Hi Y'all,
This is (hopefully) the last message from us in the USA. We are about to
board the bus for Orlando airport.
Paulina and Jonathan got away OK, so it's just 22 for the return journey.
See you Weds morning.
Cheers
David
Monday, April 12, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Great Contrasts
Hello again,
I've taken the chance to catch my breath, and come home from Disney early
today ... left the others there to enjoy!
Today's Disney YES programme was very good, at least for my group. We had
a very good tour guide/educator from Peurto Rico who told us lots about
the Animal Kingdom, while we were walking around. She gave us ear pieces
with radio receivers so we could hear all she said while we were in the
crowds or on a ride ... very cool gear ... Alex N thought he was some kind
of spy. Marie (the guide) hit just the right humorous but informative
note, whereas I think the other group's guide grated a bit.
The Animal Kingdom Park is huge, could contain all the others combined,
mainly to let the animals have room to roam. We went on the East-African
safari which is the closest you'll get to seeing the animals in the wild
without actually going to Africa. We were asked to tick off the animals we
spotted, something Disney staff regularly do in order to check whether
tourists are actually seeing the creatures. For example, we did not get to
see the Okapi or Baboons, so the Disney folk will work on training the
animals to move in sight, or alter the vegetation so that they can be
seen.
Then we went behind the scenes, to the animal's night barns. A mother and
baby rhino were there, waiting for the baby to be strong enough to go out
on display. One of the adult male elephants was getting a hose down and a
bail of hay too. Marie talked about all the careers associated with the
zoo and park generally ... she is a nutritionist, and works out the exact
food requirements of a variety of species. We saw where the food boxes are
weighed and made up ... same quality food that is served to the human
guests! The kids in my group really enjoyed the tour, especially as we got
to go to the front of the queue at the Everest roller coaster too!
Yesterday we had a very good visit to Dr Phillips High School, with the
kids connecting very easily with their buddies, who were keen to talk, and
loved the New Zealand accent. They went to a variety of classes depending
on their buddy's timetable ... English, European history, calculus, music,
chemistry, environmental studies, psychology etc. They were impressed with
the range of subjects available and the good behaviour of the students ...
although we were only at the senior end of the campus, most students in
their last 2 years of school. The lessons we saw were very 'teacher
centred' preparing the students for high stakes exams, so drilling them on
exam technique. Mr Barrows, our contact there told us that teacher unions
originally supported Obama, but now he is driving through 'merit pay' for
teachers they are turning against him. There are no guidelines as to what
constitutes a good teacher, it is up to each district to work out out!
Leaving the school the kids were hard to separate, chatting away to their
American buddies, Jonathan stoically endured a parting hug from his
enthusiastic female partner.
Then it was to Kelly Park, a beautiful natural spring north of the city.
Lots of locals there which was good to see ... American families with kids
of all ages enjoying a simple picnic and swim in the springs. Florida sits
on top of a huge aquifer system, that's where the water supply comes from,
and there are springs all over the place. Although it was natural our kids
were surprised to find about a kilometer of boardwalks and concrete edging
at the main pool area. As usual Ashleigh and Paulina were first in the
water, floating down from the spring source to the lower bridge ... took
about 15 min. We talked to one family who were grabbing hand fulls of
stones from the bottom and sifting through them. The parents said they'd
been doing this since they were kids, and were now sharing the experience
with their kids ... looking for fossil shark teeth, and showed us several
they'd found that day. So it was a good couple of hours to relax under
green trees with blue sky above, splash in the water or snooze on your
tube.
Then off to Amway Arena for the 7pm basketball game ... well some
basketball was played amidst all the other entertainment. The chief aim of
our crew was to wave their "Go Magic" cards, and make enough noise to
attract the camera's attention and get on the big screen .... which they
managed several times. They quickly became converts to the cause with over
half of them buying Magic T-shirts ... we're doing our bit to boost the
economy. They failed to grab any of the t-shirts fired into the crowd, but
not for lack of trying, and fortunately 'Kiss TV' did not pick on any of
our group. The indoor blimp dropped some give-aways tantalizingly close,
but they just fluttered away, and the cheer-leaders, school acrobatic
groups, and half time promotions were interesting. And, oh yes, the Magic
won by over 20 points. Seeing the sheer size of the giant players was
impressive though.
So, Kennedy Space Centre tomorrow ... hope they're not too spaced out at
this stage.
Cheers
David
I've taken the chance to catch my breath, and come home from Disney early
today ... left the others there to enjoy!
Today's Disney YES programme was very good, at least for my group. We had
a very good tour guide/educator from Peurto Rico who told us lots about
the Animal Kingdom, while we were walking around. She gave us ear pieces
with radio receivers so we could hear all she said while we were in the
crowds or on a ride ... very cool gear ... Alex N thought he was some kind
of spy. Marie (the guide) hit just the right humorous but informative
note, whereas I think the other group's guide grated a bit.
The Animal Kingdom Park is huge, could contain all the others combined,
mainly to let the animals have room to roam. We went on the East-African
safari which is the closest you'll get to seeing the animals in the wild
without actually going to Africa. We were asked to tick off the animals we
spotted, something Disney staff regularly do in order to check whether
tourists are actually seeing the creatures. For example, we did not get to
see the Okapi or Baboons, so the Disney folk will work on training the
animals to move in sight, or alter the vegetation so that they can be
seen.
Then we went behind the scenes, to the animal's night barns. A mother and
baby rhino were there, waiting for the baby to be strong enough to go out
on display. One of the adult male elephants was getting a hose down and a
bail of hay too. Marie talked about all the careers associated with the
zoo and park generally ... she is a nutritionist, and works out the exact
food requirements of a variety of species. We saw where the food boxes are
weighed and made up ... same quality food that is served to the human
guests! The kids in my group really enjoyed the tour, especially as we got
to go to the front of the queue at the Everest roller coaster too!
Yesterday we had a very good visit to Dr Phillips High School, with the
kids connecting very easily with their buddies, who were keen to talk, and
loved the New Zealand accent. They went to a variety of classes depending
on their buddy's timetable ... English, European history, calculus, music,
chemistry, environmental studies, psychology etc. They were impressed with
the range of subjects available and the good behaviour of the students ...
although we were only at the senior end of the campus, most students in
their last 2 years of school. The lessons we saw were very 'teacher
centred' preparing the students for high stakes exams, so drilling them on
exam technique. Mr Barrows, our contact there told us that teacher unions
originally supported Obama, but now he is driving through 'merit pay' for
teachers they are turning against him. There are no guidelines as to what
constitutes a good teacher, it is up to each district to work out out!
Leaving the school the kids were hard to separate, chatting away to their
American buddies, Jonathan stoically endured a parting hug from his
enthusiastic female partner.
Then it was to Kelly Park, a beautiful natural spring north of the city.
Lots of locals there which was good to see ... American families with kids
of all ages enjoying a simple picnic and swim in the springs. Florida sits
on top of a huge aquifer system, that's where the water supply comes from,
and there are springs all over the place. Although it was natural our kids
were surprised to find about a kilometer of boardwalks and concrete edging
at the main pool area. As usual Ashleigh and Paulina were first in the
water, floating down from the spring source to the lower bridge ... took
about 15 min. We talked to one family who were grabbing hand fulls of
stones from the bottom and sifting through them. The parents said they'd
been doing this since they were kids, and were now sharing the experience
with their kids ... looking for fossil shark teeth, and showed us several
they'd found that day. So it was a good couple of hours to relax under
green trees with blue sky above, splash in the water or snooze on your
tube.
Then off to Amway Arena for the 7pm basketball game ... well some
basketball was played amidst all the other entertainment. The chief aim of
our crew was to wave their "Go Magic" cards, and make enough noise to
attract the camera's attention and get on the big screen .... which they
managed several times. They quickly became converts to the cause with over
half of them buying Magic T-shirts ... we're doing our bit to boost the
economy. They failed to grab any of the t-shirts fired into the crowd, but
not for lack of trying, and fortunately 'Kiss TV' did not pick on any of
our group. The indoor blimp dropped some give-aways tantalizingly close,
but they just fluttered away, and the cheer-leaders, school acrobatic
groups, and half time promotions were interesting. And, oh yes, the Magic
won by over 20 points. Seeing the sheer size of the giant players was
impressive though.
So, Kennedy Space Centre tomorrow ... hope they're not too spaced out at
this stage.
Cheers
David
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Disney
Greetings all,
We are well settled into life in Orlando now, all proficient at catching
the public buses, buying food at the supermarket or fast food places ...
pizza seems to be the regular fare for many, take away or microwaved.
Tonight some are playing table tennis in the common room, while others are
into cards. A swim after a day out is a popular option ... or just
collapse on your bed!
