Jim Sherwood of Smithville recently attended SPACE CAMP at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, home of SPACE CAMP and NASA’s official Visitor Information Center for Marshall Space Flight Center. The weeklong educational program promotes science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), while training students and adults with hands-on activities and missions based on team work, leadership and decision-making. Jim successfully completed the requirements and earned an Engineering college credit from the University of Alabama, Huntsville.
Jim was part of the Advanced Space Academy Program, which is specifically designed for high school trainees who have a particular interest in aerospace. He spent the week training with a team that flew a simulated Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Once aboard the ISS, the crew participated in experiments and successfully completed an extra-vehicular activity (EVA), or space walk.
Jim and crew returned to earth in time to hear retired Space Shuttle astronaut Col. Bob Springer speak at their graduation! Throughout the week, points were awarded for individual and team challenges in scientific knowledge, athletics, leadership and teamwork. Jim’s team was elated when the announcement came at graduation that they had won the Commander’s Cup, the award presented to the team with the highest score for the week.
SPACE CAMP crew trainers who lead each 16-member team must have at least a year of college, and the majority of staff are college graduates.
SPACE CAMP operates year-round in Huntsville, Alabama, and uses astronaut training techniques to engage trainees in real-world applications of STEM subjects. Students sleep in quarters designed to resemble the ISS and train in simulators like those used by NASA. More than 600,000 trainees have graduated from SPACE CAMP since its opening in Huntsville in 1982, including STS-131 astronaut Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger.
Last year, children and teacher from all 50 states and 58 international locations attended SPACE CAMP. Jim attended during International Week. He met high school students from all over the United States and had team members from England, Belgium and Mexico.
Interested in training like an astronaut? Visit www.spacecamp.com or call 1-800-63 SPACE.
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