Space Camp 2018

I had the opportunity to go with LRCA's 5th and 6th graders to Space Camp in Huntsville, AL.  I actually did this myself when I was in 5th grade and was glad to get a chance do a repeat.  I will be the first to say that it is quite different going as a parent instead of as a student, especially when riding a chartered bus full of 11-13 year olds.  We did have a few bumps along the way that included one child throwing up less then thirty minutes from Little Rock on our way out of town, but thankfully it was an isolated event.   Phew!

We left at 5:30 am and arrived at Space Camp by 11:30.  We unloaded our bags and reloaded the buses to head for lunch and then start our space camp -Pathfinder- experience.  We learned a lot about Space History and the Space Station.  They really do try to make it as fun as possible and the kids really did seem to enjoy it.  The group of kids I was chaperoning was called Capella and they were such a great bunch to be with.

We learned a ton of information about the Apollo and Mercury programs.  I wish I could have absorbed it all but I did learn a few fun facts, like did you know that there were two squirrel monkeys  named Miss Able and Miss Baker who were first launched into space and successfully made their way home in 1959?  Miss Baker actually lived in the museum at Space Camp until a few years ago when she passed away.  (Below is a blurry picture but this is what poor Miss Able and Miss Baker traveled to space in...this is not my idea of a good time!)

Here we were listening to Shanka as he told us about space history and the Mercury missions.

There were simulators to try out.

They were all thumbs up when asked about their experience.

We had the opportunity to build our very own rockets that actually were built with an engine and were launched the next day.

Below is a replica of the International Space Station.  I learned some fun facts about it as well, it orbits the earth 91 times per hour as it is traveling at a speed of 17,500 mph---that's moving fast!  It's located approximately 250 miles above the earth's surface and can be reached by a space shuttle within 6 hours!  It is a collaborative effort of the US, Russia, Europe and a group of 11 other countries.  It's as long as a football field and on earth would way 1 million pounds but in space weighs only 1 pound.

Our kids participated in a "mission" equipped with a mission control, astronauts who built a structure in "space", as well as scientists performing experiments in the space station.  The kids had a great time acting out their roles.  Below are the astronauts of Team Capella.

The cutest scientists on the space station.

And finally Capella's mission control team.

The Smithsonian Museum helped to create the new museum at Space Camp which was so well done. Here is the Apollo 16 Module.

Team Capella 

I enjoyed being with Peyton and getting to know some of the 5th grade boys and girls while on this trip.

The last day the weather got warm enough for the kids to ride G-Force and the Gravity Ride.

Our crew leaders kept us hopping from morning until night.  We walked between 17,000 and 18,000 steps each day, so we were on the move quite a bit.  After the simulators, rocket ships, rock climbing wall, museum tours and a team competition to see who could recall the most space information, we finally made it to graduation!  Here's what our crew of 100 students looked like.  They were a great group of kids who were respectful and for the most part, lovely to be around!  I'm so glad that Peyton had the opportunity to go on this trip!