We started our YES programme at Disney at 7.15am, and not surprisingly the
'magical' Disney educators struggled to illicit the enthusiastic responses
that are the norm from our American counterparts. I assured her that it
was not that these students weren't keen, just that on top of the normal
Kiwi reserve, they were very tired. Anyway, the programme itself was very
good and included an excellent hands-on experiment where they ran marbles
down model roller-coaster track and had to predict how much potential
energy would be required to get the ball to loop-the-loop vs go over a
hill, or round a corner. Then she took us on various roller coaster and
log flume rides, where again they had to make predictions about speeds,
heights and angles, before and after the rides.
Then the kids dispersed to various rides in the Magic Kingdom and
Hollywood Studios and we saw them again at 5pm at the bus stop. All
arrived a few minutes early so we could catch the earlier bus ... great to
be able to rely on them to turn up on time. They had found rides and shows
they were happy with, and several girls were laden with assorted Disney
stuffed toys. A happy bunch.
The Magic Kingdom park was absolutely packed today, and baking hot in the
afternoon. Lots of families ... I would have thought a nightmare with
toddlers, but there were hundreds of push chairs, and thousands of kids.
Some spectacular street theatre and parades with fireworks over the magic
castle capping off each show.
A big day tomorrow with High school, springs and basketball game ... so
I'm off to bed now! Thank you for your comments on these 'letters', it is
good to know they are being read, and I do pass on any messages to your
children.
Cheers
David
We are well settled into life in Orlando now, all proficient at catching
the public buses, buying food at the supermarket or fast food places ...
pizza seems to be the regular fare for many, take away or microwaved.
Tonight some are playing table tennis in the common room, while others are
into cards. A swim after a day out is a popular option ... or just
collapse on your bed!
We started our YES programme at Disney at 7.15am, and not surprisingly the
'magical' Disney educators struggled to illicit the enthusiastic responses
that are the norm from our American counterparts. I assured her that it
was not that these students weren't keen, just that on top of the normal
Kiwi reserve, they were very tired. Anyway, the programme itself was very
good and included an excellent hands-on experiment where they ran marbles
down model roller-coaster track and had to predict how much potential
energy would be required to get the ball to loop-the-loop vs go over a
hill, or round a corner. Then she took us on various roller coaster and
log flume rides, where again they had to make predictions about speeds,
heights and angles, before and after the rides.
Then the kids dispersed to various rides in the Magic Kingdom and
Hollywood Studios and we saw them again at 5pm at the bus stop. All
arrived a few minutes early so we could catch the earlier bus ... great to
be able to rely on them to turn up on time. They had found rides and shows
they were happy with, and several girls were laden with assorted Disney
stuffed toys. A happy bunch.
The Magic Kingdom park was absolutely packed today, and baking hot in the
afternoon. Lots of families ... I would have thought a nightmare with
toddlers, but there were hundreds of push chairs, and thousands of kids.
Some spectacular street theatre and parades with fireworks over the magic
castle capping off each show.
A big day tomorrow with High school, springs and basketball game ... so
I'm off to bed now! Thank you for your comments on these 'letters', it is
good to know they are being read, and I do pass on any messages to your
children.
Cheers
David
Monday, April 5, 2010
Hello again,
Well what an amazing day ... seems much longer than just a day.
Talking to many people around Orlando it seems we have been very lucky to
see the launch ... many have said they've been out to view launches and
they've always been postponed. Last night we were following the news and
weather ... was looking good, fuel tanks were filled at 9pm, just a hint
of fog that might delay things. Then up at 3.30am, put on the TV to find
the astronauts were being strapped in. Vans arrived at 4.15am, all the
kids ready and eager. It took me by surprise but it seemed that half of
Orlando was on their way to the coast, freeways full of cars, toll booths
slowing them down, but our vans have electronic automatic toll payment and
we sailed through.
Crossing the causeways and big bridges near the coast there were cars
parked everywhere, with police allowing the shoulder on the bridges to be
occupied. We drove on to Jetty Park a campground where loads of RVs had
set up for the night. We settled down on the rocky bank of the ship-way
into Port Canaveral, looking over the water towards Kennedy Space Centre a
few miles away. Big search lights across the sky, presumably at the base
of the launch pad. We watch a succession of small yachts and luxury
cruisers go past as we sat with hundreds of others in the dark. Then, with
2 minutes to launch a huge Cruise ship came into port, slowly passing
infront of us ... would we come all this way to have our view blocked
literally at the last moment? Twenty seconds to launch the end of the ship
passed, then bang on 6.21am the sky lit up like an instant sunrise. The
intensity of light took everyone by surprise, as did the silence. Then as
the fire ball climbed into the night sky the deep, powerful rumble of
sound hit us ... heard and felt. The shuttle curved away, leaving a
perfect column of exhaust in a beautiful arc lit up by the blazing
engines. We were able to follow the shuttle for several minutes as the sky
was completely clear, even just making out the SRBs detach and fall away.
As the space ship climbed into the upper atmosphere a weird corona or
shock wave appeared all around it. Then as the sun rose, the floating
vapour trail again lit up in a display of changing colours and finally
dispersed.
Check out the blog for a link to a great video of the launch.
Everyone was impressed with the power and fury ... there are actually
people on top of that machine! Especially as the kids have been living the
shuttle for the last week. Jono could tell me how long it would be until
main engine shut-down. James commented that about now was when he broke
his legs in the EDM ... tried to stand up during take off!
So we travelled more slowly back to Orlando with the streams of traffic,
getting back to the hostel at 8.15am. Off to Disney on the no. 56 public
bus at 9.45 and then most of us spent the day at Epcot ... did the Mission
to Mars ride first! Temps in the mid-80s by the afternoon and the
pavements pumping out the heat. Epcot is looking fantastic, with the
spring flower festival, all clean and shiny ... most had a very good day
... some a little disappointed with the lack of super-scary rides ... but
impressed with the Disneyness of it all!
Haven't got time to mention Gatorland yesterday, save to say there were
kids holding alligators and snakes, sitting on alligators, feeding
alligators and watching hundreds of alligators!
Off to bed now ... up at 6am to head to Disney YES programme tomorrow.
Cheers
David
Well what an amazing day ... seems much longer than just a day.
Talking to many people around Orlando it seems we have been very lucky to
see the launch ... many have said they've been out to view launches and
they've always been postponed. Last night we were following the news and
weather ... was looking good, fuel tanks were filled at 9pm, just a hint
of fog that might delay things. Then up at 3.30am, put on the TV to find
the astronauts were being strapped in. Vans arrived at 4.15am, all the
kids ready and eager. It took me by surprise but it seemed that half of
Orlando was on their way to the coast, freeways full of cars, toll booths
slowing them down, but our vans have electronic automatic toll payment and
we sailed through.
Crossing the causeways and big bridges near the coast there were cars
parked everywhere, with police allowing the shoulder on the bridges to be
occupied. We drove on to Jetty Park a campground where loads of RVs had
set up for the night. We settled down on the rocky bank of the ship-way
into Port Canaveral, looking over the water towards Kennedy Space Centre a
few miles away. Big search lights across the sky, presumably at the base
of the launch pad. We watch a succession of small yachts and luxury
cruisers go past as we sat with hundreds of others in the dark. Then, with
2 minutes to launch a huge Cruise ship came into port, slowly passing
infront of us ... would we come all this way to have our view blocked
literally at the last moment? Twenty seconds to launch the end of the ship
passed, then bang on 6.21am the sky lit up like an instant sunrise. The
intensity of light took everyone by surprise, as did the silence. Then as
the fire ball climbed into the night sky the deep, powerful rumble of
sound hit us ... heard and felt. The shuttle curved away, leaving a
perfect column of exhaust in a beautiful arc lit up by the blazing
engines. We were able to follow the shuttle for several minutes as the sky
was completely clear, even just making out the SRBs detach and fall away.
As the space ship climbed into the upper atmosphere a weird corona or
shock wave appeared all around it. Then as the sun rose, the floating
vapour trail again lit up in a display of changing colours and finally
dispersed.
Check out the blog for a link to a great video of the launch.
Everyone was impressed with the power and fury ... there are actually
people on top of that machine! Especially as the kids have been living the
shuttle for the last week. Jono could tell me how long it would be until
main engine shut-down. James commented that about now was when he broke
his legs in the EDM ... tried to stand up during take off!
So we travelled more slowly back to Orlando with the streams of traffic,
getting back to the hostel at 8.15am. Off to Disney on the no. 56 public
bus at 9.45 and then most of us spent the day at Epcot ... did the Mission
to Mars ride first! Temps in the mid-80s by the afternoon and the
pavements pumping out the heat. Epcot is looking fantastic, with the
spring flower festival, all clean and shiny ... most had a very good day
... some a little disappointed with the lack of super-scary rides ... but
impressed with the Disneyness of it all!
Haven't got time to mention Gatorland yesterday, save to say there were
kids holding alligators and snakes, sitting on alligators, feeding
alligators and watching hundreds of alligators!
Off to bed now ... up at 6am to head to Disney YES programme tomorrow.
Cheers
David
seen the launch
Just a quick note to let you know we did see the launch and it was truely
amazing.
Now we are off to Disney ... more later
Cheers
David
amazing.
