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Adventures In Space Camp

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By LAURA FRAZIER

lfrazier@tampatrib.com

Published: November 5, 2008

LITHIA - Her adrenaline pumping, Mary Vaughn climbed through the window of a downed helicopter, lowered herself into a lake and swam to a rescue net that lifted her to safety.

It was only a simulation, but the rush was real.

The FishHawk Creek Elementary School teacher relished many thrilling moments during a weeklong camp she attended this summer at the U.S. Space & Rocket Academy in Huntsville, Ala.

Vaughn was one of 300 educators from around the globe selected to participate in the seven-day space camp sponsored by employees of Honeywell International. More than 1,500 applied for the program, Vaughn said. Those selected exhibited a commitment to integrating math and science curriculums and a passion for the science of space.

The group spent half of each day immersed in classroom activities and the balance playing parts in elaborately staged NASA mission simulations.

Vaughn served as a mission control staff member during one exercise, tasked to relay instructions from the ground to other teachers posing as astronauts in orbit conducting exterior repairs to a space shuttle.

She was impressed by the realism of the simulations, particularly a mock shuttle flight in which she served as pilot. Her "crew" donned authentic flight suits, boarded a life-sized shuttle replica and successfully completed a full simulated flight, orbit and return, with Vaughn deploying the parachute.

"The scenery, when you look out the window, it looks like the real thing," she said.

The experience provided great fodder to take back to the gifted students she teaches in third through fifth grades. She said many of the activities will help her connect the dots for her students between the two subjects she teaches - math and science.

"Math and measuring are critical tools in many areas of science," she said. "I learned tons and tons of new things, and I'll continue to share them with my students.

She said with the Ares I rocket in development and NASA's plans for a trip to the moon and Mars in 2015, now is the time to encourage young people to excel at math and science and reach for the stars.

But when the time comes, would Vaughn suit up for the real thing?

"Absolutely," she said. "I think it would be an incredible opportunity."

Reporter Laura Frazier can be reached at (813) 657-4523.

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