HESA 2016

Space Camp Graduation Night

I've been home from this summer's professional development adventure for less than two weeks, and in many ways it already feels like it was a long, long time ago. This year I was lucky enough to earn a Honeywell Scholarship to the Educator Space Camp at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Officially I was a participant in the Honeywell Educator Space Academy (HESA). Educators from around the world apply for this scholarship because Honeywell pays for everything, and you get to attend Space Camp with other science teachers who are passionate about STEM education. We were told that only one out of every five applicants got to attend this year. Anyone can pay to attend Space Camp, and the U.S. Space and Rocket Center runs a separate Educator Space Academy for teachers who want to go, but getting a scholarship from Honeywell was an honor, and probably the only way I could have attended.  When I say Honeywell paid for everything, I mean they paid for everyone's flights to and from Huntsville, putting us up in a dorm at the University of Alabama, Huntsville, transportation (to and from the airport and back and forth between the dorm and the Rocket Center), all meals, Space Camp tuition, a catered party with a live band and free drinks on graduation night, and SWAG: three T-shirts, a blue flight suit with name badge, a backpack, and a water bottle.

The day before I left for Space Camp, which was four days before the end of my students' school year, a fellow teacher and good friend of mine was expressing her excitement for my impending trip.  She said, "It's like you won Double Dare!" Immediately I was transported back to those junior high days of watching game shows on Nickelodeon and seeing the ads for Space Camp, which the winners would indeed get to attend. I am here to tell you, it lived up to the hype of the ads, and I didn't even have to get slimed to attend! 

I attended with 100 other teachers from around the world. Two of the free t-shirts proclaim there were 25 countries and 37 states represented at HESA, but Honeywell sends 200 teachers over two weeks to Space Camp, so it's likely there weren't all 25 countries and 37 states represented while I was in Alabama. Even so, there were six countries represented in my small group of 14, Team Columbus. We had three Vietnamese teachers, one Russian, one Canadian, one Mexican, one Indonesian, and seven Americans. Team Columbus was one of the best parts of the entire experience. About half of us sat up late together every night in the dorm talking about life and teaching. We started a shared folder on Google Drive to share teaching resources and a Facebook group to keep in touch.

Team Columbus with Space Camp Founder Ed Buckbee

Making a Super Ball

Of course, the international professional collaboration will be the longest lasting impact of the entire Space Camp experience, but participating in the missions, simulations, and hands on activities, and getting special presentations at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center was incredibly cool... I am itching to try new ways of teaching my unit on The Properties of Matter and can't wait to show off my pictures and videos to my students. I know I will be able to engage them in a discussion of the properties of liquids and solids when we make super balls out of two liquids that then solidify - an experiment I got to perform as a scientist during our simulated missions.



Suited up for our EVA

We completed two missions; I was a mission specialist included in a crew exchange between the space craft and lunar science station both times. During the second mission, I was lucky enough to be chosen for a spacewalk where I had to suit up in the appropriate gear and got to sit in a 1/6 chair meant to simulate the gravity on the moon while helping to build a solar array.



Preparing to Dock with Orion

There were several simulations throughout the week besides the missions. My favorites were probably the three water events meant to simulate a parachute landing (picture backwards zip-lining into a lake), a helicopter crash (picture a big tin can with windows holding six people being dropped into the lake), and a helicopter rescue (picture sitting cross legged in a net chair with water spraying on you as you rise to a platform and try to climb out of the net). But we also got to go in the MAT (multi-axis simulator) meant to simulate an out of control tumble in space and apparently used to train real astronauts how to regain control, and everyone got to jump around in a 1/6 chair similar to the one I sat in during my spacewalk.

After two summers in a row where I was able to seize the opportunity to go on "teacher field trips" for professional development purposes, I can't ever imagine signing up for regular classes again simply to earn continuing education credit. Space Camp and the DIG Field School last summer opened my eyes to a better, more engaging, hands on way to continue to develop my passion and excitement for teaching, meet other teachers who are excited to keep in touch and collaborate, and earn CEs that will allow me to renew my certification.  I just have to continue to seek out these opportunities and apply for them!



Summer 2015 at the DIG Field School