Now we are off to Disney ... more later
Cheers
David
Sunday, April 4, 2010
First day in Orlando
Greetings from Orlando!
Yes, we have safely made it to the Palm Lakefront 'resort', and woken up
to a beautiful Florida morning ... Dave M and I went down to the dock on
the lake to watch the strengthening sun lift the mist off the lake. Dead
calm, cool with the promise of heat in the day ... lovely still lake, big
lily pads, a squirrel running up a palm tree ... very nice. Ben came down
for a swim in the pool and Dave joined him.
So, we said farewell to the Space Camp on Saturday morning a had a 2 hour
bus ride to Birmingham. Crossed the mighty Tennessee river ... far bigger
than anything in NZ ... drove on through more rolling hill country with
lots of forest. One thing we have been impressed with is the roading
infrastructure ... 4 and 6 lane highways all around Huntsville ... huge
raised flyovers as roads intersect seamlessly. Far better than Auckland
for example, for a population less than Christchurch. Also found out why
downtown Huntsville looked so new and neat ... it had been destroyed by
tornados about 15 years ago.
Birmingham airport was spacious and empty. The girls got stuck in a giant
revolving door with all their luggage. Big military transport planes and
(according to Jonathan) several in-flight refuelers at the ready. Very
glad to find our e-ticket worked and all were surprised with he low-key
attitude on South West airlines ... no seat numbers, just line up in order
of check in a chose what seat you like.
Great views on the flight to Orlando ... lots of farmland in Southern
Alabama, like a giant Canterbury Plains ... then crossing Florida you see
a weird land of lakes. Just water everywhere ... no hills, scatted new
housing developments, trotting? ovals, big straight roads. Orlando airport
provided a great contrast to Birmingham as it was heaving! The terminal we
arrived at was connected to the main terminal by a monorail, w weaved our
way between all the people ... no sign of a recession here! The Manitur
minibuses were not far away to collect us all ... bags all arrived too ...
then a half hour drive to the hostel. Everything looks neat and prosperous
in Orlando ... great, smooth roads, tidy grounds, big hotels and shopping
complexes scattered about ... palm trees and bougainvillea.
The kids have enjoyed relaxing, having some space and freedom, and so far
been very responsible. Lots of excitement at going over to the supermarket
and buying the foods they wanted ... fresh veges and fruit for the girls
.... Alex N "Why have you got veges in your trolley?"
Many of them joined Dave and I for a swim at 10pm (9pm Huntsville time)
... just lovely ... warm night air, water just right, stars twinkling
above. Quite a contrast from the rigid regime at Space Camp.
So its a lazy start this morning, although most are up at 9.30am and then
off to Gatorland. Still on for 4am start tomorrow if the shuttle launch
stays on track.
All the best,
David
Yes, we have safely made it to the Palm Lakefront 'resort', and woken up
to a beautiful Florida morning ... Dave M and I went down to the dock on
the lake to watch the strengthening sun lift the mist off the lake. Dead
calm, cool with the promise of heat in the day ... lovely still lake, big
lily pads, a squirrel running up a palm tree ... very nice. Ben came down
for a swim in the pool and Dave joined him.
So, we said farewell to the Space Camp on Saturday morning a had a 2 hour
bus ride to Birmingham. Crossed the mighty Tennessee river ... far bigger
than anything in NZ ... drove on through more rolling hill country with
lots of forest. One thing we have been impressed with is the roading
infrastructure ... 4 and 6 lane highways all around Huntsville ... huge
raised flyovers as roads intersect seamlessly. Far better than Auckland
for example, for a population less than Christchurch. Also found out why
downtown Huntsville looked so new and neat ... it had been destroyed by
tornados about 15 years ago.
Birmingham airport was spacious and empty. The girls got stuck in a giant
revolving door with all their luggage. Big military transport planes and
(according to Jonathan) several in-flight refuelers at the ready. Very
glad to find our e-ticket worked and all were surprised with he low-key
attitude on South West airlines ... no seat numbers, just line up in order
of check in a chose what seat you like.
Great views on the flight to Orlando ... lots of farmland in Southern
Alabama, like a giant Canterbury Plains ... then crossing Florida you see
a weird land of lakes. Just water everywhere ... no hills, scatted new
housing developments, trotting? ovals, big straight roads. Orlando airport
provided a great contrast to Birmingham as it was heaving! The terminal we
arrived at was connected to the main terminal by a monorail, w weaved our
way between all the people ... no sign of a recession here! The Manitur
minibuses were not far away to collect us all ... bags all arrived too ...
then a half hour drive to the hostel. Everything looks neat and prosperous
in Orlando ... great, smooth roads, tidy grounds, big hotels and shopping
complexes scattered about ... palm trees and bougainvillea.
The kids have enjoyed relaxing, having some space and freedom, and so far
been very responsible. Lots of excitement at going over to the supermarket
and buying the foods they wanted ... fresh veges and fruit for the girls
.... Alex N "Why have you got veges in your trolley?"
Many of them joined Dave and I for a swim at 10pm (9pm Huntsville time)
... just lovely ... warm night air, water just right, stars twinkling
above. Quite a contrast from the rigid regime at Space Camp.
So its a lazy start this morning, although most are up at 9.30am and then
off to Gatorland. Still on for 4am start tomorrow if the shuttle launch
stays on track.
All the best,
David
last day at space camp
Last message from Space Camp,
We are off on the bus in an hour. I actually slept right through the night
for the first time, went down to the 'bathroom', looked out of the
porthole window and was surprised to see it was daylight. You have no idea
if it's day or night in the habitat in your room, or the hallways. The
kids also seem to be better adjusted now, although Adam has a slight sore
throat and didn't sleep well. Another surprise this morning was the
thunder storm that gently passed over. We have cooler temps, grey skies
and intermittent rain, so obviously have timed our week well. Very
impressive lightening and a few good thunder peels ... no sign of a
tornado thankfully.
So they all graduated yesterday, in a short ceremony which started with
the national anthem. We all faced the flag and the Americans put their
hands on their hearts. The teams were brought up and presented with a
photo, flight pin and certificate, then they had some awards:
Space Bowl winners (a quiz on what they learned) ... Jonathan, Adam and
Stephen plus 3 Americans
Area 51 team building champions .... Emma, Stephen and 3 Americans
Engineering challenge award .... Emma and 3 Americans
Outstanding team of the week .... Von Braun
The Von Braun team had drawn up a list of words that summarised their time
at camp, which included:
Leadership, Teamwork, Fears Overcome, Balance, Trust, Friendship.
The girls especially connected with each other, Kiwi, American and Costa
Rican making , as they described it, ' a real family feeling' ... and were
sad to part.
Then we had the trip to Cathedral Cavern, which was a great opportunity
for them all to get out of the camp and see some of the Alabama
countryside. Low rolling hills covered in deciduous forrest, for the most
part. It was nice sitting at the front of the bus and hearing the kid's
conversations drifting up from behind me ... Ashleigh and Paulina were
laughing about the mission, the gas man dying and everything else that
happened ... most of the others also swopping stories about the missions,
"Oh, we left the shuttle doors open on landing and we all died!" The cave
itself was even more impressive than I had remembered and took an hour
and a half to go through. Massive stalactites, vast interior ... could fit
a 6 stored biulding inside ... underground river and more. One of the best
features was our tour guide, a good old southern girl, who played on her
accent and simple Alabama mentality very well.
Back to camp with free time after dinner. The whole group relaxed by the
sand volleyball court in the warm evening air. Volleyball was played in
very good spirit until dark, lots of humour ... a really nice bunch of
teenagers to be with.
So this section of our adventure closes. Tara would like to stay on for
another week and a couple liked the idea of the summer camp, which runs
for 12 days and has a 24 hour mission at the end!
So, onto Florida and hopefully the shuttle launch. We have transport
arranged, leaving Orlando at 4.30am on Monday morning. Lets hope the
launch schedule does not change.
This is Space Camp, Alabama signing off,
Over and out
David
We are off on the bus in an hour. I actually slept right through the night
for the first time, went down to the 'bathroom', looked out of the
porthole window and was surprised to see it was daylight. You have no idea
if it's day or night in the habitat in your room, or the hallways. The
kids also seem to be better adjusted now, although Adam has a slight sore
throat and didn't sleep well. Another surprise this morning was the
thunder storm that gently passed over. We have cooler temps, grey skies
and intermittent rain, so obviously have timed our week well. Very
impressive lightening and a few good thunder peels ... no sign of a
tornado thankfully.
So they all graduated yesterday, in a short ceremony which started with
the national anthem. We all faced the flag and the Americans put their
hands on their hearts. The teams were brought up and presented with a
photo, flight pin and certificate, then they had some awards:
Space Bowl winners (a quiz on what they learned) ... Jonathan, Adam and
Stephen plus 3 Americans
Area 51 team building champions .... Emma, Stephen and 3 Americans
Engineering challenge award .... Emma and 3 Americans
Outstanding team of the week .... Von Braun
The Von Braun team had drawn up a list of words that summarised their time
at camp, which included:
Leadership, Teamwork, Fears Overcome, Balance, Trust, Friendship.
