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