Many months ago, I received an invitation, “So you wanna go to Space Camp?" and through the power of social media, it happened. Thanks to some awesome teachers from ascross the nation it became a reality. We will be in Huntsville, Alabama this weekend, enjoying a 3-day Pathfinder program. Tomorrow morning we’re visiting the Educator Resource Center and then checking in at Space Camp. I’m looking forward to a fun weekend with fellow educators who share a passion for teaching, learning, and are about to be inspired by SPACE CAMP.
After my fabulous class encouraged me to take advantage of this opportunity and not to worry about them. I set off on this dream. I packed their well wishes and my Space Camp Manuel (along with my Space Shoes of course!) got up at 3a.m. for the long plane ride there.
Krissy, our organizer composed this poem..
Twas the night before Space Camp, and all through Huntsville,
the teachers were arriving and ready for thrills…
The rockets were glowing in the darkness of night,
waiting for a few more to arrive on their flight.
With flight suits prepared and cameras charged for the day,
we tried to sleep but there was no way…
When out of the moon, there arose such a clatter,
one small step for man, it was an inspiring matter…
The footprints still there, deep in the dust,
to remind us all that STEM is a must…
So you’ll hear us all say, as its not just a whim,
our goal with our kids is inspiring them.
And we’ll all exclaim as we fly out of sight,
‘Happy Space Camp to all, and to all a good flight!’
Huntsville which sprawls at the foot of a mountain in North Alabama Huntsville's tourist attractions reflect the heritage of Alabama's first English-speaking city, the strife of the American Civil War and the accomplishments of America's rocket scientists.
The city is nicknamed "The Rocket City" for its close history with U.S. space missions. Huntsville has been important in developing space technology since the 1950s.
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| View from the road--AMAZING! |
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| It is not the Hilton but the Habitat dorm facility. |
Next, we checked into our dorm, Habitat and I claimed my bunk, the top one of course!
The dorm was small, and the mattress was not very comfortable, but I was ready for the adventure!
Upon arrival I got my goodies!
Met my crew -remember we are from all over the country, so it was important to bond and trust each other! 
We set out to Area 51 Boot Camp and conducted team building. One of our tasks was to move island to island with just two boards which could not touch the water. The islands were very small. All 12 of us had to fit on a small slab of concrete. The middle island could only have two people who could not talk. We had to problem solve and move all of us to the third island. My small flexible and strong frame helped us accomplish this mission. Team building will help us when we set off for our mission in space.
The next day we conducted our STEM activities. The purpose for our trip is to inspire our students to learn about space and science and engineering. We designed a protective shield to help protect our "egonauts". Mine was named Sally Ride. She ended up unscathed because of the materials we used to help protect her.
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| Our egonauts--all but one survived not being cooked! |
Another activity we did was to build rockets. We decorated them and took them to a launch pad that was the coolest!!
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| The launching pad We also did some water purification experiments. |
Another highlight was at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. Home to Space Camp® and Aviation Challenge® Camp, the U.S. Space & Rocket Center (USSRC) is the most comprehensive U.S. manned spaceflight hardware museum in the world. Its large rocket and space hardware collection is valued in the tens of millions of dollars. From America’s first satellite, Explorer I, to next generation space vehicles like Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser, the museum showcases the past, present and future of human spaceflight. The U.S. Space & Rocket Center serves as the Official NASA Visitor Center for Marshall Space Flight Center and is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.
Notable Artifacts
- National Historic Landmark Saturn V Moon Rocket
- Pathfinder – the world’s only full-stack space shuttle display
- Apollo 16 Command Module
- Skylab Orbital Workshop
- Apollo 12 Moon Rock
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| The toliet |
Time to train and be on a mission!
The fun begins. I was able to experience astronaut simulators to further prepare for my mission. The MAT or multi axis trainer helps prepare astronauts recreate the feeling of being in space. The Multi Axis Trainer simulates the disorientation one would feel in a tumble spin during reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere. The MAT is patterned after the MASTIF ( Multiple-Axis Spin/Space Test Inertia Facility), a series of cages within cages, used for astronaut training during the Mercury program. The astronauts used this to condition themselves for disorientation that might occur in emergency conditions during flight.
Click on the link to see See your teacher spin round and round and upside down!
1/6TH Gravity Chair-This simulator is designed to simulate the Moon's gravitational pull which is 1/6th that of the Earth. The Apollo astronauts used one like this for their moon walk training..
The final day we were assigned our mission ! Mission Specialist on Rising Star orbiter. Hydroponic specialist. Experimented with plant specimens as well as observations of an ant colony. I also was part of the exterior recovery team. An old orbiter, Luna needed repairs and we set out to bring it up to speed and returned with Orion the capsule. this was all done on the moon!
Graduate of the Space Academy
Commander Bumblebee
Mission Accomplished!
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