The girls especially connected with each other, Kiwi, American and Costa
Rican making , as they described it, ' a real family feeling' ... and were
sad to part.
Then we had the trip to Cathedral Cavern, which was a great opportunity
for them all to get out of the camp and see some of the Alabama
countryside. Low rolling hills covered in deciduous forrest, for the most
part. It was nice sitting at the front of the bus and hearing the kid's
conversations drifting up from behind me ... Ashleigh and Paulina were
laughing about the mission, the gas man dying and everything else that
happened ... most of the others also swopping stories about the missions,
"Oh, we left the shuttle doors open on landing and we all died!" The cave
itself was even more impressive than I had remembered and took an hour
and a half to go through. Massive stalactites, vast interior ... could fit
a 6 stored biulding inside ... underground river and more. One of the best
features was our tour guide, a good old southern girl, who played on her
accent and simple Alabama mentality very well.
Back to camp with free time after dinner. The whole group relaxed by the
sand volleyball court in the warm evening air. Volleyball was played in
very good spirit until dark, lots of humour ... a really nice bunch of
teenagers to be with.
So this section of our adventure closes. Tara would like to stay on for
another week and a couple liked the idea of the summer camp, which runs
for 12 days and has a 24 hour mission at the end!
So, onto Florida and hopefully the shuttle launch. We have transport
arranged, leaving Orlando at 4.30am on Monday morning. Lets hope the
launch schedule does not change.
This is Space Camp, Alabama signing off,
Over and out
David
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Hello again from still sunny Alabama,
Well Thursday proved to be the high point point of the camp as the kids
completed their missions and launched rockets.
To be surrounded by a group of highly excited teenagers, all chattering
about their experiences on the mission is fantastic, in a way a relief
that the whole trip has been worthwhile. At 'half-time' in the Von Braun
team's 6 hour mission I saw them all, and they were just buzzing ... even
Caitlin was keen to tell me about the emergencies they had to cope with in
mission control ... vomiting attacks, allergic reactions, and a gas leak
which ended up killing the gas man before they could fix it. Meanwhile on
the shuttle, there was a fire, broken legs and numerous warning lights to
deal with. Sam was the rock in mission control, trying to relay solutions
to the shuttle crew while all around was chaos.
Holderer were also very excited after completing their mission, with Laura
telling me several times over the next few hours just how cool that was,
obviously loving the whole experience. They all threw themselves into it,
acting out their parts ... Gareth had a convincing heart attack during the
launch, and Jasmine made an excellent desperate depressive, but
unfortunately they mis-diagnosed her. James was thrilled that they solved
the elevated carbon dioxide problem on the space station, just like in
Apollo XIII.
I'm not sure that the Von T team entered into the spirit of it with quite
so much vigour as the other two, as Jonathan described it as ... "at times
incredibly boring, at times incredibly stressful". Which I think means it
was a pretty good simulation, as that is exactly how it would be on a real
space mission.
The launching of their own rockets was also split along the same lines
with Von B and Holderer having some spectacular and successful flights,
while Von T's were not so successful. Once again the kids were very happy
and excited at the launches I saw, on a perfect, still, sunny morning.
Alex N, Laura and Jasmine's rocket shot across the park straight into the
trees, without giving the parachute a chance to open.
Ben, Alex C and Tim Z's rocket was perfect! Straight up, nice and high,
parachute burst open and egg safely returned to land ... then almost run
over by a concrete truck on the road on the other side of the park!
James, Gareth and Cameron's rocket blasted up about 20 metres, then the
second stage kicked in and the rocket shot in 2 different directions, one
coming back our way with people ducking for cover. Great fun.
Bojana, Tara and Paulina's rocket went almost horizontal in a beautiful
spiral leaving a twisted smoke trail.
Ashleigh and the American girls' rocket was spot on, but the parachute
drifted away over a nearby fence.
Yin Zhou, Sam and Caitlin's rocket was just fine, flying straight up with
a safe parachute landing.
Lots of whooping and cheering for each one, whatever happened.
Finally an interesting connection between the German rocketeers and Walt
Disney. Werner Von Braun realised he needed to publicize the rocket
programme in Huntsville in order to get public support behind his dream of
sending rockets to the moon. He invited Disney to Huntsville to discuss
setting up a rocket attraction here, but Walt was not convinced. So, Von
Braun started the Space and Rocket Centre here anyway, which later added
the Space Camp in order to capture the imagination of the children of
America ... and New Zealand!
Have a happy and safe Easter weekend,
Cheers
David
Well Thursday proved to be the high point point of the camp as the kids
completed their missions and launched rockets.
To be surrounded by a group of highly excited teenagers, all chattering
about their experiences on the mission is fantastic, in a way a relief
that the whole trip has been worthwhile. At 'half-time' in the Von Braun
team's 6 hour mission I saw them all, and they were just buzzing ... even
Caitlin was keen to tell me about the emergencies they had to cope with in
mission control ... vomiting attacks, allergic reactions, and a gas leak
which ended up killing the gas man before they could fix it. Meanwhile on
the shuttle, there was a fire, broken legs and numerous warning lights to
deal with. Sam was the rock in mission control, trying to relay solutions
to the shuttle crew while all around was chaos.
Holderer were also very excited after completing their mission, with Laura
telling me several times over the next few hours just how cool that was,
obviously loving the whole experience. They all threw themselves into it,
acting out their parts ... Gareth had a convincing heart attack during the
launch, and Jasmine made an excellent desperate depressive, but
unfortunately they mis-diagnosed her. James was thrilled that they solved
the elevated carbon dioxide problem on the space station, just like in
Apollo XIII.
I'm not sure that the Von T team entered into the spirit of it with quite
so much vigour as the other two, as Jonathan described it as ... "at times
incredibly boring, at times incredibly stressful". Which I think means it
was a pretty good simulation, as that is exactly how it would be on a real
space mission.
The launching of their own rockets was also split along the same lines
with Von B and Holderer having some spectacular and successful flights,
while Von T's were not so successful. Once again the kids were very happy
and excited at the launches I saw, on a perfect, still, sunny morning.
Alex N, Laura and Jasmine's rocket shot across the park straight into the
trees, without giving the parachute a chance to open.
Ben, Alex C and Tim Z's rocket was perfect! Straight up, nice and high,
parachute burst open and egg safely returned to land ... then almost run
over by a concrete truck on the road on the other side of the park!
James, Gareth and Cameron's rocket blasted up about 20 metres, then the
second stage kicked in and the rocket shot in 2 different directions, one
coming back our way with people ducking for cover. Great fun.
Bojana, Tara and Paulina's rocket went almost horizontal in a beautiful
spiral leaving a twisted smoke trail.
Ashleigh and the American girls' rocket was spot on, but the parachute
drifted away over a nearby fence.
Yin Zhou, Sam and Caitlin's rocket was just fine, flying straight up with
a safe parachute landing.
Lots of whooping and cheering for each one, whatever happened.
Finally an interesting connection between the German rocketeers and Walt
Disney. Werner Von Braun realised he needed to publicize the rocket
programme in Huntsville in order to get public support behind his dream of
sending rockets to the moon. He invited Disney to Huntsville to discuss
setting up a rocket attraction here, but Walt was not convinced. So, Von
Braun started the Space and Rocket Centre here anyway, which later added
the Space Camp in order to capture the imagination of the children of
America ... and New Zealand!
Have a happy and safe Easter weekend,
Cheers
David
Thursday, April 1, 2010
April fools day
Greetings on April fools day in Alabama,
The teams are all psyched up for their 6 hour missions today, but I did
overhear some of the councilors gleefully discussing the fact that their
missions fell on April Fools day ... what will they throw in for them as
surprises?!
At this point in the week (seems like we've been here a month!) the kids
are completely immersed in the experience and have absorbed so much
information that they casually talk about CAPCOM, who is EVA 1, and the
rest, so that we outsiders have to ask for clarification as to what
they've been doing.
The talk by George Von Tiessenhausen yesterday epitomises that sense of
authenticity that the Space Camp creates. Picture a somewhat frail, softly
spoken, 96 year old German talking to the teams with obvious passion and
sincerity about the origins of the cosmos, exploration of planets and the
wonders of the universe. He obviously loves talking to these teenagers and
amazingly seems to connect with them. He started by telling them that when
he was their age he dreamed of building rockets and sending them to the
moon ... but of course, there were no rockets then, seemingly a complete
pipe dream. But no, in his life time, he did it! Helped with all the
American rockets and finally saw the Apollo programme put men on the moon.
He designed the lunar rover, built here in Huntsville. Then he challenged
the kids to look to Mars and beyond ... "Mars belongs to your generation,
maybe one of you will build a rocket to go there, or even go there
yourself?"
