Arrival in Auckland

We are nearly home!

Great flight from LA a half full plane meant everyone got to lie flat and sleep.

We are now waiting for the Christchurch flight which is on time at the moment.

The students are currently consuming sushi at 7:30am?????

See you all soon!
Apparently they missed it.

LA finally.

After the excitement of Dallas and its thunderstorms we have finally made it to LAX. The flight was delayed by about 5 hours because of the chaos at Dallas. But we made it here with our luggage. Unfortunately it meant that we missed our LA tour but that is the joys of international travel.
So we are now all checked in through to Christchurch. How exciting is that. So we have five hours to fill before our flight.
We'll let you know when we get to Auckland. Most of the kids cellphones are flat so you may not get a text when we land in Auckland.
Take care everyone

Louisa.

Dallas Updated @1328

New update @ 1328

We have just boarded and are now on our way to LA.

Just a quick update on our delays

We are confirmed leaving Dallas at 12:30pm and will be in LA at 2pm local time.

We will then be very early for our Air NZ flight however the students have bought cards and are happily wasting time playing 500

Cheers

Tom

Arrival in Dallas

Well we are safe and sound in Dallas however we are now delayed due to bad weather. It was a very bumpy ride into Dallas that almost made Wellington look good.

We now just have to wait, we have plenty of time in terms of connecting with the Air New Zealand flight, however we may end up missing the LA Bus Tour. But we shall just wait and see.

Cheers

Tom

Orlando airport

Good morning everyone. It is 5.50am and we are all checked in and ready to go. The alarm went at 3.30 the bus arrived at 4am and there were no mishaps. Back to sleep on the plane we hope.
And we had no overweight baggage.
Have a good day. Take care everyone
Louisa.

Last Day in Orlando part 2

Hello everyone

Big shout out to y'all- we've just got back from an awesome day in Orlando.  We left early this morning and set off to learn some more about the Florida ecology.  We met up with Debbie our eco guide who took us to meet our sea kayaking guides.  The sea kayaking was awesome.  We saw a bottle nosed dolphin- when it hunts in shallow water you can see the bow wave it creates as it captures the fish.  We also saw some Manatee grazing underwater.  They came up every now and again for air, they are closely related to elephants and quite incredible to watch.  You can tell they are coming up for air as they create a current on the water that is quite unique.  We possibly weren't quiet enough for the Manatee to really put on a good show for us.
The kayaking was very cool and our students were very confident about it all.  It was quite windy so it wasn't a very dry experience- we were supposed to see Alligators on the trip but unfortunately (thankfully) we didn't.

The photo above shows Debbie our eco guide explaining some of the local flora and fauna.


After lunch and an eco walk through the enchanted forest we went on the air boats.  Now that is one cool experience.  We saw Alligators just sunning themselves and the whole Air boat experience was kinda cool albeit noisy.  Lots of wildlife.  The operator thought it was a little cool so gave the students plastic rain ponchos in case of rain.  A picture tells a thousand words so I will let the pictures do the talking on this one.  Tom and I did consider leaving them there- all dressed up in their rain ponchos with not a drop of rain in sight.

 Rain ponchos.  Providing protection from the wild Florida weather.

We also had to wear ear protection from the noise pollution of the Air Boats.  They are however such a shallow draft that they are very environmentally acceptable as they don't disturb the water ways they are in.

 Dinner on the last night.  A proper American BBQ dinner.

Then we were off to the world famous cocoa beach and the Ron Jon Surf shop-open 24 hours a day.  What an awesome way to finish the trip.  Simplicity tours put on an awesome BBQ for us, the weather was warm but not boiling and it was a lovely relaxed afternoon.  The last thing we did was all go and "touch the Atlantic" We started the trip with a photo on LA's beaches and finished on an Atlantic beach.  We ended with such a positive note it seems a pity to be heading home really.  (currently we are trying to convince them all to pack)

 All the crew together for the last dinner.  (Adam was having a nap on the bus, we haven't lost him)


So what an awesome trip.  We are bringing back some really tired students (and two tired teachers) but they have learnt so much about themselves and other people that I know that every moment has been worth it.  We will keep you posted on our progress through the various airports we will pass through in the next 36 hours or so.

 Us at the Atlantic Ocean- see you back in NZ soon
So take care everyone

Until next time

Louisa

Last day in Orlando

Hi everyone

Well it's Saturday morning here and we are on our tour bus heading for cocoa beach and the start of the Eco tour day.

