Space Camp has been around for more than 30 years! Check out the up coming events!
What began as an experiment in the summer of 1982 when some children took their sleeping bags and slept on the museum floor and employees from the U.S. Space and Rocket Center planned hands on activities, is looking to share the same experiences with you. The workers found out two things from this early experiment: the kids wanted to spent the night and they wanted to work as teams. Americans love competition. To start with, there were 12 sessions of about 20 to 30 kids each. They bunked at the University of Alabama-Huntsville which had 1,000 beds.
The 12 and 13 year olds wanted to be commanders of a space shuttle mission. Space Camp has helped many to see the reason that they need math and science in school. Many have written back and explained that their experience in Space Camp led them to take more science and math in school and get the degree that they have. Most children who go to Space Camp don't want to grow up to be astronauts. In the future there will be a lot of opportunities to work on the space program as a design engineer, software programmer, or recycle specialist. Many people will have jobs dealing with ways to learn to live in space. Space Camp helps to challenge today's youth to look into such careers.
Founder of Space Camp
and International Space Camps
The following excerpts are taken from "The REAL Space Cowboys" chapter 26, Next Generation of Space Flyers: Space Camp, written by Ed Buckbee.
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