Astro Camp

Elise at Astro Camp. Friday, Jan. 24.

Elise's 6th grade class got to launch the space shuttle! As commander of the mission, Elise's pink flight suit came out of the laundry basket and her only head protection was a green scrunchie. She never left the cockpit and the cockpit never left Earth. The launch was imaginary of course, but the nerves, concentration and ultimate triumph were the real deal.

Odyssey Elementary, with that cool shuttle sticking out the front, is the setting for Astro Camp. Armed with headsets, monitors and control consoles, the students take on specific roles to get the shuttle ready to launch. (Think of the movie "Apollo 13.") They voice commands, analyze data, press buttons. Students follow page after page of procedure code, with unscripted Houston-sized problems thrown in to test their mettle. 

I like how director Ed Douglas emphasized the teamwork aspect of the exercise. All roles on Friday were different. Some had more speaking parts, others more buttons to navigate. One student had to pick the best landing site based on real-time weather data from Cape Canaveral, Edwards Air Force Base and White Sands, New Mexico. Other students, while they may have not had a defined duty on Friday, helped run classroom rehearsals. Individuals contribute, but success is measured as a group.

I loved this field trip! It was so fun to see Elise shine. She had been nervous, but the entire class did fabulous. Best of all, they felt good about themselves. That is always a joy to see.

The class was so well-behaved that I don't really think they needed me or the other parents to be there. I even felt a bit guilty. You see, I was jettisoned from the school that morning after an aide saw me struggling to get Samuel down the sidewalk. The last few days, his resistance to school has been painfully, NOISILY, VISIBLY intense. The aide was outside at the front crosswalk. She radioed the counselor to come out and help me. Together the counselor and I dragged Samuel into the building. "I'll take it from here, Mom," the counselor said, urging me outside. I was supposed to meet in Elise's room for field trip instruction, with the bus set to leave right after first bell. I dared not even go down the hall, should Samuel see me, but I also didn't want to leave him in crisis mode. I was in a tough spot -- if I went on the school bus and Samuel's difficulties escalated, I couldn't come back for him. So I had to have faith the school staff would handle it. (They did.) I must say, once I made my decision to go, that boisterous bus ride was unexpectedly soothing. Besides, I had been asked to attend a PTA meeting that morning. Volunteering on a field trip instead was about the best airtight alibi excuse I'd ever conjured! :)

The back of the shuttle

The commander console. Elise is actually in the nose of the shuttle replica.

Elise looks at countdown clock on opposite wall after launch sequence is complete. (Monitor shows boosters lighting up.) The group had 45 minutes to run procedure. They finished with 12:21 left.

A newspaper photographer captures the scene.

Director Ed Douglas points to the Apollo 13 crew.