I will have a blog up tonight before we leave Orlando.

It's enough to say Friday was hectic with all the students cramming in as much Disney as possible until late afternoon when they got a chance to get some last minute gifts. I think there will be some very unique gifts coming home as well as the brightest colored shoes I have every seen.

The shoes will fit in well with the fluoro fashion of christchurch for the last 18 months.

The packing mission has started and everyone especially Louisa is glad we bought some luggage scales. There maybe some old bits of clothing being left behind still.

More to come later tonight then it's the marathon trip home.

P.S. If anyone makes very good coffee ill happily swap you a student for one as my withdrawal symptoms are not good. American coffee seems to lack something.

Cheers

Tom WK

Kennedy Space Centre

Hello everyone
Today was a sleep in- we only pried the kids out of bed at 7am.  You'd think that they were nearing the end of a very busy two weeks by the looks of them as we loaded the buses this morning.
It was a very quiet trip out to the Space Centre- although our bus driver did wake us up to tell us there were Manatees swimming around and then Alligators just cruising by the side of the road.  We arrived at the space centre and got our bearings and were into it.
The Imax movie about the space station was fascinating and the 3D effects in it were unreal.  The students were  into the space exploration centre and are old pros at this space simulation stuff.  Landing the lunar module on their first try.  There was also a pretty amazing art exhibition with photos of the planets including a pretty amazing one of Jupiter.
Of course the highlight of the day was the Lunch with an Astronaut- Wendy Lawrence.  She had great descriptions of what it was really like- take off is like being a six year old and having your older brother by six year sitting on your chest because you have lost at wrestling again. The adventures in zero gravity and the immense preparation that they went through to get there were amazing.  It was pretty sobering to hear her talk about being on the next flight after the Columbia incident.
We have a group photo with her that we will get framed for school.
After the lunch we went on a tour of the launch station.  The Shuttles get launched from Cape Canaveral which is called launch control-this control transfers to Houston 8 seconds into the flight.  Amazing team work again between all the different aspects of the mission. One of the exhibits did explain that the computing power in your average smart phone is more than what they launched the Apollo missions with. Because of Space Camp the relevance of the sites we visited was heightened and their understanding of the exhibits so much more than it would have been before the Space Camp experience.
Visiting the launch control centre of the Apollo missions was pretty incredible and I thought it was pretty special to watch the count down and reenactment of the take off from actually where it all happened.  Likewise looking out over the shuttle launch pad was equally special.
It's a short report tonight.

Take care everyone

Louisa
The first three photos are some of our great morning faces as we set off this morning.

 You can just see the Shuttle Launch pad in the back ground.  Some of the fantastic group we are travelling with are in the foreground.

 Seth using the telescope to have a close up look at the launch site.

The actual Apollo mission control.

Day Two of Disney

Hello everyone

Today was the second day of our Youth Education Programme at Disney.  We went on the Keepers of the Kingdom behind the scenes tour.  Not nearly as good as the programme on Monday at Magic Kingdom. The students did get to go on the premier ride as VIPs.  The ride was the Everest ride and was everything you could imagine a trip to Everest to be- complete with the Yeti.  On this YES programme they were very strict about us not taking photographs.
After the YES programme the students were ready to hit the theme park at full force... Everest was conquered again with photos purchased of our perfectly posed students. The Dinosaur ride took us back in time to the time before the meteorite collision that may have caused their extinction.  The special effects were incredible and the thought that had gone into the creation of the experiences meticulous.
A Bugs Life in 3D was another awesome feature- showing many of the worlds insects flying millimetres away from your face.  The special effects in this one included being stung by a hornet and sprayed by a stink beetle.  Very clever.
The best ride on a 31 degree day was the Kali River rafting experience.  Somehow Tom managed to get absolutely drenched- I got a a few splashes.  Couldn't have planned it better.
The park also included some real life animals-from African Safari animals to creatures of the Asian jungles.  The animals were coaxed to be in the right place at the right time by careful design of feeding and sleeping places.  There were animals that I hadn't seen before such as Bats and Raptors that were fascinating to watch.
The whole Disney experience is massive with such attention to detail.  We are looking forward to Friday when we are back for our final theme park day.
All the troops met up again at 5.30- we were expecting requests to stay longer but surprisingly the students wanted to come back to the Hostel and organise their dinners.  The kids are very tired but loving every opportunity that passes their way- when they all meet back up after a day going in different directions they are all pleased to see each other and talk non stop about what they have been doing. A lot of friendships have been forged that wouldn't have naturally formed at school.
Another fantastic day was had by all.  Tomorrow we are off to Cape Canaveral to the Kennedy Space Centre and another look at the Saturn V technology and Apollo missions.  We will be having lunch with an Astronaut and spending some time in the space center there.
 Take care everyone
Until tomorrow