Talking to the kids afterwards they really enjoyed the talk but struggled
to stay awake. They didn't want appear rude by nodding off but found it
almost impossible not too. Sam and Yin Zhou were very thoughtful
afterwards, and took on board the challenge of the future. Alex C ask Von
T for his e-mail address and wants to ask him about dark matter. One
picture he showed them of many wonderful shots of the cosmos was of the
"Happy Face" crater on Mars. Google this to get an inkling of Von T's
understated humour.
We teachers went along to the space DNA talk last night, joining in with
the Von B team for their 9 to 10pm lecture. This proved to be another
authentic experience as a young, enthusiastic woman doing her PhD in
molecular biology at an Alabama university talked to them about proteins
and genetics. Specifically on what the current experiments on board the
space station were hoping to find out about the way living things adapted
to, or were changed by living in microgravity. Apparently the bacteria
already aboard the station have become resistant to the materials and
coatings put on all surfaces to prevent bugs growing. She finished with an
excellent simple experiment, which we all did, extracting DNA from
strawberries. And also challenged the kids, this time to pursue a career
in molecular biology!
So what about the kids authentic experiences from yesterday?
Von B team went scuba diving. First Caitlin and Sam had a go, both having
considerable trouble clearing their ears. Sam persevered for ages, going
down the ladder very slowly, stopping on each rung for some time.
Eventually he made it, but was a little disappointed to have only a short
time to work and play at the bottom.
Bojana, Tara, Yin Zhou, Ashleigh and Paulina went next. Again a few
problems with sinuses and ears but Bojana, Yin Zhou and Ashleigh got down
quickly and had a ball!
Flying the shuttle Alex N was too short to reach the switches over his head!
Most made the leap off the high ropes pole ... see videos in flickr. There
were a few who didn't and that is when the team support really came in.
Two or three kids have spent time in sick bay, essentially with
exhaustion. They give them a couple of hours break/sleep and send them
back out!
Caitlin enjoyed the mission to Mars simulator, which starts out as a
serious prediction of what life on a future Mars colony might be like,
then suddenly changes into a space roller coaster complete with weird
aliens!
All enjoyed and were 'blown away' by the film "Hubble" in the Imax
theatre. Alex N couldn't stop saying how amazing the theatre was, and this
was as we walked in, before the film even started!
So today's the big day, better get off and see them launch the rockets
they've been building all week, and check if they survive the missions.
All the best,
David
The teams are all psyched up for their 6 hour missions today, but I did
overhear some of the councilors gleefully discussing the fact that their
missions fell on April Fools day ... what will they throw in for them as
surprises?!
At this point in the week (seems like we've been here a month!) the kids
are completely immersed in the experience and have absorbed so much
information that they casually talk about CAPCOM, who is EVA 1, and the
rest, so that we outsiders have to ask for clarification as to what
they've been doing.
The talk by George Von Tiessenhausen yesterday epitomises that sense of
authenticity that the Space Camp creates. Picture a somewhat frail, softly
spoken, 96 year old German talking to the teams with obvious passion and
sincerity about the origins of the cosmos, exploration of planets and the
wonders of the universe. He obviously loves talking to these teenagers and
amazingly seems to connect with them. He started by telling them that when
he was their age he dreamed of building rockets and sending them to the
moon ... but of course, there were no rockets then, seemingly a complete
pipe dream. But no, in his life time, he did it! Helped with all the
American rockets and finally saw the Apollo programme put men on the moon.
He designed the lunar rover, built here in Huntsville. Then he challenged
the kids to look to Mars and beyond ... "Mars belongs to your generation,
maybe one of you will build a rocket to go there, or even go there
yourself?"
Talking to the kids afterwards they really enjoyed the talk but struggled
to stay awake. They didn't want appear rude by nodding off but found it
almost impossible not too. Sam and Yin Zhou were very thoughtful
afterwards, and took on board the challenge of the future. Alex C ask Von
T for his e-mail address and wants to ask him about dark matter. One
picture he showed them of many wonderful shots of the cosmos was of the
"Happy Face" crater on Mars. Google this to get an inkling of Von T's
understated humour.
We teachers went along to the space DNA talk last night, joining in with
the Von B team for their 9 to 10pm lecture. This proved to be another
authentic experience as a young, enthusiastic woman doing her PhD in
molecular biology at an Alabama university talked to them about proteins
and genetics. Specifically on what the current experiments on board the
space station were hoping to find out about the way living things adapted
to, or were changed by living in microgravity. Apparently the bacteria
already aboard the station have become resistant to the materials and
coatings put on all surfaces to prevent bugs growing. She finished with an
excellent simple experiment, which we all did, extracting DNA from
strawberries. And also challenged the kids, this time to pursue a career
in molecular biology!
So what about the kids authentic experiences from yesterday?
Von B team went scuba diving. First Caitlin and Sam had a go, both having
considerable trouble clearing their ears. Sam persevered for ages, going
down the ladder very slowly, stopping on each rung for some time.
Eventually he made it, but was a little disappointed to have only a short
time to work and play at the bottom.
Bojana, Tara, Yin Zhou, Ashleigh and Paulina went next. Again a few
problems with sinuses and ears but Bojana, Yin Zhou and Ashleigh got down
quickly and had a ball!
Flying the shuttle Alex N was too short to reach the switches over his head!
Most made the leap off the high ropes pole ... see videos in flickr. There
were a few who didn't and that is when the team support really came in.
Two or three kids have spent time in sick bay, essentially with
exhaustion. They give them a couple of hours break/sleep and send them
back out!
Caitlin enjoyed the mission to Mars simulator, which starts out as a
serious prediction of what life on a future Mars colony might be like,
then suddenly changes into a space roller coaster complete with weird
aliens!
All enjoyed and were 'blown away' by the film "Hubble" in the Imax
theatre. Alex N couldn't stop saying how amazing the theatre was, and this
was as we walked in, before the film even started!
So today's the big day, better get off and see them launch the rockets
they've been building all week, and check if they survive the missions.
All the best,
David
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Good morning New Zealand,
Another perfect day here, same as yesterday ... big blue sky, not a cloud
all day, and no wind at all. We are all starting to feel more acclimatised
and sleeping better, although with the kids on the go from 6.30am to
10.30pm I can't say they actually looked full of vim and vigour at
breakfast.
Some observations from yesterday:
Emma's team congratulated her on making a perfect shuttle landing, but she
then revealed she had accidentally had it on autopilot.
We saw one team as they came out of Charlie mission at 10.10pm and their
councilor was loudly celebrating Tara's piloting skills ... the best
landing in the team so far.
Stephen commented that it was very hot in the space suit for the EVA, but
you do get an ice pack to wear on your chest. ... very chuffed with his
efforts in the suit fixing the satellite too.
Yin Zhou and Paulina were together as pilot and commander on their
mission, with Paulina struggling to cope with her more dominant partner
... it's all about teamwork guys!
Alex N was excited about being at mission control and thought it very cool
to be singing "Ground control to major Tom" ... not sure that this was any
help to the shuttle crew.
Cameron, Jasmine, Laura, Alex N and Gareth did their scuba, and I even saw
Cameron smiling with excitement and anticipation as he was getting his
dive tank on in the water. Laura was disappointed that her ears did not
clear and she couldn't get down to the bottom with the others.
Ben, Alex C and James dived in the second group and had loads of time at
the bottom. They built a pyramid structure, played with the 45kg ball and
spun a bowling ball on their heads ... amongst other things. One time that
you would really rather be a participant than an observer.
The diving instructors are all volunteers from the Huntsville community,
who support this programme for kids. The team in the pool last night were
software engineers with some of the local high tech companies. There were
up to 6 people helping with each dive session. Maybe the kids could write
some thank you messages when they get back to NZ.
Alex C said they'd had the best lecture so far ... Micro gravity DNA. Not
exactly sure what they covered, but he was very pleased to have had
clearly explained what an allele is. Ben agreed, this was a very good
lecture.
Meanwhile we teachers had a very pleasant, low key day in Huntsville ... a
spotlessly clean city centre, with no one and no shops in it! Beautiful
blossom trees, magnolias beginning to flower and a lovely park surrounding
the spring where the first setter, John Hunt, built his cabin in 1805, to
start the settlement of Huntsville.
One observation I will make, that maybe the kids won't pick up on, is that
you can appreciate what is meant when people talk about a
military-industrial complex influencing and driving American economic and
political life. In the army rocket section of the space museum here, the
following companies have displays:
General Dynamics ... Hydra air to ground anti-personnel rocket
Lockheed-Martin ... Hellfire helicopter launched anti-armour missile
Raytheon ... TOW infantry held anti-tank missile
? ... Patriot anti-ballistic missile missile!
Boeing ... ballistic missile defense systems
BAE Systems .... APKWS ie Advanced Precision Kill Weapons Systems, air
to ground rockets for soft armour targets
And when you walk around Huntsville who do you see sponsoring the art
gallery, museum, arts centre, space and rocket museum?
