ISC 2011, the twentieth International Space Camp, comes to a close today.  But the opening ceremony was the best in recent memory.  And I have it pretty much in its entirety for your enjoyment!

Astronaut Robert “Hoot” Gibson, friend of Space Camp and all around magnanimous man, again had some wonderful remarks for the newly arrived visitors to our foreign lands.

The National Teachers of the Year began the introductions.  As usual, an eclectic array of costumes were on display to help each teacher show off some feature of his or her state or territory.

The Austria contingent began the international leg of the ceremony.

After Austria, the groups went as follows:

• Australia
• Brazil
• China
• Hungary
• Latvia
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Portugal
• Singapore
• Switzerland
• Turkey

Unfortunately, it seems flight troubles kept Greece and The Netherlands from arriving in time to give their presentations.

Mike Flachbart, Vice President of Operations, gave a reading of the proclamation from the Governor of the State of Alabama to officially open International Space Camp 2011.  This ended the ceremony and gave the teachers and students a chance to try some good ol’ Southern barbecue!

After dinner, Teacher of the Year Michelle Shearer provided some nice after dinner remarks to all of the students and teachers in the room.

And that’s the way it was at the 2011 International Space Camp Opening Ceremony, held on July 23, 2011.

Physics teacher Arthur Elsener along with student Jon Zehnder play a game of Swiss charades with the audience.

Then they teach the audience what I can only hope is a dirty word in Switzerland.

After having to sleep in the Washinton Dulles International Airport, the Austria contingent made it safely to Huntsville with enough time to spare to be able to give a charming introduction to their home country at the 2011 International Space Camp Opening Ceremony.

Next up on my list of favorite presentations from the International Space Camp 2011 Opening Ceremony is Singapore.

Teacher Ya Qin Er and students Zhixin Nathanael Wong and Hang Su discuss Singapore’s culture–or lack thereof–as well as why chewing gum is unavailable.

Preceding Norway’s excellent presentation, two students from New Zealand gave a wonderful introduction to their home country, dispelling common myths about New Zealand.  They don’t really have Hobbits.  Who knew?

Watch below as students Toby Hendy and Lisa Crew inform the audience about Kiwis.

International Space Camp 2011 kicked off today with the opening ceremony.

There were noticeably fewer teams this year, which is certainly unfortunate.  But there were some really, really top notch presentations.

Without a doubt though, the best presentation was from Norway.

Teacher Lisa Ellen Thorsen and students Lene Minh Stephansen and Kristian Reed were en route to Huntsville when a misguided Norwegian destroyed large portions of two government buildings with a bomb and shot 85 kids at a summer camp.

Ms. Thorsen makes some remarkable, fantastic comments regarding the whole incident.

And, after a moment of silence, they successfully inject a great deal of levity into the room with a well executed and very funny introduction to their home country.

Best wishes go out to all of Norway.  Judging by Lisa’s remarks, the Norwegian people will be just fine in time, despite such sad events.

This weekend will play host to one of my most favorite things at Space Camp:  The International Space Camp 2011 Opening Ceremony shall be held this Saturday.

Educators and students from all over the world have arrived or are on their way to Huntsville, Alabama.

And they’re going to have a great week!