Louisa

Kelly Park Springs

Hi everyone

Here are a couple of photos from the students tubing at the Kelly Park Springs yesterday. We do have more but due to the public nature of the blog I won't post any of students in swimming togs on here. I will however include them in the photo package we create for everyone.

Cheers

Tom WK

Jonathan enjoying his relaxing float on the springs

Below: Me doing my best impression of a life buoy

Something Special

Hi everyone

As I said in an earlier blog our students had a treat at the basketball that was very unexpected. We were given the opportunity to get onto center court and have our photo taken by the official Orlando Magic photographer. At this stage they are still to send me the photo to upload but we will have it soon and I will get good copies made and give everyone both a printed and digital copy. This opportunity was most unexpected for everyone and a massive moment for everyone. It was quite an adventure to be on court and no one will forget it.

Here are the students just before we were allowed on court:

High school, tubing and shopping

Hello everyone. I've been off the radar for a couple of days with food poisoning. So big thanks to Tom for looking after everything while I've been poorly.
Today we went to Dr Phillips high school. This is what is called a magnet school with different specialities that attract students to the school. Their performing arts centre was absolutely amazing. 3700 kids at the school which would take some organising.
Our students paired up with some students and went to classes for the morning. Some interesting subjects on offer including forensics and psychology.
After classes we went to Kelly Springs for tubing. A very mild stream that was a nice interlude before we went SHOPPING at the outlet mall. The students had two hours and it was bedlam. The first thing I bought was a carry on size suitcase and a set of scales to weigh luggage. I can see overweight luggage looming after the shopping done today. We were surprised to see the boys back first followed by our girls who had shopped to the last second.
Now they want more. And are trying to convince us what we can leave out of the programme to fit in more shopping. So Tom and I are looking at how we may be able to get there on Friday.
I'm sure you understand that this is stuff they absolutely need and no junk is being bought. I know I needed a new handbag and watch. (I also had to make a wee phonecall to the bank in NZ to extend my credit card limit whilst shopping)
We have had some quite long bus rides today in which I may have dozed off occasionally. When the kids think I'm asleep the conversation changes entirely into the inevitable of who likes who and who is pretending not to like who. Very interesting and quite amusing for Tom and I to watch. But as they say what goes on tour stays on tour and our lips are sealed.
Tomorrow we have another Disney day which I'm excited about as I missed the first day and then Cape Canaveral on Thursday.
The kids continue to be amazing in their behavior and enthusiasm. "look there is a squirrel, look look, I've never seen one before" much to the amusement of the locals. and "look how much traffic there is- there is probably more people on this motorway right now than live in New Zealand"
Whilst they are loving America I think they appreciate New Zealand more and more
Until tomorrow

Take care everyone
Louisa

Our students with the hosts from Dr. Phillips High School:

Nick, Josh C and Adam with their hosts for the morning - I think they may have enjoyed the company

Monday - Disney & Orlando Magic

Hi everyone

Monday was a very busy day and we left at 7am and didn't return until 11pm.

The day began with a trip to Walt Disney World (don't call it Disneyland they get very touchy). It is a small city by itself with its own motorway system and bus, train and yes ferry boat systems as well.

I am not sure who was the bigger kid myself (Tom) or the students when we walked into Main Street USA for the first time.

The students headed straight for the candy shop at 8:30am with Izzy leading the way but they all forgot about candy when they found the dress up section. Check out the photo page for a great one of the boys in their Mickey hats.

At 9am it was time to start our youth program. This was our first one and it was about energy and waves. They focused on the use of light and sound energy in the rides. The students got a mix of education on the theory of light and sound then a ride on an attraction that displayed the theory then a wrap up and onto the next theory. We did light energy and it's uses on the haunted mansion ride, UV light, reflection and refraction etc. the students got to go behind the scenes on this ride and see how Disney creates the Ghosts Ball Scene using reflection.

