plant cultivation and its role in food security.

"4-H's 10-year partnership with Hughesnet has driven meaningful change for youth. We're excited to share 4-H's high quality STEM education learning kits with youth in our peer youth development network," said Jill Bramble, 4-H President and CEO. "Through interactive concepts like Food for Thought, 4-H is teaching valuable technical and essential life skills that help youth be confident in their ability to succeed and beyond ready to thrive in school, work and life." 

Since 2014, Hughesnet has worked with 4-H to help inspire young people's interest in STEM through engaging, high-quality educational content and STEM-focused initiatives. Together, Hughesnet® and 4-H launched a free online platform featuring interactive educational activities that young people can access from home. Hughesnet also helped 4-H pioneer the platform's first all-digital and immersive content experiences such as "How Do Satellites Communicate?," an augmented reality (AR) experience, and "Space Exploration," a two-part interactive "mission," to engage thousands of young people.

"Leading the way in providing high-speed internet to rural America, Hughesnet makes it possible for students to go online to connect, stream and play no matter where they live," Gulla continued. "We hope this exercise sparks curiosity and inspires the next generation of STEM leaders."

Learn more about Hughesnet by visiting www.hughesnet.com. Educators interested in purchasing the Food for Thought STEM Challenge Kit can place online orders at www.4-h.org/programs/stem-challenge/.

About Hughes

Hughes Network Systems, LLC, an EchoStar company (Nasdaq: SATS), provides broadband equipment and services; managed services featuring smart, software-defined networking; and end-to-end network operation for millions of consumers, businesses, governments, airlines, and communities worldwide. The Hughes flagship internet service, Hughesnet®, connects millions of people across the Americas, and the Hughes JUPITER™ System powers internet access for tens of millions more worldwide. Hughes supplies more than half the global satellite terminal market to leading satellite operators, mobile network operators and military customers. Hughes products and services have helped bring in-flight video and broadband to thousands of aircraft for over twenty years. A managed network services provider, Hughes supports approximately half a million enterprise sites with its portfolio of wired and wireless solutions including 5G Open RAN and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. To learn more, visit www.hughes.com/ or follow HughesConnects on X (Twitter) and LinkedIn.

©2024 Hughes Network Systems, LLC, an EchoStar company. Hughes and Hughesnet are registered trademarks and JUPITER is a trademark of Hughes Network Systems, LLC.

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SOURCE Hughes Network Systems, LLC