Your Twitter Guide to ISC 2014

By | |
Comments Off on Your Twitter Guide to ISC 2014

International Space Camp LogoThe 2014 session of International Space Camp is now in full swing!

A great way to keep up-to-date with the happenings and goings-on of International Space Camp in real time is to check out the Twitter feeds of some of the participants.

  • @Mr_McComb – Sean McComb, 2014 National Teacher of the Year
  • @DaringToTeach – Beth Maloney, 2014 Arizona Teacher of the Year
  • @JonCrossley_AR – Jonathan Crossley, 2014 Arkansas Teacher of the Year
  • @2014_CA_TOY – Tim Smith, 2014 California Teacher of the Year
  • @2014FloridaTOY – Dorina Sackman, 2014 Florida Teacher of the Year
  • @GeorgiaTOTY2014 – Jemelleh Coes, 2014 Georgia Teacher of the Year
  • @INTOY2014 – Steve Perkins, 2014 Indiana Teacher of the Year (blog link)
  • @MobyJeff – Jeff Baxter, 2014 Kansas Teacher of the Year
  • @HollyBloodwort1 – Holly Bloodworth, 2014 Kentucky Teacher of the Year
  • @MTOY2014 – Karen MacDonald, 2014 Maine Teacher of the Year (blog link)
  • @smrtgrl82 – Anne Marie Osheyack, 2014 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year
  • @MR_ABUD – Gary Abud, Jr., 2014 Michigan Teacher of the Year
  • @MeganOliviaHall – Megan Hall, 2014 Minnesota Teacher of the Year
  • @JamieManker – Jamie Manker, 2014 Missouri Teacher of the Year
  • @kassini – Kathy Assini, 2014 New Jersey Teacher of the Year
  • @KDickersonNCTOY – Karyn Dickerson, 2014 North Carolina Teacher of the Year
  • @debmcdonald78 – Deb McDonald, 2014 Ohio Teacher of the Year
  • @2014ORTOY – Brett Bigham, 2014 Oregon Teacher of the Year
  • @RyDev22 – Ryan Devlin, 2014 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year
  • @eghsbiz – Pat Page, 2014 Rhode Island Teacher of the Year
  • @DarleenSutton14 – Darleen Sutton, 2014 South Carolina Teacher of the Year
  • @luannlindskov – LuAnn Lindskov, 2014 South Dakota Teacher of the Year
  • @TexasTOY2014 – Monica Washington, 2014 Texas Teacher of the Year
  • @UtahTOY2014 – Allison Riddle, 2014 Utah Teacher of the Year
  • @LukeFoleyVT – Luke Foley, 2014 Vermont Teacher of the Year
  • @2014VaTOY – Melissa Porfirio, 2014 Virginia Teacher of the Year
  • @kdcanonbrown – Katie Brown, 2014 Washington Teacher of the Year
  • @wvtoy2014 – Erin Sponaugle, 2014 West Virginia Teacher of the Year
  • @janemcmahon2 – Jane McMahon, 2014 Wisconsin Teacher of the Year
  • @hardymsSEM – Britni Whitty, teacher representative from The INSPIRE Project
  • @Debesis2014 – We Own the Sky – Latvian Organization responsible for sending their delegation to ISC
  • @CebereMaija – Maija Cebere – Latvian teacher representative
  • @ORaudins – Oskars Raudinš – Latvian student representative
  • @_esterite_ – Estere Savicka – Latvian student representative

For your convenience, I’ve created a list of these ISC 2014 participants on Twitter you can subscribe to or just visit to see all of their recent posts in one spot!  Should I turn up any more tweeting participants, I’ll update the list as well as this post.

Update: The Belgium contingent has a public page on facebook.

Refurbish Jets

By | | ,
Comments Off on Refurbish Jets

Once again, the Alumni Advancement Board is looking for volunteers this weekend to help down at Aviation Challenge with the continued refurbishing of the F16 as well as other displays, the F-14 included!

The first effort on June 28 was a smashing success.  Volunteers were able to make a first pass on most of the airplane, but there’s still work to be done!

Alumni Advancement Board - F16 Volunteer

If you can spare your Saturday morning, head on over to the sign up page to volunteer this weekend or any weekend in the coming weeks where you will be available to help!

It’s great fun!

Alumni Volunteer Saturdays

By | | , ,
Comments Off on Alumni Volunteer Saturdays

The Alumni Advancement Board is looking for volunteers to help clean and prepare several artifacts around Camp over the course of this summer, and you can help! First on the list, volunteers are going to meet this Saturday morning to work on the F-16 down at Aviation Challenge!

