A pilot program was developed for middle school (grades 6-8) educators and students to apply NASA real-world problems to classroom concepts through the use of digital badges, as part of NASA Langley Research Center's (LaRC) Centennial Celebration. Three sets of digital badges were developed on three of NASA's main missions: Earth Science, Aeronautics, and Journey to Mars. Each digital badge offers a total of 5 hours of professional development for educators and 2 hours of activities for students. These digital badges have introduced educators to NASA Langley Research Center's missions and 100th anniversary. Online discussion sessions, a requirement for these badges, has attracted educators new to the digital badge concepts. The LaRC Centennial badges provide a forum through which educators can learn about this new format of professional development. Educators report that these badges are worth their time and effort as part of their professional development. LaRC looks forward to building new badges in the future to expand beyond middle school and reach across the K-12 continuum.