"Today's imagination is tomorrow's future."
My week at NASA was all I dreamed it to be. It was a week long institute to encourage STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) activities in your classroom. Here's a little of what I did in pictures of course:
(above) I receive my certificate upon completion of the program. :)
This is Orion, the future for space flight. Orion will sit atop a rocket and take our astronauts into space (well, if Obama isn't reelected). :(
For now though, our astronauts are transported in the Soyuz, the Russian aircraft that you have to be pretty much in the fetal position to ride in. :( 
(below) is a mock-up of the actual size of the space shuttle. Astronauts train in this bad boy. (above) The last four astronauts signed the nose cone. They will take off in the Atlantis next month.
This is the big swimming pool where astronauts practice in neutral buoyancy.
(above) This is in the Apollo Mission Control. The red phone was a direct line to the Pentagon, so when astronauts landed, they could then send Navy ships to their location.
The Apollo 13 crew gave the plaque above the water fountain to mission control--they called mission control the true heroes of space flight. The mirror on the plaque had been with them on the mission.
The International Space Station Mission Control (above and below). :)
(above) Space Shuttle Mission Control. This room will be empty after next month. :(
(above) Yes, that's me stuck to the Velcro wall. :)
(above) My two great roommates for the week long institute. Brooke, in the middle, was from Kansas, and Aundrea was from Dallas. We enjoyed the week together. And (below) we tried to take a jumping picture as we experienced microgravity together. :)
If you know me, you probably have heard the story about how I participated in the name the space shuttle program in sixth grade. Well, the name Endeavour was chosen, but my team's entry was Adventure. The Lego space shuttle is named Adventure, and this one in the museum . . . I was soooooo close. :(
The thing I learned the most about was the International Space Station. A football field wide is pretty big. I learned so much about what they do on board from experiments with plants and animals to playing with toys in space. :)
You can't go to NASA without making some kind of rocket---a straw rocket this time around. :)
My official badge from this week. :) We all were so excited about our badges, but very sad when we learned that NASA needed them back to 'recycle' them. :( I had such a good experience this week--and learned so much about what NASA offers to help teachers teach science and math. And I learned that I want my kids to participate in the different camps, institutes, and even summer long programs. My future vulcanologist (Cameron), engineer (Karston), and cheerleader/doctor (Kayden) might work for NASA one day (unless their mom beats them to it). :) I highly recommend this institute for ALL future teachers . . . now off to add to my certification Math/Science 4-8th grade (I'll take that test next month). :)
(above) I receive my certificate upon completion of the program. :)
This is Orion, the future for space flight. Orion will sit atop a rocket and take our astronauts into space (well, if Obama isn't reelected). :(
For now though, our astronauts are transported in the Soyuz, the Russian aircraft that you have to be pretty much in the fetal position to ride in. :( 
(below) is a mock-up of the actual size of the space shuttle. Astronauts train in this bad boy. (above) The last four astronauts signed the nose cone. They will take off in the Atlantis next month.
This is the big swimming pool where astronauts practice in neutral buoyancy.
(above) This is in the Apollo Mission Control. The red phone was a direct line to the Pentagon, so when astronauts landed, they could then send Navy ships to their location.
The Apollo 13 crew gave the plaque above the water fountain to mission control--they called mission control the true heroes of space flight. The mirror on the plaque had been with them on the mission.
The International Space Station Mission Control (above and below). :)
(above) Space Shuttle Mission Control. This room will be empty after next month. :(
(above) Yes, that's me stuck to the Velcro wall. :) 
(above) My two great roommates for the week long institute. Brooke, in the middle, was from Kansas, and Aundrea was from Dallas. We enjoyed the week together. And (below) we tried to take a jumping picture as we experienced microgravity together. :)
If you know me, you probably have heard the story about how I participated in the name the space shuttle program in sixth grade. Well, the name Endeavour was chosen, but my team's entry was Adventure. The Lego space shuttle is named Adventure, and this one in the museum . . . I was soooooo close. :(
The thing I learned the most about was the International Space Station. A football field wide is pretty big. I learned so much about what they do on board from experiments with plants and animals to playing with toys in space. :)
You can't go to NASA without making some kind of rocket---a straw rocket this time around. :)For one activity, we had to put our legs in the air for ten minutes. We measured the before and after measurements of one of our legs and head. Our bodies are accustomed to fighting gravity to get blood to our brain, when it no longer has to do that (when we are laying with our feet in the air or in microgravity) blood rushes to our heads. So, if you ever wondered why astronauts look a little puffy in the face, it is because of this.
Moon rock samples! I can now check out these bad boys and show them to my class. :) The twelve astronauts who got to walk on the moon carried about 800 lbs. of moon rock back to Earth.
We learned how to integrate math and science. This graph illustrates the moon phases during one month.
Of course, we learned about volcanoes, rockets, craters, and talked a lot about the scale of the solar system, all with different activities that would give our students hands-on experiences and fun.
Before we came to NASA, we had to create plant growth chambers. On the first night we planted seeds, some were seeds flown in space, and some were just Earth seeds. At the end of the week we compared. My space seeds grew!!! :)
Moon rock samples! I can now check out these bad boys and show them to my class. :) The twelve astronauts who got to walk on the moon carried about 800 lbs. of moon rock back to Earth.
We learned how to integrate math and science. This graph illustrates the moon phases during one month.
Of course, we learned about volcanoes, rockets, craters, and talked a lot about the scale of the solar system, all with different activities that would give our students hands-on experiences and fun.
Before we came to NASA, we had to create plant growth chambers. On the first night we planted seeds, some were seeds flown in space, and some were just Earth seeds. At the end of the week we compared. My space seeds grew!!! :)
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Hugs, Lura