Space+Camp

Be sure to BLOG with Mrs. Ramm and your classmates to learn more and ask questions.



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Day 1: I had an early flight from RI, arriving in DC for a layover where I met my first Space Camp friend. We traveled to Huntsville, Alabama together, finally arriving a bit after 1:00. We immediately found two people dressed in blue “Space Camp” jumpsuits. After taking a quick photo and getting our luggage, we hopped on a bus that took about 45 people from the airport to our new homes for the week. We all lined up in the greeting area, where greeters met us to check us in and give us some goodies: backpacks, water bottles, t-shirts and (best of all!) our very own Blue Space Camp Jumpsuits! (I capitalized it because it must be that important!)

Day 2 Be sure to check out pictures from the day at our class Weebly site.

Today began slowly, as we were still missing about 35 participants. After having breakfast, we had some time to explore. Later in the day we met Dr. Don Thomas. He's a former astronaut who's been on several missions. He showed us some great pictures of preparing for missions. He also shared some interesting (and at times very funny) information about what it was like on the mission. Do you know that because they are weightless and move about the cabin effortlessly, they lose their muscle tone? They have to exercise for 2-4 hours a day just to stay in shape. He also showed us how he could gobble up a droplet of juice. Gravity causes them to become completely round and float in space just waiting to be sucked up! Brushing teeth can be fun too because you can leave the toothpaste and toothbrush to float while you push yourself away to swish with water! But truly the funniest thing he described was how astronauts have to use the bathroom...interesting!

Later in the day, we were able to hear Todd May, Program Manager for the Space Launch System. He described how early explorers helped to find the routes of travel for early commerce (importing and exporting) and how our lands and oceans are very similar to the sky. In the same way we built railroads and roads and have developed trade routes overseas across oceans, someday we will do the same in the vast sky. He envisioned recreational excursions to Mars and even Jupiter. Imagine that someday, you or your children will visit those planets in the same way you travel to Florida! Imagine YOU being the one to invent this mode of travel, fly it, or be the first to land! This is possible in your lifetime!

Our day was not as packed as it will be in the coming days, but our speakers were truly inspiring. I will post more pictures when I return home, but for now, please check out today's pictures.

Day 3 What an incredible day! Today was long and filled with the most amazing adventures! We began after breakfast with a group shot of our team: Tranquility. Then we headed over to Area 51 for some team building challenges. Our small group broke up into two smaller groups and my little group ("peanut butter") did different things from the "bacon" group. First, we had to move from one small island to two others. Sounds simple, right? Well, there were many rules we had to follow and if we broke a rule or fell off our island there was a penalty. For every penalty, our team lost valuable components (loss of limbs, speaking in questions only, saying things twice, having a parrot speak for you). We had two pieces of wood to help us across, and while they were both the same size, neither was big enough to get us across completely. We had to work as a team to get the entire team across from the first island to the next two. Only two people were allowed to be on the second island at a time and once they were there, they couldn't talk! Crazy and challenging. Well, we did it in the end. It taught me a bit more about myself, and it helped us all to communicate, respect, and be patient with our team members.

After that challenge, we had to get across "space" using only 6 blocks of wood. We had to tether each other and our materials (wood blocks) so that they didn't float away in space. I think we were definitely over-thinking that one, but again, it challenged us as a team. It's always interesting to explore group dynamics with challenges like this!

After lunch, we had two inquiry-based activities. The first one had us creating heat shields similar to the ones used on space crafts. They had to withstand heat (ours had to be held hear a torch for 3 minutes, protecting the egg on the other side from being cooked (or exploding!). We did it! I'll share some videos with you to show what it was like. Our second challenge has us constructing water filters. We had a budget and a choice of materials to use. The team that filtered the most water with the best pH level won...we did it! Our team really worked well together. We explored lots of options before choosing our materials, made good use of our data, and revised our plan often.