Lots more good stuff on today,
Cheers
David
Another perfect day here, same as yesterday ... big blue sky, not a cloud
all day, and no wind at all. We are all starting to feel more acclimatised
and sleeping better, although with the kids on the go from 6.30am to
10.30pm I can't say they actually looked full of vim and vigour at
breakfast.
Some observations from yesterday:
Emma's team congratulated her on making a perfect shuttle landing, but she
then revealed she had accidentally had it on autopilot.
We saw one team as they came out of Charlie mission at 10.10pm and their
councilor was loudly celebrating Tara's piloting skills ... the best
landing in the team so far.
Stephen commented that it was very hot in the space suit for the EVA, but
you do get an ice pack to wear on your chest. ... very chuffed with his
efforts in the suit fixing the satellite too.
Yin Zhou and Paulina were together as pilot and commander on their
mission, with Paulina struggling to cope with her more dominant partner
... it's all about teamwork guys!
Alex N was excited about being at mission control and thought it very cool
to be singing "Ground control to major Tom" ... not sure that this was any
help to the shuttle crew.
Cameron, Jasmine, Laura, Alex N and Gareth did their scuba, and I even saw
Cameron smiling with excitement and anticipation as he was getting his
dive tank on in the water. Laura was disappointed that her ears did not
clear and she couldn't get down to the bottom with the others.
Ben, Alex C and James dived in the second group and had loads of time at
the bottom. They built a pyramid structure, played with the 45kg ball and
spun a bowling ball on their heads ... amongst other things. One time that
you would really rather be a participant than an observer.
The diving instructors are all volunteers from the Huntsville community,
who support this programme for kids. The team in the pool last night were
software engineers with some of the local high tech companies. There were
up to 6 people helping with each dive session. Maybe the kids could write
some thank you messages when they get back to NZ.
Alex C said they'd had the best lecture so far ... Micro gravity DNA. Not
exactly sure what they covered, but he was very pleased to have had
clearly explained what an allele is. Ben agreed, this was a very good
lecture.
Meanwhile we teachers had a very pleasant, low key day in Huntsville ... a
spotlessly clean city centre, with no one and no shops in it! Beautiful
blossom trees, magnolias beginning to flower and a lovely park surrounding
the spring where the first setter, John Hunt, built his cabin in 1805, to
start the settlement of Huntsville.
One observation I will make, that maybe the kids won't pick up on, is that
you can appreciate what is meant when people talk about a
military-industrial complex influencing and driving American economic and
political life. In the army rocket section of the space museum here, the
following companies have displays:
General Dynamics ... Hydra air to ground anti-personnel rocket
Lockheed-Martin ... Hellfire helicopter launched anti-armour missile
Raytheon ... TOW infantry held anti-tank missile
? ... Patriot anti-ballistic missile missile!
Boeing ... ballistic missile defense systems
BAE Systems .... APKWS ie Advanced Precision Kill Weapons Systems, air
to ground rockets for soft armour targets
And when you walk around Huntsville who do you see sponsoring the art
gallery, museum, arts centre, space and rocket museum?
Lots more good stuff on today,
Cheers
David
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Greetings from Alabama,
We arise to a beautiful spring day, cool but still and sunny, with the
prospect of significant warmth. Although there are lots of fun times for
the kids here (James Alderston is having a ball! "Can I come back in 2012
sir?") there are difficult aspects too.
The major problem for many is the lack of sleep and general tiredness. On
the first night in the habitat the girls had to contend with arctic air
conditioning and shivered through the night, Laura V wished she had
brought her thermals. They changed the air con for them last night and
they were warmer but Dave M and I now received the cold. I had to put my
socks and jumper on at 1am. Regardless of the temperature in the habitat
some of the group just have difficulty sleeping anyway ... general time
zone problem. Alex N had his head on the table at breakfast and Laura M
has just gone back 'for a nap' after breakfast.
Being in the habitat is intended to be like being on a space station, and
it certainly feels that way at times. No windows, a functional metallic
feel to stairways and halls, a general background rumble of hidden
machinery, interspersed by the arrival and departure of hundreds of kids.
Another problem that we tried to for-warn them about is the military style
organisation of the whole place ... something that Ben and Alex C have
found a little frustrating. At the low ropes course for example, they put
the planks back 30cm away from the required position and were reprimanded
for this. They cannot go anywhere unsupervised, and as Ben said, there is
a lot of waiting time. We pointed out that this is the nature of such a
structure environment and that space exploration requires an great deal of
patience and control. Astronauts train for 2 years for a 10 day mission.
As an aside I was talking to one of the employees here and she commented
that although she had great respect for the office of the commander in
chief (I wondered wher she was going here) she just couldn't respect
Barrack Obama. She told her husband that he should not have voted for him,
and apparently he replied. "You're right honey, I wish I hadn't". It's not
just our kids that have trouble being in a 'military' system.
But there are plenty of highs, and Jonathan and Adam were buzzing at
10.10pm last night when I met them cleaning their teeth. They had been in
the F 18 flight simulators down at the Aviation Challenge site. Here they
have about a dozen full sized cockpit simulators so pilots can fly sorties
and have aerial combat ... Adam reckoned he'd shot Jono! While the pilots
did that from Von T, Stephen did his scuba dive, which was totally
awesome. He got down to the bottom of the 7m tank, did some construction
work, played with an underwater basketball and more!
Ben rates the highlight so far, as being on the shuttle robotic arm as
mission specialist. James and Stephen have also raved about this. If you
get the chance to see "The Dream is Alive", a short film about one of the
first shuttle missions you will get an idea of what they are training to
do in their EDM (Extended Duration Mission) ... I'm pretty sure we have it
in the school library if anyone wants to get it out ... ask Bob Tuaine to
get it out for you. They have to fly the shuttle into space, catch a
satellite and fix it on a space walk, then land safely. Apparently Gareth
and Tim Z have landed the shuttle well, while Jasmine did some kind of
loop and nose dived into the ground!
Another great activity I watched yesterday was the ablative shield
challenge. Here they were given a selection of different materials and
asked to create a heat shield that would protect an egg from a blow torch
at a distance of 2cm. Sam, Caitlin and Yin Zhou had a very serious
discussion about what would be the best materials, and how to use their
'budget' most effectively. They settled on aluminium foil over several
layers of cork, bonded with an American polyfiller called 'Speckle'....
and it worked! After 3 minutes of flaming the egg was unscathed, much to
their satisfaction. Paulina, Bojana and Tara were doing the same thing and
also succeeded, although they were so tired at 7pm they couldn't tell me
what theirs was made of. Paulina was trying to rest her head on the others
shoulders while standing up. Meanwhile the big harvest moon was rising
over the Alabama trees ... beautiful.
Well, we teachers are off into Huntsville today, while the kids carry on
with their intensive programme. Will be back to see more of them scuba
this evening.
All the best,
David
We arise to a beautiful spring day, cool but still and sunny, with the
prospect of significant warmth. Although there are lots of fun times for
the kids here (James Alderston is having a ball! "Can I come back in 2012
sir?") there are difficult aspects too.
The major problem for many is the lack of sleep and general tiredness. On
the first night in the habitat the girls had to contend with arctic air
conditioning and shivered through the night, Laura V wished she had
brought her thermals. They changed the air con for them last night and
they were warmer but Dave M and I now received the cold. I had to put my
socks and jumper on at 1am. Regardless of the temperature in the habitat
some of the group just have difficulty sleeping anyway ... general time
zone problem. Alex N had his head on the table at breakfast and Laura M
has just gone back 'for a nap' after breakfast.
Being in the habitat is intended to be like being on a space station, and
it certainly feels that way at times. No windows, a functional metallic
feel to stairways and halls, a general background rumble of hidden
machinery, interspersed by the arrival and departure of hundreds of kids.
Another problem that we tried to for-warn them about is the military style
organisation of the whole place ... something that Ben and Alex C have
found a little frustrating. At the low ropes course for example, they put
the planks back 30cm away from the required position and were reprimanded
for this. They cannot go anywhere unsupervised, and as Ben said, there is
a lot of waiting time. We pointed out that this is the nature of such a
structure environment and that space exploration requires an great deal of
patience and control. Astronauts train for 2 years for a 10 day mission.
As an aside I was talking to one of the employees here and she commented
that although she had great respect for the office of the commander in
chief (I wondered wher she was going here) she just couldn't respect
Barrack Obama. She told her husband that he should not have voted for him,
and apparently he replied. "You're right honey, I wish I hadn't". It's not
just our kids that have trouble being in a 'military' system.
But there are plenty of highs, and Jonathan and Adam were buzzing at
10.10pm last night when I met them cleaning their teeth. They had been in
the F 18 flight simulators down at the Aviation Challenge site. Here they
have about a dozen full sized cockpit simulators so pilots can fly sorties
and have aerial combat ... Adam reckoned he'd shot Jono! While the pilots
did that from Von T, Stephen did his scuba dive, which was totally
awesome. He got down to the bottom of the 7m tank, did some construction
work, played with an underwater basketball and more!
