By: An Jimenez
On teaching
Today, our Learning Festival at the Christa McAuliffe Space Center involved 80 enthusiastic kiddos, a 27-inch tall DOTS tower, and two successful egg drops. Teaching kids really drains my energy from 150% to 20% in a quick 5 hours, but it's entirely worth it. Here are a few moments from today that made me especially happy:
1. One boy asked what supplies he needed to recreate the DOTS Tower at home to improve his structure.
2. A 14-year-old and a 9-year-old collaborated on a design together, each contributing ideas to the table.
3. All the kids counted down enthusiastically for the egg drop.
4. One team was so proud of their incredibly strong DOTS Tower (I was too) and decided to keep it and bring it home.
5. Many students were curious not only about the workshops but also the initiative. "So, how much do you bike a day?" "Where did you start?" "Where do you sleep?" "Is it hard?" (answer: yes, very)
On the simulation
Turns out, the elementary school that we taught at also had a space mission simulation program, and we were given the chance to try a mission of our own. We all filed into a small room with computers screens with headsets and colored lighting and many buttons, similar to a control room. Our task: to find the seven missing space ships in the Beta Hydralis star cluster before time ran out. The simulation was similar to an escape room, but with more freedom to make decisions since there was not one solution to the mission.
On food
Breakfast was honey graham oats with peanut butter, Maple Hills Greek yogurt, and a generous bowl of strawberries. Snack was a Chocolate Sea Salt RXBAR. Lunch was at our new favorite chain, Kneader's (think Panera but tastier), and I ordered a Fiesta Chicken sandwich on hazelnut 12 grain bread with an "ultimate cookie bar" to top off the meal. Dinner was a healthy version of corn chowder with fresh homemade bread baked by our lovely hosts, Dan and Heather.