After our inquiries, we had the opportunity to create a patch for our Tranquility team. We got to see how and why the astronauts create patches for each of their missions. The significance of tiny details that might otherwise go unnoticed were brought to our attention. We tried to demonstrate some of that significance in our attempt, by highlighting the 5 different countries within our small team of 15 people, and also paying homage to Honeywell's 10 years of doing the Educators Space Academy. I have some pictures of our draft; be sure to check out today's slide show!

Our evening was "out of this world"! We got to explore and practice our roles for our first mission. I am the flight commander, which means that I supervise and coordinate for 2 people: CAPCOM and PROP. I am in charge of all capsule related events and have the final say in any anolmalies for the capsule or lander. CAPCOM is the only position with communicatin with the capsule and it is her job to relay all anomaly solutions to the crew. PROP is in charge of all engine status relating to the capsule and lander and relays all burn trajectory information; it is the only position with communication with the lander. OLE 1 is the only pisition with communications with Rising Star's daily operations and anamalies; it is the guide for exterior operations of Aurora and guides Lunar Specialists 7 and 8. It was a real challenge because I could hear everything in mission control, but had another person to communicate between mission control and the shuttle. Tomorrow brings another amazing adventure...tune in!

Day 4 Today was the best day yet! We began our morning with the Aviator Challenge. Here, we had to zip line backwards as if we were being pulled from the helicopter by a parachute. I love that! Next, we sat in the bunker/helicopter while it was lowered into the water to simulate a water crash. The six of us were dropped in as the water came crashing through the windows and doors. We quickly exited, counted off to make sure we were all present, then swam over to be air lifted out of the water. I can see why this is such an important training for astronauts...you really need to be prepared for everything! Even though I knew the water wouldn't get that high, the way it rushed in at us gave me pause and caught my breath. I knew we would be safe, but I'm sure if it were real, I would be goad to know my crew were properly trained for this exit. After leaving the Aviator Challenge, we headed back to become rocket scientists! It was fun to create our own, though we did have the support of our team leader and the directions as well. We constructed it carefully and then spray painted it. I painted mine to look like the Blue Angels...I knew my son would love that! I also put some Space Camp stickers on it. We will get to launch them tomorrow night. I'm curious to see how far they go and what variables will make them go higher or lower in comparison to each other. After lunch, we had our lunar mission. I wrote about this one yesterday, as we prepared for this two hour mission. We had two hours and real astronauts are trained for two years...after this short simulation, I can truly understand why. Even though we were following a scripted mission, there were variables that you just don't know about: potential disasters or accidents, miscommunication with the crew, and group dynamics that can sometimes make for challenging times. Respect, patience, and communication ~ these were the words we found to be important in our team building activities and they rang true in our lunar mission too! The egg drop challenge was particularly fun. We had to build two parts, the lander and the rover, and we had to stay within budget. We worked as a team of four to build an amazing parachute for our box which held our cocoon hammock in our water bottle rover. Overall, we did well ~ the parachute made for a soft landing and the water bottle moved fairly smoothly down the ramp. We learned that if we could modify it for a second trial, we would better center the egg, so that it could travel more smoothly and go a further distance (it went 127 inches). The moment I had been waiting for had finally arrived...time for the equilibrium challenges: The multi-axis trainer (MAT) and the 1/6 gravity chair. This chair simulator is modeled after one the Apollo astronauts used for moon walk training. Moving around on our moon was a very different feeling. Imagine moving about on a trampoline in slow motion and with less springiness. That is the best way for me to describe how it felt. As scared as I was, I knew I had to try the MAT. which simulates the disorientation one would feel in a tumble spin during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. It was the most intense feeling! I knew I was rotating at a pretty fast speed and at multiple angles per second, but with my head back and eyes open I could not feel this fierce motion. I'm glad I did it! I conquered my fear and made my son very proud! Our last task of the day was the lunar challenge. Here, we worked in teams to construct buildings to make life on the moon more sustainable and pleasant. We had to work within the constraints of a budget to find the best overall plan to renew energy and food sources while constructing the elements necessary for our buildings. We had the most fun presenting to the whole group. My small group created a hospital and our presentation consisted of a poster, a song, and a MyCreate video demonstrating the construction of our pod hospital. This was truly an amazing day! Tomorrow will be hard to top, but I know that I am in for another day of learning and fun! Pictures of today are posted on our Weebly site. Click here to check them out!

