Day 2: Tuesday

BALLOONS TO THE MOON

Our first class of the day was called "Balloons to the Moon." Here we made a huge hot air balloon that we would later launch. All this project involved was tissue paper and glue. It was a delicate work and we really had to work as a team to make it correctly. By the end we were all starting to get really sticky. Here are some pictures of us working on our balloon and the big launch!

ROCKETS:

During this class we also made rockets using construction paper and tape. We were able to choose the length of the body, the type of cone, and the build of the stabilizers. Each choice depended on whether the rocket would fly high or be more stable. Ours was both -of course! We shot the rockets off using a bunch of PVC pipe and compressed air.

NEW HORIZONS:

New Horizons is the telescope mission that is headed out to study Pluto. It launched in January of 2006 and will not reach Pluto until 2015. It has already passed Jupiter so that might give you a better sense of how far away Pluto is. It only took a year to get to Jupiter but will take 8 more years to get to Pluto. WOW - BIG solar system! During this training we talked about Pluto's status as a planet. We then did an activity where we had to make up the criteria for a planet being a planet. We were given about 25 different planets, comets, moons, and, other celestial objects and had to determine if they fit our definition as a planet. Some groups only ended up with about 6 planets that met their definition. Our group ended up with 10 - we still had Pluto! Here is a link to learn more about the New Horizons mission.

http://www.spacetoday.org/SolSys/Pluto/PlutoNewHorizons.html

ASTRONAUT SIMS:

Here is the cool part. This is where we got to experience a little bit of astronaut life. We rode in the gyroscopes. I would have done that all day - well maybe not ALL day - but definitely more that once. We also sat in a chair that simulated the micro-gravity (while at Space Camp you may not say "zero gravity" because there is SOME gravity) of the moon and did a little moon-walk. I look more like Peter Pan than an astronaut I am afraid!

ED BUCKBEE:

Our guest speaker of the day was Ed Buckbee. He has been with the space program since the beginning of the Mercury Missions. It was incredible to hear about the "Real Space Cowboys" as his book is called. He also worked with the guru of rockets, Von Braun. He was the first director of the Space and Rocket center in Alabama. He also put Space Camp into action - yeah! He is passionate about raising awareness about the space programs and about how important it is for our school age kiddos to get a good technological education. After all - the middle schoolers today will be the generation on the next missions to the moon and Mars!

http://www.air-space.com/EB.htm