Travis Scott brought together beats and blueprints in Houston, where his Cactus Jack Foundation teamed with Space Center Houston to spotlight student innovations from a new STEM incubator program.

The event marked the finale of an eight-week engineering curriculum that paired Houston Independent School District students with NASA engineers.

The program, hosted alternately at the Cact.Us Design Center and Space Center Houston, provided students with hands-on experience in design, coding, and fabrication.

The young innovators presented their final projects, including a lunar water filtration system, a moon rover, and a food-preserving habitat structure, to Scott and retired NASA astronaut Megan McArthur, who now serves as Space Center Houston’s Chief Science Officer.

The collaboration between the Cactus Jack Foundation and Space Center Houston launched a year-round initiative to nurture the next generation of engineers and designers. Students worked in teams through every phase of the engineering process, from brainstorming and prototyping to testing and refining.

The Cactus Jack Foundation, founded by Scott, continues to focus on expanding educational access for underserved youth. According to its mission, the foundation is “committed to extending educational opportunities to all, regardless of their circumstances to achieve their dreams.”

The CACT.US Design Center, housed at TXRX Labs in Houston, opened in 2021 and serves as a design school for middle and high school students. Programs include a sneaker lab powered by Nike and a fashion curriculum developed with the Fashion Scholarship Fund.

Space Center Houston, the official visitor center of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, attracts more than 1.3 million visitors annually and plays a key role in STEM education throughout the region.

The nonprofit generates an estimated $240 million in economic impact for the Greater Houston area each year.