Ben rates the highlight so far, as being on the shuttle robotic arm as
mission specialist. James and Stephen have also raved about this. If you
get the chance to see "The Dream is Alive", a short film about one of the
first shuttle missions you will get an idea of what they are training to
do in their EDM (Extended Duration Mission) ... I'm pretty sure we have it
in the school library if anyone wants to get it out ... ask Bob Tuaine to
get it out for you. They have to fly the shuttle into space, catch a
satellite and fix it on a space walk, then land safely. Apparently Gareth
and Tim Z have landed the shuttle well, while Jasmine did some kind of
loop and nose dived into the ground!
Another great activity I watched yesterday was the ablative shield
challenge. Here they were given a selection of different materials and
asked to create a heat shield that would protect an egg from a blow torch
at a distance of 2cm. Sam, Caitlin and Yin Zhou had a very serious
discussion about what would be the best materials, and how to use their
'budget' most effectively. They settled on aluminium foil over several
layers of cork, bonded with an American polyfiller called 'Speckle'....
and it worked! After 3 minutes of flaming the egg was unscathed, much to
their satisfaction. Paulina, Bojana and Tara were doing the same thing and
also succeeded, although they were so tired at 7pm they couldn't tell me
what theirs was made of. Paulina was trying to rest her head on the others
shoulders while standing up. Meanwhile the big harvest moon was rising
over the Alabama trees ... beautiful.
Well, we teachers are off into Huntsville today, while the kids carry on
with their intensive programme. Will be back to see more of them scuba
this evening.
All the best,
David
Monday, March 29, 2010
First day at camp
Hello again everyone,
We are now into the routine of Space Camp proper, and the kids are well
into their activities. We teachers have woken up feeling much better after
being sort of groggy yesterday. Crisp, cool morning here with blue skies,
but still that cold wind. Locals say that spring is very late this year ..
they had a light snow fall last Monday, and the leaves are usually all out
by this time in March. Set to warm up over the next few days though.
So the the teams are: ... team names come from the German rocket
scientists who were brought here after WW2. Holderer and Von T are still
alive, and von T is scheduled to give the kids a talk later in the week.
Holderer:
James, Alex c, Ben, Gareth, Alex N, Jasmine, Cameron, Laura, Tim Z
Von Braun: Caitlin, Sam, Ashliegh, Yin Zhou, Bojana, Paulina, Tara ...
plus Pamela from Virginia, Montse from Alabama, Dagny from Indianapolis,
Patrick from Birmingham Al.
Von Tiesenhausen:
Stephen, Emma, Tim O, Adam, Jonathan .. plus RJ from Indianapolis, Bekka
from Masscchusetts, Verhelst from Huntsville, Daniel from Nth Carolina,
Clay from Indianapolis, Alyssa from Florida, Jill from Indianapolis.
They all seem to be getting on really well and integrating the new people
into their various groups. Last night I saw them begin the rocket making
task. In groups of three or four they have to design a two stage rocket to
carry an egg into 'space' but with a limited budget for materials. They
were all busy making sketches and as James said, 'its like an egg drop on
steroids!'
Here is the day one programme for Hoderer:
6.30 am Wake up
7.00 Breakfast ... scrambled eggs, potato tots, scone, cereal, orange
juice, banana
7.30 Engineering challenge ... rockets 2
9.00 Alpha mission training ... learning to use the shuttle simulators
10.30 Low ropes course
12.00 PPP/patch ... no idea what this is!
12.30 lunch
1.00pm Flight suits ... get fitted with their blue suits
1.30 Official space camp photo
2.00 Engineering challenge, ablative shielding
3.30 Lecture .. Orbiter systems
4.30 Museum mission to Mars simulator ride
5.00 Dinner ... last night was hamburger, salad, ice cream, sticky
chocolate cake, crackers, apple
5.30 Bravo mission training ... 2nd shuttle sim session
7.00 Charlie mission training
8.30 Delta mission training
10.00 prep for bed
10.30 lights out .... knackered!
So you can see there is plenty going on. Von T do Scuba at 5pm today, and
they all rotate through all the activities.
We went down to see the low ropes course this morning ... at 7.30am! with
von B, and they really do it well. They have a series of team building,
problem solving challenges ... like getting the whole group from one
'island' to another with only 2 short planks. For each activity the
instructor selects a leader (we saw Tara as leader today), and sends the
others away while she is given the task. Then she has to lead the team
through the challenge. Afterwards they have a proper de-brief and discuss
how the group and leader performed. Tara and her group did really well,
all working very cooperatively and supporting each other.
Later this morning we saw Cameron and Gareth getting instructions in the
shuttle cockpit on their roles as pilot and commander. Once again
excellent camp councilors, explaining well all they had to learn ... when
to hit which switch, when to call mission control, what do do at different
altitudes etc.
I am trying to set up the trip to the shuttle launch in Florida, and our
mini bus operator says she can get us there, so I will be using the
contingency money to pay for this ... if that is ok with parents? Will let
you know the exact cost as soon as I am able. I will contact Disney and
see if we can rearrange our YES programme on that morning, but we may just
have to lose it. The kids seem very enthusiastic about the possibility of
seeing a launch.
That's all for now, we teachers feel rather redundant, but its great to
see the kids getting right into it.
Cheers
David
We are now into the routine of Space Camp proper, and the kids are well
into their activities. We teachers have woken up feeling much better after
being sort of groggy yesterday. Crisp, cool morning here with blue skies,
but still that cold wind. Locals say that spring is very late this year ..
they had a light snow fall last Monday, and the leaves are usually all out
by this time in March. Set to warm up over the next few days though.
So the the teams are: ... team names come from the German rocket
scientists who were brought here after WW2. Holderer and Von T are still
alive, and von T is scheduled to give the kids a talk later in the week.
Holderer:
James, Alex c, Ben, Gareth, Alex N, Jasmine, Cameron, Laura, Tim Z
Von Braun: Caitlin, Sam, Ashliegh, Yin Zhou, Bojana, Paulina, Tara ...
plus Pamela from Virginia, Montse from Alabama, Dagny from Indianapolis,
Patrick from Birmingham Al.
Von Tiesenhausen:
Stephen, Emma, Tim O, Adam, Jonathan .. plus RJ from Indianapolis, Bekka
from Masscchusetts, Verhelst from Huntsville, Daniel from Nth Carolina,
Clay from Indianapolis, Alyssa from Florida, Jill from Indianapolis.
They all seem to be getting on really well and integrating the new people
into their various groups. Last night I saw them begin the rocket making
task. In groups of three or four they have to design a two stage rocket to
carry an egg into 'space' but with a limited budget for materials. They
were all busy making sketches and as James said, 'its like an egg drop on
steroids!'
Here is the day one programme for Hoderer:
6.30 am Wake up
7.00 Breakfast ... scrambled eggs, potato tots, scone, cereal, orange
juice, banana
7.30 Engineering challenge ... rockets 2
9.00 Alpha mission training ... learning to use the shuttle simulators
10.30 Low ropes course
12.00 PPP/patch ... no idea what this is!
12.30 lunch
1.00pm Flight suits ... get fitted with their blue suits
1.30 Official space camp photo
2.00 Engineering challenge, ablative shielding
3.30 Lecture .. Orbiter systems
4.30 Museum mission to Mars simulator ride
5.00 Dinner ... last night was hamburger, salad, ice cream, sticky
chocolate cake, crackers, apple
5.30 Bravo mission training ... 2nd shuttle sim session
7.00 Charlie mission training
8.30 Delta mission training
10.00 prep for bed
10.30 lights out .... knackered!
So you can see there is plenty going on. Von T do Scuba at 5pm today, and
they all rotate through all the activities.
We went down to see the low ropes course this morning ... at 7.30am! with
von B, and they really do it well. They have a series of team building,
problem solving challenges ... like getting the whole group from one
'island' to another with only 2 short planks. For each activity the
instructor selects a leader (we saw Tara as leader today), and sends the
others away while she is given the task. Then she has to lead the team
through the challenge. Afterwards they have a proper de-brief and discuss
how the group and leader performed. Tara and her group did really well,
all working very cooperatively and supporting each other.
Later this morning we saw Cameron and Gareth getting instructions in the
shuttle cockpit on their roles as pilot and commander. Once again
excellent camp councilors, explaining well all they had to learn ... when
to hit which switch, when to call mission control, what do do at different
altitudes etc.
I am trying to set up the trip to the shuttle launch in Florida, and our
mini bus operator says she can get us there, so I will be using the
contingency money to pay for this ... if that is ok with parents? Will let
you know the exact cost as soon as I am able. I will contact Disney and
see if we can rearrange our YES programme on that morning, but we may just
have to lose it. The kids seem very enthusiastic about the possibility of
seeing a launch.
That's all for now, we teachers feel rather redundant, but its great to
see the kids getting right into it.
Cheers
David
Hello again Space Camp families,
Well, we are now safely at the Space Camp, and very relieved to get here too!
