Mr. Rand Goes to Space Camp!

What is it? Honeywell announced that it has awarded scholarships to 200 teachers from 19 countries and 43 U.S. states to attend the Honeywell Educators at Space Academy program from June 16 to June 28, 2006 at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Monday, June 26, 2006


It is hard to believe that tomorrow is our last day at Space Camp. I have met so many people from around the world and from the U.S. Every person here is motivated and excited to bring back from Space Camp what we have learned for the benefit of our students.

As I said before, we were placed into teams when we arrived at Space Camp. I am on team inspiration which includes people from 6 countries and numerous states including Minnesota, New Jersey, Arizona, and Ohio. The team that we are in has worked very hard to create a team "mission patch", perform two flight missions, and create numerous rockets and other projects for our classrooms.

Early on Friday we learned the role of each member during a NASA launch. We discussed the roles of the Mission Control, the people in the US that monitor the flights in Houston, Florida, and Alabama. We also learned the roles of the individuals aboard the International Space Station, and the crew aboard the shuttles. We then had an activity the incorporated geography in the classroom.

To finish the day on Friday we designed rockets that were made from a two liter pop bottle. The rockets were shot off using a bike tire pump and shot further than any of our expectations. I don't want to give too many details as I am for sure going to do some of these activities next year!

With the discussion on reaching Mars, we attended a workshop on Hydroponics. For every pound that we put into space the cost is $10,000. Do we want to send a shuttle that is full of soil for growing plants to Mars with a cost like that? Hydroponics is looking at how to grow plants, so that astronauts will be able to grow their own food on the months long trip to Mars.

Sadly, our water activities were cancelled due to storm warnings here in AL. With all of the experiences we have had, we were disappointed because we knew this experience would have been great!

4 Comments:

  • At 8:50 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    thats awesome... so you went in a space shuttle like you landed it like you actually where like in one did you go in space

     
  • At 2:46 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    How long does it take to go to Mrs? Is there life there, just not as we know it. I find space intriguing and difficult to grasp. What if heaven is in space and as humans we just enter a new warp drive? Be careful with the space crafts. That is my tax dollars at work!

     
  • At 2:47 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I think I would spend a lot of money to go to Mars with soil

     
  • At 10:20 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    i've made that two-liter rocket. and so has Mr. Wizard. it's a blast!

     

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