I’ll never forget my week at Space Camp 20 years ago. For 11-year-old me, this was like stepping into a mysterious, forbidden world. The stuff of movies and comic books.
I manned a post at mission control, experienced near-weightlessness and examined pieces of the International Space Station’s American module.
I returned with a new appreciation of science and technology, with plenty of stories to tell my parents and friends, and with the Space Exploration merit badge. Oh, and with the certificate I included at the bottom of this post.
Fast-forward to 2015. Twenty years later, Space Camp is better than ever. Just like Scouting, it’s helping prepare the leaders of tomorrow.
What’s changed at Space Camp since I was there? Just like Boy Scouts, where there’s a new Robotics merit badge, Space Camp now has a robotics program where trainees actually build and test their own robots. That piece of the International Space Station? It’s now orbiting 250 miles above Earth. And the overall focus has shifted from space shuttle missions to future lunar and Mars missions.
But one thing will never change: Space Camp offers an unforgettable week for your Scout-age children. A week that could spark a lifelong passion in an important field that’s actually hiring.
Space Camp is just one of three programs at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala. Trainees pursue science, technology, engineering and math disciplines through exciting, hands-on activities.
For parents, part of the appeal is that their sons and daughters get exposure to important fields that will affect this country, the economy, the environment and more.
More money than ever is being spent in the aviation, aerospace and defense industries — industries where there are plenty of jobs but not enough talent.
For many young people, the spark for those careers ignited at Space Camp. Like Lt. Col. William Burke Hare III, an Eagle Scout and Space Camp attendee who commands Intercontinental Ballistic Missile weapon systems. Or Kate Rubins, a Space Camp graduate who will head to the International Space Station next year.
Who knows? The commander of a manned mission to Mars could be a Space Camp graduate. Send a Scout in your pack, troop, team or crew to Space Camp, and watch them soar.
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OK that’s adorable, Bryan.
I am a little older; I went in 1986. It was pretty low tech (back then), but still a mountain top experience. As an aside, I went as the grand prize winner for a contest run by Bubbilicious Bubble Gum; there really are people winning these things. For the parents, Huntsville has many great activities and cultural attractions to while away the time. Still have my baby blue flight suit and “Principals of Astrogation” handbook!
My son went in 2015 over Spring Break and it was a fabulous experience. Life changing in many ways for him. The cherry on top was getting some behind the scenes tours of the NASA facility in Huntsville by his cousin. It is an awesome program!
Sounds like you had a great time. The Cosmosphere in Hutchinson KS has a “Merits of Space” program that is a week-long camp for Boy Scouts. It is their normal program modified so the Scouts will earn 5 Merit Badges while they are there: Astronomy, Aviation, Engineering, Space Exploration, & Weather. My son had a great time at it and would like to go back. The Cosmosphere has additional programs for older teens that involve visits to NASA in Houston & other places; Additional information at http://www.cosmo.org/.