Whitefield fifth graders navigated the depths of space on the annual Space Camp field trip held at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL. While at the camp, students divided into teams and each team participated in a one-hour shuttle launch simulation. Students acted as shuttle commanders, pilots, mission specialists, payload specialists, station commanders, and scientists. Teams monitored the progress and safety of their mission, launched and landed the spacecraft, and conducted scientific experiments in the space station while learning basic scientific principles. Mission teams were then evaluated on the completion of their mission, receiving a “report card” which detailed their successes as well as pointed out areas for improvement.
During Space Camp, students learned about the past, present, and future of space exploration by
touring the facility’s museum. On display were the capsules that early astronauts used during their missions as well as the Saturn V which NASA built to send people to the moon. Students also experienced walking on the moon in the camp’s gravity chair and what it feels like to work in a frictionless environment.
"It is always a treat to get to see the students experiencing space in such an interactive way!" said Carter Fawcett, fifth-grade teacher. "The '5 degrees of freedom' chair (gravitational chair) was a favorite this year!”