ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill., Sept. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Twenty-two middle school teachers from across the Greater Chicago area took advantage of the unique opportunity to participate in hands-on activities, listen to best-practice demonstrations and talk to industry experts during Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE: NOC) annual Teachers and Engineers for Academic Achievement (TEAACH) program.

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"I am telling everyone that I come in contact with about this awesome program," said Pandora Bryant, a teacher in the Chicago Public School System. "I am grateful that Northrop Grumman allowed me - and essentially my students - to be a part of this program."

The TEAACH program was created to acquaint educators with various engineering disciplines in a high-tech environment and promote engineering as a challenging, multidimensional and exciting career choice. By introducing participants to demonstrations, experiments and classroom applications, it provides local teachers with a variety of tools to stimulate students' interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) technologies and careers.

"It is so important to incorporate STEM-related topics into the lives of children early on," said Jeffery Q. Palombo, vice president and general manager, Land and Self Protection Systems Division, Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems. "Educating the teachers and giving them the tools to teach these concepts helps get students excited and keeps them interested in exploring these topics."

During this year's program, teachers participated in hands-on activities such as: teaching the order in which a code needs to be entered into a computer by giving oral directions; making a miniature car out of household materials and seeing how far it can go using just a rubber band as its acceleration; building a miniature boat out of household materials and seeing how many pennies they can add before it sinks; and seeing how they can make an inflated balloon go in a straight line when the air is let out of it.

The group also heard from various Northrop Grumman engineering experts on a variety of topics including a business overview covering the current state of engineering, a typical day in the life of an engineer and how to encourage girls to embrace STEM fields. Participants also were given tours of some of the company's production and test areas.

For more information on Northrop Grumman's TEAACH program, please visit www.northropgrumman.com/CorporateResponsibility/Community/Pages/Teaach.aspx.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems, cyber, C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit www.northropgrumman.com for more information.

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SOURCE Northrop Grumman Corporation