The stop-over in LA was just right, with most people getting a good nights
sleep. The beautiful beach and outdoor shopping mall were a gentle
introduction to America, but the number of people sleeping on the streets
and parks were a bit of a shock. On our bike ride we saw many tramps with
pretty major temporary shacks, obviously tolerated by the police. And in a
5 minute walk from the hostel I saw at least 6 homeless people on the
Saturday morning.
The flight to Chicago was good, with great views of the snow capped San
Berdino mountains just out of LA, then over the desert for an hour, across
the Rockies all in view before the great plains became cloud covered. I
was seated next to an engineer on his way to install a giant lettuce
washing and plastic packaging machine. He was an Obama supporter and
approved of the health care reform. I discovered that US hospitals will
treat anyone who turns up, one of the reasons health care insurance is so
high ... costs are just passed onto those who can pay.
A brisk walk between terminals in Chicago saw us with only half an hour to
wait for the flight to Huntsville. We were all impressed with the full
sized apatosaurus skeleton in terminal B. A pencil thin plane to take us
south, three seats across and duck down the aisle if you are tall.
Tremendous view of downtown Chicago this time, with the Sears Tower and
Lake below. Then over the sprawling city, kids getting an appreciation of
what these mega cities really look like. Lots of photos taken on that
part.
It was lovely to sit next to Jasmine on this flight and share her
enthusiasm for the trip. She claims to have enjoyed every minute of the 12
hour flight to LA, and loves turbulence! We watched the grid pattern of
farms pass underneath and then as darkness fell we descended into
Huntsville. I had to give Tim O a good shake so he could wake up and see
the lights of Huntsville ... quite a sight, as it sprawls over a large
area.
Huntsville airport has had a big upgrade and looks very flash ...
obviously doing well from the years of war. The adverts in the terminal
are unlike any others we have seen. "When you went into combat, we were
with you" Selling military support systems, weapons systems and more. The
main ads in other airports are for cars and mobile communication
gear/providers.
It was wonderful to see the Space Camp people there to meet us. The only
negative so far has been the progressive damage to Alex C's suitcase,
which is now firmly held together with duct tape. Off on the Space Camp
bus to the camp, with little Alex N completely hidden behind his massive
suitcase on the seat beside him. Still an amazing sight to see the big
Saturn V lit up at night as we drove into the camp. The kids were given a
sandwich and drink and bundled off to bed in temporary accommodation for
the night ... will be moving into the bunk room for the week today.
Today, Sunday morning they have been shown around all the facilities while
they wait for the programme proper to start at 2.30. They are a great
group and have been taking loads of pictures of all the rockets and space
museum artifacts. Many are really excited and impressed to see all this
stuff, even though the tiredness and time zone changes are starting to
kick in. They even went on the 3G spinner and gave the operator a big
round of applause at the end ... I sat that one out!
So they are ready to become astronauts ... been put into 3 different
groups, and have already met a girl from Peurto Rico and a boy from
Belgium who will be with them. Weather is sunny with showers, cold wind,
and there are one or two squirrels about.
Thanks for the greetings from NZ, I will pass them onto the kids. One
thing different about this trip is the number of mobile phones and other
electronic devices the children have .. even compared to 2 years ago, so I
assume many have contacted you.
All the best
David
Well, we are now safely at the Space Camp, and very relieved to get here too!
The stop-over in LA was just right, with most people getting a good nights
sleep. The beautiful beach and outdoor shopping mall were a gentle
introduction to America, but the number of people sleeping on the streets
and parks were a bit of a shock. On our bike ride we saw many tramps with
pretty major temporary shacks, obviously tolerated by the police. And in a
5 minute walk from the hostel I saw at least 6 homeless people on the
Saturday morning.
The flight to Chicago was good, with great views of the snow capped San
Berdino mountains just out of LA, then over the desert for an hour, across
the Rockies all in view before the great plains became cloud covered. I
was seated next to an engineer on his way to install a giant lettuce
washing and plastic packaging machine. He was an Obama supporter and
approved of the health care reform. I discovered that US hospitals will
treat anyone who turns up, one of the reasons health care insurance is so
high ... costs are just passed onto those who can pay.
A brisk walk between terminals in Chicago saw us with only half an hour to
wait for the flight to Huntsville. We were all impressed with the full
sized apatosaurus skeleton in terminal B. A pencil thin plane to take us
south, three seats across and duck down the aisle if you are tall.
Tremendous view of downtown Chicago this time, with the Sears Tower and
Lake below. Then over the sprawling city, kids getting an appreciation of
what these mega cities really look like. Lots of photos taken on that
part.
It was lovely to sit next to Jasmine on this flight and share her
enthusiasm for the trip. She claims to have enjoyed every minute of the 12
hour flight to LA, and loves turbulence! We watched the grid pattern of
farms pass underneath and then as darkness fell we descended into
Huntsville. I had to give Tim O a good shake so he could wake up and see
the lights of Huntsville ... quite a sight, as it sprawls over a large
area.
Huntsville airport has had a big upgrade and looks very flash ...
obviously doing well from the years of war. The adverts in the terminal
are unlike any others we have seen. "When you went into combat, we were
with you" Selling military support systems, weapons systems and more. The
main ads in other airports are for cars and mobile communication
gear/providers.
It was wonderful to see the Space Camp people there to meet us. The only
negative so far has been the progressive damage to Alex C's suitcase,
which is now firmly held together with duct tape. Off on the Space Camp
bus to the camp, with little Alex N completely hidden behind his massive
suitcase on the seat beside him. Still an amazing sight to see the big
Saturn V lit up at night as we drove into the camp. The kids were given a
sandwich and drink and bundled off to bed in temporary accommodation for
the night ... will be moving into the bunk room for the week today.
Today, Sunday morning they have been shown around all the facilities while
they wait for the programme proper to start at 2.30. They are a great
group and have been taking loads of pictures of all the rockets and space
museum artifacts. Many are really excited and impressed to see all this
stuff, even though the tiredness and time zone changes are starting to
kick in. They even went on the 3G spinner and gave the operator a big
round of applause at the end ... I sat that one out!
So they are ready to become astronauts ... been put into 3 different
groups, and have already met a girl from Peurto Rico and a boy from
Belgium who will be with them. Weather is sunny with showers, cold wind,
and there are one or two squirrels about.
Thanks for the greetings from NZ, I will pass them onto the kids. One
thing different about this trip is the number of mobile phones and other
electronic devices the children have .. even compared to 2 years ago, so I
assume many have contacted you.
All the best
David
Los Angeles
Greetings from LA ... To all Space Camp families,
We have safely arrived in Santa Monica with no problems. Weather is a
balmy 17 degrees with clear blue skies. The majority of the group hired
bikes for an hour and rode down the concrete cycle way by the beach.
Lovely laid back atmosphere, with people out biking, roller blading,
walking, running etc. Also beach volleyball, open air handball courts,
skate park and more.
We walked out onto the Santa Monica pier, took in the sights, watched the
break dancers and generally enjoyed being in the fresh air ... not on a
plane for 12 hours. The group was somewhat scattered on the jumbo, but
with some seat swopping everyone had a friend nearby.
I sat next to a group of American TV hunters. They had just been filming a
show about hunting in NZ and had shot loads of deer and wallabies. They
did not consider Mr Obama to be any good for the US!
Some of the children have already relieved themselves of considerable cash
in the Santa Monica shops ... might be a good job they are locked up in
the Space Camp from tomorrow!
Best wishes,
David
--
David Paterson
Head of Science Faculty
Cashmere High School
Rose St, Christchurch
"The Earth itself is a spacecraft. It's an odd kind of spacecraft, since
it carries its crew on the outside instead of the inside.
If you're going to run a spaceship. you've got to be pretty cautious about
how you use your resources, how you use your crew, and how you treat your
spacecraft."
Neil Armstrong
We have safely arrived in Santa Monica with no problems. Weather is a
balmy 17 degrees with clear blue skies. The majority of the group hired
bikes for an hour and rode down the concrete cycle way by the beach.
Lovely laid back atmosphere, with people out biking, roller blading,
walking, running etc. Also beach volleyball, open air handball courts,
skate park and more.
We walked out onto the Santa Monica pier, took in the sights, watched the
break dancers and generally enjoyed being in the fresh air ... not on a
plane for 12 hours. The group was somewhat scattered on the jumbo, but
with some seat swopping everyone had a friend nearby.
I sat next to a group of American TV hunters. They had just been filming a
show about hunting in NZ and had shot loads of deer and wallabies. They
did not consider Mr Obama to be any good for the US!
Some of the children have already relieved themselves of considerable cash
in the Santa Monica shops ... might be a good job they are locked up in
the Space Camp from tomorrow!
Best wishes,
David
--
David Paterson
Head of Science Faculty
Cashmere High School
Rose St, Christchurch
"The Earth itself is a spacecraft. It's an odd kind of spacecraft, since
it carries its crew on the outside instead of the inside.
If you're going to run a spaceship. you've got to be pretty cautious about
how you use your resources, how you use your crew, and how you treat your
spacecraft."
Neil Armstrong
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