Article Contributed on: 7/3/2007 1:13:58 PM
I am up early and arrive at the airport way before my flight leaves. I am filled with the excitement of anticipation. I am going to Space Camp.
On the plane, I sit next to a boy of 14 years who is also going to Space Camp. Although more than 20 years separates us by age, for this week we are the same. At the airport in Huntsville, I get to know some of the other teachers who were on my flight, a Canadian who is a fanatic about space exploration, complete with a tattoo of the Space Shuttle, and others from around the USA with their own stories to tell.
All in all there are 256 of us in Huntsville during a two week period, from 23 countries and 46 states. We are all teachers of math and/or science. We are from various backgrounds, specialties, and life experiences. We are different, but we all shared a common interest... a desire to know more about Space Exploration. A desire to do what more than half a million kids have done in the last 25 years, attend Space Camp.
Honeywell decided a few years ago that it needed to do something to get students interested in math, science, engineering, and the computer sciences. They put together a scholarship for teachers to attend the Space Camp at the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Out of the 1,000 applications this year, they selected 256 teachers to attend, and I am one of them. It is a great honor. I count myself extremely lucky to be here.
My week begins with a grouping activity. My group is called "Destiny" and we are 15 strong. In our group there are teachers from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Canada, and many different states. We spend the entire week together doing our astronaut simulations, shuttle missions, and participating in the classroom activities that we can take back and use with our students. We have a lot of fun, share ideas, and form friendships that will last a lifetime.
As I sit there in the lecture hall listening to
Story Musgrave, a NASA veteran astronaut who commanded the Shuttle mission that repaired the Hubble telescope, I am struck with jealousy. I cannot help but think to myself, "This man is a member of one of the most elite groups, astronauts. He has been in space." I am suddenly both envious and proud of our next Astronaut Educator,
Barbara Morgan, a teacher who will be a mission specialist on the shuttle mission that launches August 7th.
The excitement about space exploration is infectious here at the US Space and Rocket Center. My interest in the history of NASA as well as for the future of our missions in space is piqued. I am not one who has spent his entire life in love with the idea of being in space. But I will leave here with the desire to know more, and to stay informed about what man is doing to reach farther and discover all that we can about the universe. I realize that the idea of exploration is at man's core, that we cannot (and should not) be content to exist in any boundaries, whether figurative or literal. That is what separates us from all other life here on earth, the need to explore and find out what is beyond.
My group does two "missions" while we are at Space Camp. I get to be a pilot on the Shuttle for one and a mission specialist on the International Space Station for the other mission. These missions are done in intricate simulators that give you the feeling that you are really aboard the shuttle or the space station. I come away from the "missions" with a healthy respect for the hard work that goes into a NASA mission. I fully realize why the astronauts must train for years for a mission.
I am strapped into a 1/6 gravity seat and the excitement is running wild. I am going to experience what the Apollo astronauts felt as they traversed the moon. As I begin the "walk", I quickly realize that movement is not easy. In fact, it is quite difficult. Every minute force that I apply has an exaggerated effect on my direction and speed. It is a challenging and enlightening simulation.
The Space Camp for Educators is not all simulations and missions. We attend classes on history of space travel, future missions, and we do activities that are designed to easily take back and use in our classrooms. I can see the wheels turning in the minds of my fellow educators throughout the week as they plan a unit they will do with their students, and I know that this is money well spent by Honeywell. They are investing in the future.
It is the last day, and while I am excited to get back and start planning units to do in my classroom, I am also sad that this time is over. I have made some great friends from all over the world. I am part of an elite group, Space Camp graduates. While not quite as elite as being an astronaut, for us it is no less meaningful. We are now charged with taking this experience and sharing it with our students and peers. And we are ready!
As I sit here at the computer typing this recollection, I look to the blue flight suit and to the photo of my group "Destiny". I long for the chance to go back next summer for two weeks and attend the Advanced Camp.
Brett Boyles will be teaching science at Options High School this fall.