Educator Day at Intrepid Space Week

Kevin, Mikro and I were lucky to attend the Intrepid Space Week Educator Day, which was just amazing. We arrived at 8 am to a breakfast of bagels, muffins, fruit and coffee spread out literally under the Space Shuttle Enterprise. At 8 am, I needed the coffee!



Next, Leland Melvin spoke and welcomed everyone, and led the people registered for the morning session downstairs to a fantastic presentation on the future of space exploration. First, Leland talked about the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station, and the allure of the Intrepid's Enterprise display to motivate kids fro disparate backgrounds to pursue science and technology and dream of space. Then we had three NASA speakers who talked to us about the continuing mission of the International Space Station and about the various commercial orbital transportation systems in development for low Earth orbit applications, such supporting the ISS with crew and cargo transportation, including the Dragon and Cygnus systems, as well as about the Space Launch System and Orion crew capsule, which being developed for future missions to Mars and the Asteroid Belt. Participants were given a beautiful book on the ISS.





Then we headed to panels of our choosing. We attended the Design an Alien and Magnificent Universe panels. Mikro was amazing and asked good questions (and volunteered answers) in a room full of adult educators, with absolutely no self-consciousness. My space geek kid rocks!

After the panels, we went and explored the many booths and tables NASA had set up, learning about such disparate things as the Hubble Space Telescope, the life cycle of stars, Mars Rover Curiosity, laser pulse data communications, robotic refueling and repair of malfunctioning or defunct satellites, the hypersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator system, and too many other topics to list.

Space Shuttle Enterprise at the Intrepid

Way back in April of 2010, we took part in a rally in support of bringing one of the retiring Space Shuttles to NYC's Intrepid, Sea, Air & Space Museum. Kev and Mikro dressed up in space suits for the occasion, and were promised that, if it happened, they would get to be there for the opening. And we were. Kev was given VIP guest passes for our family for the Grand Opening Ceremony. We got to sit 5 rows from the stage, just behind NASA astronaut and Associate Administrator for Education Leland Melvin, the 8 NASA astronauts from the NYC area and Dr. Ruth Westheimer!

On stage were representatives of the Intrepid, the sponsors of the week long Spacefest event, and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and the astronauts who flew the Enterprise: Fred W. Haise, Jr., C. Gordon Fullerton (represented by his wife), Joe H. Engle and Richard H. Truly.















After the speeches, the ribbon was cut, opening the Space Shuttle Pavilion for visitors. We walked all around and underneath Enterprise and met up with her original commander, Astronaut Fred Haise (also of Apollo 13), and talked with him.













Then we headed out to the Pier to enjoy the many NASA displays and educational opportunities:



























Mikro even made it into the background of an ABC newscast.



What an amazing day!

Field Trip to NYCCSSE Challenger Center

Our homeschool Group visited the New York City Center for Space Science Education on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.


The kids got to play with some toys like yoyos and astrojax and try to predict how they would perform in a microgravity environment. Then they watched astronauts on the International Space Station playing with the same toys. Next, they went into a lab and tried out some activities designed to show them how hard it is to work in a weightless environment when there is no clear up and down. They wore mirrored goggles and had to try to write their names and trace between the outlines in a pattern. I tried it too, and it was hard! They also tried putting together inch cubes in a defined pattern while wearing clunky gloves inserted through the wall of a water tank. This was much harder than it looked, and a lot of the more high achiever perfectionistic kids (ahem, mine included) got really frustrated when it didn't come easy. I explained to Mikro that this was the whole point. Stuff that's trivial to do with Earth gravity is much more difficult in microgravity.







Next, they watched a film of a shuttle launch, then went through a rotating "airlock" into a mockup of a space shuttle, which had various stations with tasks for them to perform, like drawing in space gloves, an eye hand coordination test, manipulating a robot arm, and getting a probe ready for launch by making sure it matched the wiring diagram.







Afterwards, they visited a mission control room, looked at samples of mission patches, and then drew their own. Mikro and his best friend, E, worked on patches for a joint mission with themselves as crew, going out of our solar system looking for extraterrestial life. They each drew a patch with their names on it as crew. Very cool!

Watching Enterprise Fly

Mikro and I had the once in a lifetime opportunity of seeing the Space Shuttle Enterprise fly up and down the Hudson River atop a 747 transport aircraft, on its way to become the newest exhibit at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. We took an early train, hoping to see it on our way down the Hudson Line into the city. Kev updated us with timing information, and it became apparent that we would be too early to see it if we continued our ride. So we hopped off at Yonkers, hoping to catch it and still make an early enough train to get to Mikro's science class... Standing around on the windy platform, we met a former NASA rocket scientist, who was also trying to catch the flyover, and watched together. Just a minute or so before our last possible train pulled in, we were amazed to see the shuttle pass by, incredibly close to our side of the river. I snapped a few quick photos and we hustled onto the train. We rushed to the door windows on the river side, and got to watch as she made her return pass downriver as well.





Moments later, Kev was taking amazing shots from Battery Park as Enterprise circled the Statue of Liberty and flew over lower Manhattan.









What an amazing experience. I am so glad Mikro got to see this bit of history!