It was then off to The Lilo and Stitch ride so look at sound energy and it's use to tell the story while the ride was pitch dark. Josh L had an up close and personal encounter with a thunder can during one of the theory section. He must have jumped a good foot in the air and I think Seth was nearly bowled over. That's what happens when the educator asks you to close your eyes and then rattles the thunder can right next to you.

The program wrapped up with Mickey's Philharmonic which combines both sound and light in a 3D movie. It was a brilliant program and the students really enjoyed it from what I could see.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in Magic Kingdom trying to get through as many rides as possible. The students took care of themselves so I could go off and relive my childhood however I did meet up with them for Space Mountain, a very tame looking roller coaster that is anything but tame when you ride it. The idea of riding a coaster in complete darkness as the universe shoots by is a great one.

After the consumption of too much candy floss in Charlotte's case and way too much sugar is everyone else's we headed off to the Orlando Magiv Basketball game. What an amazing experience.

The tour company had arranged some brilliant tickets high up in the Amway Centre and it had a great view. The game was an absolute spectacle with cheerleaders, floating mascots, remote controlled blimps, bottomless sodas, music, lights oh and a game of basketball as well. The students were awe struck and so happy with the experience.

One that got absolutely amazing at the end with a surprise for all the students that even I couldn't believe.

I will have to leave you hanging until I can load some photos to explain.

For those of you wondering Orlando beat Detroit 119-89. It was a great game and tonight I will load some photos and explain the surprise.

Lazy Day and Gatorland

Hi everyone

Today (Sunday) in Florida has been a relaxing and enjoyable day spent for most people in bed till mid morning then mucking around the hostel until the washing was finished. Thankfully everyone has now been able to do some washing, not that anyone smelt to bad!

The afternoon was spent heading out on an adventure to Gatorland. We braved the public transport system here in Orlando and it was very good. It was a long ride to Gatorland but once there it was fun to see what is essentially an alligator farm.

It was a very hot day and we only spent about 1 1/2 hours at Gatorland but it was enough time to see jumping alligators and the up close encounters show. Louisa and myself managed to get very close to a tarantula and also watched a large boa constrictor being handled by the audience.

Tomorrow will see us off to the first of our Disney Youth Education Series programs. The first program is at the Magic Kingdom Theme park within Walt Disney World and is based around the energy of roller coasters and light used to make the special effects within many of the rides.

It is a short blog tonight however it does reflect the lazy nature of today, I have to say that all of the students are looking better for it and are now ready for more adventures this week.

I have added a few photos to a new Gatorland page so have a look and below are our students at the entrance to Gatorland.

All the best
Tom Wilkinson

Orlando

Hi All

Well the accent has changed a bit from the Southern Drawl to a far more mixed bag of accents. Flying into Orlando was amazing- it looked so different to anything we had seen before- there were little lakes everywhere and just such a different landscape to where we had come from.  Orlando Airport is HUUUUUGGGGGEEEE.
We caught the monorail to the baggage claim- on the way passing the through the centre of the airport with its Hotel and own shopping mall.  But it was all easy and everything went to plan, the Manitur transport people meeting us at the airport and whisking us away to the accommodation.
The kids have complained all week about the camp food and the lack of vegetables- so we gave them their budget tonight expecting them to haul back stacks of vegetables.  However the only veges we have seen have been in the trolley of Tom and I.  To their credit a lot of cereal and milk was bought.
After dinner most of the kids hit the pool.  (after the required time break for safe pool swimming)  While we were there we saw a raccoon snuffling around the pool.  I mean where else does that happen.  Apparently there are turtles in the lake next to the "resort" as well.
The accommodation while basic is very cool and it is nice to see the boys playing basket ball until we sent them to bed.
The girls room looks like a suitcase bomb has gone off in it.  6 suitcases opened and spread around with complete abandon.  In the middle of it the girls are painting each others toe nails.  Madness- not that my suitcase and tidiness is much better- I had to lie on my suitcase this morning to get it to close.

Tomorrow is a sleep in and then off to see what is open before heading to Gator Land.  I'll let you know the highlights tomorrow night

Hope you are all safe and well back in New Zealand.  Take care.

Louisa

Evening in Orlando, FL

Tonight has been a very relaxing affair with students shopping for dinner and having an evening swimming in the pool. They are now all catching up on Facebook and other teenage distractions. Tomorrow is relaxation and recuperation then Gatorland in the afternoon.

