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Attending Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama
by Robert Balwinder
http://www.alabamah.com
Attending the Space Camp sponsored by NASA at Huntsville,
Alabama is every kids dream. It gives them the real life
experience of what it is like to be an astronaut. It
enriches their life with the most meaningful and interesting
experiences. Most of these one-week programs are combined
with other community programs, such as 4-H.
As expected, there is an age limit at the Space Camp in
Alabama with the full camp program being offered only to
kids of twelve and above. Many of the activities organized
at the camp are likely to be problematic for younger kids
and also, the kid needs to be old enough to stay for the
week away from home. However, some special programs are
offered at the center even for younger kids.
The programs and activities at Space Camp are such to
awaken creativity and curiosity. There are exercises in
designing a lunar colony, and classes and seminars about
the history of the space program. These classes include the
Soviet space program as well as the United States program.
Trips to the museum are also provided for an education
experience.
But the most fun in Space Camp is obviously not in sitting
in classes or visiting museums. What the kids love is that
they get to explore the inside of spacecrafts using life
size mock ups of space shuttles. The bunks in the quarters
are so life like that they could be on a space station or
colony, not someplace in Alabama. But the most exciting part
about Space Camp is the "astronaut training".
Space Camp attendees go through a sort of training. They
get to wear space suits to find out what they feel like.
They go in simulators to learn how to "fly" spacecraft
(like the shuttle). They ride in a centrifuge to feel the
pressure of gravity. And there are zero gravity simulations
that can help them understand the feeling of
weightlessness. And for added fun, there is a contraption
designed to help attendees understand what walking on the
moon feels like.
Once the training is complete all the Space Camp
participants are given the opportunity to run a simulated
mission. Everyone on board the ship is assigned a specific
role such as that of a pilot, or a payload specialist to
play in completing the mission successfully. Special
attention is paid to sequencing and time because these
elements are important in real space missions. If you make a
mistake, your simulator shakes you around and you know what
it is like to crash and burn.
Depending on how much time you have, you may get to run the
mission more than once. Thus you may be able to play
different roles. This way you not only have fun but also
learn more about the space program by doing more.
Space Camp is an effective and fun way to spark an interest
in space and in science. Kids go through a practical program
in a learning atmosphere that transports them far away from
its location in Huntsville, Alabama.
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