Day 1

Whew! I know I can speak for myself and the kids when I say WHAT A DAY! We did soooo much!

You're going to have to ask the students what all they did today (and for the week) because I'm sure even if I type until I can't feel my fingers, I'll leave something out.

Though the students complained that last night's bedtime was premature, I think all of them would agree that their sleep was a little too short, especially to prepare them for the day we had! Huntsville's weather cooperated today, so instead of shielding ourselves from rain, we were hoping for a few clouds to block the never-ending sun!

Lucky for me, KelliJane, Mimi, Brandon and Taylor were all together this morning, learning how to fly planes! As expected, all of them picked it up pretty well. Mimi has the most incredibly steady approaches to land that I've ever seen and somehow, after seeing it explained once, Brandon was an expert, helping other students with takeoffs and landings. Way to go!

Gerson and Matthew built their impressive model rockets today and did wonderfully with it. Matthew and Gerson also learned what a payload is and how important it is to keep it safe. They learned about various capsules and protection techniques the US has used to keep payloads safe. As their application for this concept, they had to build a capsule to protect their precious payload (an egg) from a fall of 25 feet. They worked together very well with cardboard, cotton balls and a makeshift parachute from a plastic bag. Their egg "survived" the fall, so they were very happy! Matthew and Gerson also used the simulators for weightlessness (multi-axis trainer) and the 1/6 chair to simulate 1/6 gravity (same as it'd feel on the moon). I personally think (though I may be a bit bias) they'd make great astronauts!

KelliJane and Brandon's group learned how to build a shelter and fire in shoddy conditions, ask them what to do next time you're in a bind in the woods! I missed the presentation, but they also saw a presentation about "Toys in Space," which seems like some out of this world playthings to see! With a lot of cooperation and motivation, KJ and Brandon's group got ahead of schedule, so with the little extra time they had, they got to rock climb, they both did very well! Team Wilbur did a wonderful job tonight training for their first mission. Teamwork, cooperation and communication were abundant and fluid, I'm sure they'll easily succeed tomorrow night with it.

Mimi and Taylor did an amazing job leading teamwork exercises in Area 51 here at camp. They both communicated superbly and led their teams to achieve success with many different, difficult tasks! Check the video below for some of what they learned :) Team Orville also underwent training for their first mission (Alpha) so that they'll be ready for tomorrow's official mission!

Gerson and Matthew got to begin their SCUBA training tonight and did an incredible job watching an interpreter, responding to the dive master's questions, swimming and learning how to breathe properly through a regulator....all at the same time! Taylor was an AMAZING photographer with me out on the deck. Her underwater camera was a hit, as well as watching the "fancy" underwater camera that videoed some of the "satellite work" underwater.

The students are fast asleep and I need to get some rest as well so tomorrow will be as (if not more) successful than today, thanks for reading!