A beautiful scene this evening by the pool looking out on Lake Cecile.

We are all looking forward to a lie in tomorrow morning then let the chaos begin on Monday morning!

Thanks for all the wonderful comments both here on the blog and by e-mail. I am passing on as much as I can.

Cheers

Tom Wilkinson

Arrival in Orlando

Hi everyone

We have now arrived in Florida and we are at our accommodation at the Palm Lake Front Hostel.

It is a sufficient hostel with everything we need. The location is amazing in terms of having shops close, bus routes outside and pretty close to Disney.

We will be able to continue with the blog which is great and will give you a more detailed update tonight.

Cheers

Tom WK

Our Aussie Friends

This post is just to perpetuate the spirit of positive Aussie New Zealand relations.

  I think I have mentioned that their has been a group of Aussies here with us.  This is the first time this group has stayed at space camp and they have had a great time.  Last night Tom and I went out to dinner with them at a restaurant called the "outback"- where they sold genuine Aussie food. Did you all know that deep fried battered onion is the national dish of Australia.  What was disappointing is that there was no pavlova on the menu.   It was a great night and thanks to the Aussie crew for taking us out for such memorable food. We do hope to catch up with you all again and remember to look us up if you are in Christchurch.

We hope you have a great flight back and thanks for all the tips on Disney Land.

Louisa 

Last Post from Space Camp

Good evening everyone.

This is our last post from Space Camp.
Today we had graduation- which Tom has already put the photos up for.  We then took the students to Bridge St Mall.  This is a brand new pedestrian mall which is built around an artificial lake.  It had multitudes of shops- but all of a Merivale Mall type rather than a dress mart type of mall.  Still I think a bit of shopping was done.  The less hard core shoppers went to the movies.
And of course when Kiwi kids go shopping- someone bought a football and a piece of grass was found and they had to test out the aerodynamics of the ball.  A security guard was quickly on the scene and somewhat reluctantly did tell the students to stop.
At the end of the day we met for dinner at PF Changs for dinner.  An awesome Chinese restaurant where the kids could eat loads of veges.  We were a bit concerned about three of our boys choosing the hottest dish on the menu.  A little hot for the Josh's but cool as a cucumber Nick just ate it all up.
After birthday cookie cake (see Tom's Pictures) the waitress bought out fortune cookies. 
All good fun but some of the cookies suggested the students will find their hearts desire tonight.  I'm just pleased the space camp staff are in charge tonight or else I wouldn't sleep a wink.
The students were great today, we enjoyed spending the day out with them and we think they all had a good time having a low pressure day.

We have sent the students to pack- I'm picking there will be some issues here.  I know I'm struggling to fit everything back in my suitcase.

We will let you know when you get to Florida.

Take care everyone- Louisa
The photos below are of the students waiting outside the restaurant.

Happy Birthday Katie and Nick!!

Katie and Nick are both celebrating birthdays while we are here in the USA, Katie the 6/4 and Nick the 7/4. Tonight before we head to Florida, Saturday morning we had a birthday meal at P.F. Chang's China Bistro. Without the students knowing we Louisa and myself organised a very American Cookie Cake. It is basically a 12" Diameter Chocolate Chip Cookie - sounds over the top and it was. Both students were very happy to have a small celebration and I also believe that Katie was treated while at the mall by the girls courtesy of her Mum.

The birthday two with their cookie cake

Our students celebrating!

What an awesome week and our students have made us and the school very very proud!

Graduation: Mission Accomplished

Hi everyone,

Its Friday here at Space Camp and our students have just graduated from the Advanced Space Camp Program. They have had an incredibly successful week and all are absolutely buzzing about their experiences here at Camp. We had some successes with our teams, Adam and Seth were part of Team Holderer who won the Space Bowl Trivia Quiz last night.