Day 5 It was another amazing day! We launched our group's rockets this morning...almost all at once! We had 13 go off at one time, and then the other two. It was quite a site to see them all blasting off into the sky at once! I'm still curious about the variable that was most responsible for allowing some to go farther than others. There are so many things to consider: rocket construction, placement of wings, amount and placement of paint and/or stickers, placement on the stand...so many others. Can you think of any other variables? Since we blasted them (mostly) all at once, we had some time before our next activity, so we went back into space camp to explore some "rides". First, we climbed the rock wall. Would you believe I made it all the way to the top? I have the video to prove it. We were told that the rock wall was progressively more difficult from left to right, so I had a personal challenge to try one on the right! This has been a week of personal challenges for me (riding the MAT yesterday was the biggest), but if you read on, you'll see more! After that, there was an animated roller coaster ride that was very much like a mission simulation...lots of twists and turns and very bumpy. This was another personal challenge. My son knows how much I dislike roller coasters, so I had to step out of my comfort zone for this one. It was a three and a half minute ride, much longer that most of the other roller coasters I've yet to let him talk me into, but I did it! The last of my personal challenges (so far!) was to ride the Space Shot, which bolts you straight up to the sky and drops you, repeatedly, until it lands you back to your place. I must admit...I screamed the whole way through, but I did it! After that, we were off to prepare for our second mission. I got to be the PILOT! It was a very challenging position, as the Commander and I had lots of switches to move and so many directions to follow. With some great team work from him and the two mission specialists on board, I was able to land the shuttle perfectly! We were so proud of our team! Our team leader, Latina, knew that I was really looking forward to taking a picture in the space suit, so she got me all suited up for a short photo shoot! Lots of fun! We got to see "Hidden Universe" at the IMAX theater here at the Space and Rocket Center. It was about a man who loved both music and astronomy and helped to set up a VLT (very large telescope...scientists have incredible acuity when naming things!) It was so interesting to be lead to understand that we are a part of the stars and the stars are a part of us in very way. The sky is an endless, truly incredible world...one I hope some of my students will explore some day! Latina gave us an incredible tour of the Space and Rocket museum. Please check out the link to learn more! I will post my pictures soon, my friends. The folks here at Honeywell Educators Space Academy have provides the most exciting activities, but I am truly exhausted after keeping up with this pace. I wouldn't change it for the world, but alas, this pilot is in need of rest. After all, tomorrow is graduation and I must be ready for my final challenge! Day 6We got to do some great activities today with an Educational Coordinator from NASA. Our tasks included a pendulum swing, an expanding balloon, and the marble run. These were all integrated math-science inquiry and graphing experiences that I can't wait to share with you! Three teams got on a bus and headed over to the Institute of Technology where we explored an app used at the facility. They have set up a garden in the shape of a double helix and have various stands set up to describe the workings of genes. This DNA exploration was really interesting! What a great use of space and design to make learning about DNA exciting for visitors! We got to meet and listen to Homer Hickham, author of Rocket Boy. What an interesting man he is! He described how he grew up, in a coal town where not many people had faith in him and thought he wouldn't amount to much more that a coal truck counter. His teacher had sincere faith in him and challenged him, encouraging him to do "better than his best"...I wish this for all of my students too! Today was GRADUATION Day! It was really exciting...complete with goose bumps! They had some great speakers, including astronauts and some HESA alumni. After graduation, we had dinner beneath the Saturn V (yes, the real one that was in the sky!) It was great to relax, talk, and dance with my new friends. We bonded this week with our shuttle challenges and the tasks that brought us together as a team. Space Camp was an incredible experience and I look forward to sharing my pictures and videos, as well as the math and science challenges with you! For now, I must "blast off" to the airport. It is bittersweet, but I must head home!

Check out my friend's video here and her Blog here.Here are the pictures that our Tranquility Team Leader, Latina, took during our week here.

Multi-Axis Trainer Anti-Gravity Chair