Learning the Technology of the Future
What do you get when you take, 23 high school students, 5 chaperones, a 5 hour bus ride, and a few dozen rockets? You get an exciting weekend at NASA Kennedy Space Center! Ability1st’s High School/High Tech Program made the venture to the nation’s leading space center in February. NASA was one of the original funders of the High School / High Tech program and our students received the royal treatment. The weekend was spent taking tours, watching an IMAX film, trying out simulators, and learning about aeronautical related career fields.
Although the reason for the trip was primarily educational, fun was inevitable. Students from the Tallahassee and Perry groups met for the first time and friendships were immediate. The students were kept on a busy schedule starting at 7am and not stopping until 9pm. On their free time some students choose to listen to the Beach Boys who performed on the beach neighboring our hotel while others choose to stay in the lobby and play cards.
On our last day of the trip we were invited into a classroom with two NASA teachers. They explained many interesting things about how people live in space such as: how and what astronauts eat and the two inch height gain (vertebrae separate due to the lack of gravity). That bit of information had several students and staff ready to blast off until the teacher used marshmallows to demonstrate how people return to their normal height once they return to earth.
These teachers gave us the opportunity to construct and launch our own rockets. We discovered some engineering strengths and weakness that day as rockets soared and/or exploded.
That night we were able to dine with John Blaha, a retired astronaut. His six missions more than prepared him to answer the many questions posed by the students.
The High School/High Tech Program would like to thank NASA Kennedy Space Center and Donna Mundy the HS/HT state coordinator for making this trip possible and for providing such a wondering learning experience.