Team Von Braun - Josh C, Victor, Izzy, Millie and Charlotte won the outstanding team of the week for the Advanced Space Camp program. There were only 4 other students from other countries in the team who were made honorary Kiwi's for the week

The Von Tisenhausen team also took home a prize for winning the engineering challenges throughout the week

Below are photos of our students graduating in their teams:

Team Von Tiesenhausen 

 

From Left: Nick, Kamen, Bry, Josh L, Andrew, Katie, Anna, Jonathan

Team Holderer

Adam and Seth in their multi-national team

Team Von Braun

From Left: Josh C, Victor,Charlotte,Izzy,Millie

Charlotte Displaying the outstanding team patch awarded to her team

Thoughts from Thursday

Hello everyone

We hope you are enjoying the start of the Easter break and enjoying Hot Cross Buns.  I'm sure you all bought some at the supermarket in the mad rush last night.  I haven't seen or smelt a hot cross bun anywhere.  I thought we were in the conservative south and they would have more Easter traditions. The shops are full of chocolate but no buns.  We have also been asking "will you be open on Good Friday" and everywhere seems to be.  We had thought about an Easter egg hunt in Florida but quickly realised in the heat that it may be a disaster that would turn into a feast for ants.  But we may think of something. 

The students are on their missions today and we have had little luck in seeing them.  The timetable they give us is subject to change- and today it has been "all turned around" as they say here in the south.  So we walk for twenty minutes to see rocket launches only to find them not there.  So we have had a frustrating day.

The students however do come home with stacks of photos that the Camp Counsellors have been taking.  There is another big international group here at the moment- from Melbourne.  It has been really useful as they are linked with a Space Ambassador- this person can get behind the scenes and take photos in the areas we aren't allowed.  They Aussies are going to send us their photos- so we are quite looking forward to that.
One of the goals of the missions is to really reinforce to the students how team work really works.  The pilots may get the glory but there is an awful lot of other work that goes on to get you there.  If you are going to sit on a big bomb and be blown into space you want to know that the person doing up the screws has got it right.  The students really do understand the importance of working together once they have been through the missions.  In the Saturn V museum they really pay tribute to all of the engineers and mission control specialists that brought it all together.  It really is a museum that acknowledges the significance of science and technology.  After my comment yesterday about the control systems I went back to the museum to find out more- I took photos of the three gyroscopes that were used to control the flight path of the Saturn V rocket.  This information was fed back to mission control where the flight path could be corrected.  (OK so I thought it was interesting)
So we haven't really seen much of the students today- but when we do they are buzzing.  Our quote of the day comes from Kamen- "I really miss my Mums cooking"  The food has been pretty challenging at times. 

We are hoping to be able to being you comments from the missions tomorrow. 

Take Care

Louisa 

The photo shows the gyroscope and map reading tools that were used to measure angles and trajectories.  (PS I know that map reading tools is the wrong term- an Easter egg to the person who corrects me)

Whale Spit and Diving

Hi everyone

Our students who have been completing the Scuba program have been very interested in the white bottles dotted around the edge of the pool

The Norwegian Whale spit - premium stuff apparently - is used to defog their masks prior to the dive.
The tank itself is most impressive:

The UAT tank is 24 foot deep and is held at a temperature of 91 Fahrenheit, according to Google this is 7.3m and 32 degrees centigrade. The top of the pool has a shelf that is 1.6m deep which allows the students to stand and take instructions from the trainers. They then practice the skills they need by kneeling on the stand before heading down the ladder to the obstacles and activities at the bottom of the tank.

Notes from Wednesday

Hello everyone

A busy day today with the students engaged in the variety of activities that are available for them here.  Tom is posting photos- a picture tells a thousand words.
Jonathan, Anna, Nick and Bry had their turn in the SCUBA tank.  Its an amazing process to watch- the students being prepared to dive and use the SCUBA equipment and 20 minutes later they are playing with bowling balls on the bottom of the pool.  We were told tonight that this is the only place outside of Russia where this sort of UAT (Under Water Astronaut training) training takes place.
A highlight for me today was going to see the Saturn 5 rocket.  It is amazing to see such a complicated piece of technology- the Rocket on display is one that wasn't used- it had been in storage somewhere, before they put it in its own museum.  The Saturn V rockets fired sequentially as they took the Apollo missions from take off through to the earths orbit and finally into the moons orbit.  One of the sections had to fire to to get into the earths orbit and then turn off.  It then had to be restarted and fire again to take the astronauts into the moons orbit. You realise the magnitude of the engineering and technology when you think what they had to control to make this happen.  You couldn't get out and wind the rubber band tighter or worse still "please wait while windows restarts".
The students had their final practice missions today before the big missions they all go through tomorrow.  The missions are scripted but their are non scripted parts the students don't know about that will test their problem solving skills.  Tonight the students are being told by their counsellors who will have which role tomorrow.  We know that Charlotte will be Commander of the ascent during their teams extended mission and Josh C will be flight engineer and mission specialist.  I am sure we will be told about the other 13 students roles as they are told them by their counsellors.  Millie is very proud of getting all of her check lists correct in her landing simulation this afternoon.
It is hard to find the students sometimes as they get spread far and wide through the complex.  Not helped by the massive thunder storms that are coming and going, when, their is lightening the students aren't allowed outside because of the slim chance of lightening strike.  They monitor the weather constantly and we have been told if there are huge storms likely we will be taken into the storm cellar.  (the storms don't worry me particularly but there are lot of children here doing other programmes who are 12 and under- being in a storm cellar with them may be trying).
Tom and I had to go and find a Walmart today to buy Muesli bars for the students, Granola bars over here, Often dinner is before 5pm and that's a long time until breakfast.  The students aren't allowed food in their rooms- so we had to sneak them in like contraband. 
The students continue to be amazing- they are positive and friendly to everyone.  Some of the students from other schools are looking very tired but ours are just trucking along.Sometimes they have wee moans but to us only.  We are so enjoying being away with them.  We are starting to put plans together for Friday.  But they are a surprise for the students so we can't tell you all either as we know some of the students are also reading the Blog.

