"Future Leaders Are Born Here”
On 8-10th November, 2019 we organized a school trip to Izmir Space Camp with our 6th graders. Under the motto "Future Leaders Are Born Here”, space camp presented everything that our students are curious about to experience. The students joined different activities with educational simulators developed by NASA. In addition to this, they did some activities to improve their team-working and leadership skills. All of these activities increased the “space technologies” awareness of the students.
The students had lots of fun while using these simulators. It was a very exciting experience for them to use the “Manned Maneuvering Unit” which was previously used in space by NASA astronauts and was brought to space camp. On the other hand, it was great to experience the Multi-Exis Trainer-“MAT” which gives information about the loss of sense of direction, the “1/6 Gravity Chair” which gives the sense of moving on the Moon and the “Zero Gravity Wall” which proves Newton’s Laws for the students who will be the scientists of the future.
The” Space Shuttle Discovery“ mission was the most important task of the 61 students who continued their education in four teams as ‘’The Sun’’, ”Mercury“ and “Venus’’. During this mission some of the students completing the flight mission were pilots, cargo experts, scientists in the flight crew,whereas others were in the ground centre as flight managers, scientists and public relations experts. In this way, the students learned to communicate effectively with each other, to solve problems together, and apply scientific thinking processes. Participating in all activities, they built team spirit. They also had the chance to visit the planetarium created by a virtual sky, and the ‘’Magical Sphere’’. Many subjects from earth sciences to astronomy were explained in detail with the help of visuals. Furthermore, they had an opportunity to explore the Moon’s surface with the help of a telescope.
At the end of the camp, our students received their “Space Camp Training” certificates and attended the “Space Camp Graduation Ceremony”. It was a wonderful and unique experience that satisfied all facets of students’ curiosity.