Aviation Challenge F-16 If you’re interested, sign up on the volunteer page! You can sign up for one or several Saturdays. Come prepared to work outside as weather permits. Recommend items:

  • Appropriate clothing for working outside and potentially getting dirty – ex. long pants, closed toed shoes, hat.
  • Work gloves
  • Eye-protection (sunglasses, safety glasses)
  • Sanders (rotary, orbital) or spare sander discs – USSRC has a few sanders to provide, but the more the merrier.
  • Face masks / respirators
  • Sunscreen
  • Water bottle

The planned starting time is 7am so that work can be started and finished before the Alabama summer makes it unbearable to work outdoors.  If a day is cancelled or delayed due to weather, an email will be sent out.  That’s why it’s important you go sign up!

Alumni Association Site Launches

By | |
Comments Off on Alumni Association Site Launches

Space Camp Alumni Association LogoLast month, the U.S. Space & Rocket Center successfully raised $71,340 to bring the Shuttle Training Aircraft to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.  It was a campaign spearheaded by both the Space Center as well as the newly formed Space Camp Alumni Association and its corresponding Alumni Advisory Board.

In the time since, the group has been actively reaching out to Space Camp and Aviation Challenge alumni through their Twitter Feed and Facebook Group, as well as in person at graduations and other events.

Today they reach further with a new website, SpaceCampAlumni.com.

The site offers a very nice overview as to the mission of the organization and its board members.

Most important of all, the site offers a means to help alumni become more active in spreading the wonders of what a Space Camp experience can mean to an individual.  If you’re interested, look to the “Get Involved” section on the site for information on how you can help!

If you simply just wish to stay up-to-date with the goings on of both Space Camp and the Alumni Advisory Board, it’s a simple matter of providing your name and email address, which I wholeheartedly recommend you do!

Onion Mention

By | |
Comments Off on Onion Mention

The Onion LogoYou no doubt saw The Onion satirize NASA a few weeks ago by talking about Space Camp’s new more realistic NASA simulation!

Here’s the link, for those who may have missed it.

I think the funniest part is the realization that The Onion actually fact checks their work, given that Deborah Barnhart, Space Camp’s CEO, got a mention!  Someone had to look that up.  They could have made up a name, but they chose to do some research instead!

Kudos

Bold They Rise

By | | ,
Comments Off on Bold They Rise

Bold They Rise Book Cover There’s a new book just out about the development of the Space Transportation System and the very early years of the Space Shuttle Program.

The book, Bold They Rise, is the culmination of years of research from authors David Hitt and Heather R. Smith.

The book itself is part of the “Outward Odyssey” series of space books from book publisher, University of Nebraska Press.  A previous installment to the series, Homesteading Space, detailing the development of the Skylab program and its missions, was also written David Hitt, along with Skylab Astronauts Owen Garriott and Joe Kerwin.

To celebrate the launch of their new book, David and Heather were joined this past weekend at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center by husband and wife Astronaut-duo Dr. Rhea Seddon and Robert “Hoot” Gibson to discuss the contents of the book as well as the pair’s time in the Astronaut Corps.

Afterwards, a book singing was held for those in attendance.

The book itself is available from Amazon, amongst other places.  And if you swing by the Space Center to pick one up, you might just find one of the several extra copies the four signed after the presentation.

The entire presentation, including a Q&A session at the end, is available over on the Hab1 YouTube page.

Don’t forget to pick up a copy of Bold They Rise, if you are so inclined!

 

Bold They Rise Flyer

Today is the First Day of the Rest of Your Summer

By | |
Comments Off on Today is the First Day of the Rest of Your Summer

Yesterday, I had the privilege of attending the graduation ceremony for this year’s crop of summer counselors!

In all, 50-some new crew trainers have earned their wings!

And today is the first day they are full-fledged Crew Trainers!

2014 Summer Counselor Grad Wings

This summer’s training session saw crew trainers for nearly all programs.  Here are the new crew trainers for Aviation Challenge and the ropes course.

2014 Summer Counselors - AC and Ropes

And new Space Camp, Advanced Space Academy, and Robotics crew trainers as well:

2014 Summer Counselors - Space Camp, ASA, and Robotics

The Robotics crew trainers will be all the more visible at Space Camp thanks to their spiffy new lab coats.

2014 Summer Counselors - Robotics Grads

Congratulations to everyone!

I hope this summer brings nothing but fantastic new experiences, friends, and adventures!