Since this is your last day of school/work before Good Friday have a happy and safe holiday weekend.  More posts tomorrow.

Louisa

Victor and Adam Videos

Victor running on the 1/6 gravity chair and finding life difficult on the 'moon'

Adam on the Multi axis trainer being asked Star wars trivia questions by his camp counsellor

Scuba and Photo Update

Hi everyone

Just a quick note to update the previous post from Louisa. I have just returned from watching Izzy and Millie complete their Scuba dive. As with Seth and Adam last night they are over the moon (excuse the pun) with this experience. They are diving in a 24 foot tank (7m) which is around 4m in diameter. At the bottom of the tank there are a series of skills they have to perform. From shooting weighted balls through a hoop to assembling a trapezium out of lengths of pipe. I think this is going to be one of many highlights for the students who participate. We are lucky enough to get photos at the top of the tank before they dive and through portholes in the base of the tank. I have created another page for these Scuba Photos so take a look.

I have also added more photos of students completing tasks in the sims that Louisa has mentioned. These include Seth and Adam in the multi axis trainer and a video of Victor trying to walk on the moon.

All the best

Tom WK

The rest of Tuesday at Space Camp

Hello everyone.

Everything is ticking along although it is very hot- its like a hot nor-westerly all the time. 
The students are involved in lots of simulations that mimic low gravity or the difficulty of manipulating machinery outside of the space craft.
All of the groups had a go on the climbing wall and it certainly pushed some of the students comfort levels.  It really was a focus on working as a team as they had a "daisy chain" between the two climbers that they had to try and not break. 

The Climbing wall is situated in an area called area 51- obviously not the real one because that doesn't exist.  It is about a 10 minute walk from camp- through what we assume is their native bush- saw a deer and lots of squirrels.  Also in all of this bush is just abandoned bits of plane and spacecraft.  It certainly makes the area look very military and space like.

Tom and I had a look around the aviation challenge while we were at the climbing wall.  A very interesting set up with very high tech simulators.  It is very military in style and we weren't sure if our kids would respond very well to the style of the course.

This afternoon we have been watching a group on the 1/6 gravity chair.  Similar to the gravity on the moon.  The students looked so awkward trying to get around- every movement was overcompensated and quite hard to control.  Hard to imagine doing something like this in space gear as well.  There will be photos of up this shortly.

The students have been on the multi axis trainer as well- a device that simulates zero gravity conditions.

There is an awesome museum here at the Space Centre as well.  One of the bits of scientific history I had missed was the influence of the Germans on the space race and that they had volunteered to settle in Huntsville after world war 2.   This group of scientists, led by Von Braun,  have been termed the 'paper clip' scientists- in reference to the subtle paper clip that was placed on their files by the allies at the end of world war two to indicate they would be taken to the USA.  Both Russia and the USA wanted these scientists to further their rocket technology understanding with the purpose of winning the space race. There is amazing historic material in the museum from many of the space missions- for some of us more grown ups they aren't historical events but just stuff that has happened in our lifetimes. (although I would like to clarify that I wasn't alive when man first walked on the moon)

Tonight we have a group learning to scuba and another doing a practice mission in the shuttle simulator.  

We'll be in touch again tomorrow- with more photos of course.

Louisa

Tuesday at Space Camp

Hi everyone

Another glorious day at Space Camp a very hot and sticky 28 degrees. The students have all had rock climbing this morning prior to lunch and every student made a successful attempt at the wall.

The students are spending the afternoon on various simulators and there will be plenty of photos to upload this afternoon.

Videos From Space Camp Training Monday

Video of Seth and another Student playing Keep me up with a weighted ball at the bottom of the Scuba Tank.

Anna having her turn on the Multi-Axis Trainer, this is preparation for her role as a mission specialist. 

The end of the first full day.

Good evening again everybody.
Well today we have completed the first full day at space camp.  The students are into it.  Today Seth and Adam have been in the SCUBA tank doing their underwater astronaut training.
One of the other groups have been on a practice shuttle mission.  There are cameras in the shuttle and as chaperones we are able to view the live feed.  What we saw tonight was largely comedy.  I wouldn't have wanted to be flying on this shuttle. 
Izzy was trying to re-write the script and was heard telling the camp tutor that the script was wrong.  (it's been used on the odd training mission before) Charlotte is flight commander and whilst very good is still finding her commanding voice.  The students had bought some sugary sherbet stuff and were eating it every time the counsellors back was turned.  Hmmm this time we really do have eyes everywhere.
Our students have started a sunglasses wearing trend that is being followed by other non- New Zealanders.  They do look odd (ridiculous) sitting in a darkened shuttle simulator with their sunnies on. 
Meanwhile our third group were having a go on the multi axis trainer.  A spinny chair that you are strapped into and spun around through all degrees of a sphere.  It looked very cool- but I am chicken and when the trainer offered me a go I ran away.  Anna was very cool calm and collected while being spun around.  Some of our students weren't sure if this was quite for them although I was assured it doesn't make you sick.

We are trying to get pictures of the students in as many activities as possible.  We aren't encouraged to be at all of the activities as we get underfoot.

As well as being photographers Tom and I went into the town of Huntsville today.  We had a little look around in the center of town and then caught a bus to Walmart.  It was my first time in a Walmart.  Predictably I got lost looking for safety pins and the assistant I asked for help was very amused when I told her I had never been to a walmart before.  Tom and I also found good coffee and some earl grey teabags so the world is looking brighter.

Everyone is feeling so much better today- on top of the jetlag and using all the opportunities that are coming along.  The students are literally on the go from 6.30am to 10.30pm.  They are already coming and asking if we can sleep in Florida.  (the answer is probably not, some of the Disney programs start really early- but don't tell them)

Take care everyone

Louisa 

Sunday Night

Evening everybody

I think it is Sunday evening but really who knows.  This jet lag thing is very confusing.

We arrived at camp at 11.30 last night and the students were sent straight off to bed and as far as we are aware did just that.  Everyones body clocks are a bit out of whack so going to sleep was quite hard.

Today the students have had organsied activities until space camp proper started.  At 2pm they were put into their groups, Von tiesenhausen, Holderer and Von Braun (apologies for spelling).  Then the excitement started- they have been kitted out in their jump suits and have started properly into their programme. 
Tom and I don't have much of a programme and it has probably harder for us to stay awake all day than for the students.  Tomorrow the students are starting to train for their respective missions, for those who are scuba-ing they start orientation to that tomorrow as well.
The students aren't allowed their phones during the day and really only have a chance to call or text at 10pm at night.  If you really need to talk to your son or daughter please email us and we will make sure we track them down during that time and get them to call.
We have some shopping to do to tomorrow- we had over looked that we are "down south" and girls can't show their shoulders so I'm off to Walmart tomorrow to buy Tshirts for the girls and jandals- you aren't allowed to walk barefoot inside the Habitat.  All things we learn.

Tom is in charge of photos tonight and is trying to transfer photos to the blog as we speak. The photos don't show up with the main text in the blog you have to Tab along until you see the labels for the photos- at the moment we have LA photos and Space Camp Photos. We are planning our day tomorrow to get some good team shots to hopefully post tomorrow night.

There is a group of Australians here as well.  Nice to have a similar accent and some people that just don't nod politely when you say we are from New Zealand.

Take care

Louisa

This is the view you see when you come out of the Habitat and head to the Cafeteria for Breakfast!