There are so many exciting things to see at the Rocket Park at Space Camp! There are many models (or replicas) of rockets that actually went into space! It is amazing how BIG everything is! I know I'm on the short side, but I felt swallowed up by these giant creations that many people worked together to build. I also learned some interesting things about the first animal in space!
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| Here I am at the memorial for squirrel monkey Miss Baker. She was the first U.S. Animal to survival a flight in space! |
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| Reading all about Miss Baker! By traveling into space, she helped scientist learn how to make space travel safe for humans. |
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| See?!?! I told you the rockets were BIG! They are tall and narrow, so they can fly quickly through the sky. |
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| This is a model of the rocket that carried Miss Baker. |
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| This is a giant outside model of Saturn V, a rocket that took astronauts to the moon! It is the tallest and most powerful U.S. rocket ever created! The REAL Saturn V is in the Davidson Space Center! |
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| This is a model of Skylab. Astronaut would live in space inside Skylab to learn more about space and conduct experiments. Skylab came before the International Space Station. |
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| Where's Berkeley? |
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| Hanging with a model of a lunar module that was built to land on the moon! |
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| A great view of the Rocket Park! |
Just as there is an Air and Space museum in Washington, D.C. (remember when I told you about going there?), there is a museum at Space Camp for that, too - The Davidson Space Center! You know that I love museums, so I took many pictures to share with you! Make sure you read the captions under all the pictures carefully! You can learn a lot from pictures, boys and girls, if you read the descriptions!
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| Let's go inside! |
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| Wow! A real helmet and pair of space shoes worn by an astronaut! |
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| Werher von Braun was a German rocket scientist that came to the United States to develop the U.S. space program. He is considered the "Father of Rocket Science." Here I am with his TIME magazine cover and briefcase. |
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| A rocket engine! You need to know a lot about math and science to be able to create something so powerful. |
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| After the astronauts went on their Apollo missions to the moon, the had to be quarantined (means they could not have contact with anyone except each other). This was in case they had brought back something from the moon that could make others sick. This is the Airstream trailer where they stayed until they were cleared. |
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| Where the astronauts slept after returning to earth. |
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| The table where they ate...and played Scrabble. |
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| Another look inside. |
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| While I was at Space Camp, the 45 anniversary of astronauts landing on the moon with Apollo 11 was celebrated! This is a lunar module that would have landed on the moon in 1969. Where's Berkeley? |
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| This is a lunar capsule that would be attached to a rocket. The astronauts would lay on their backs and work the controls. There's plenty of room in here for a little bear, but it would be a tight squeeze for a human. |
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| Inside, there are lots of buttons and dials! You would have to really pay attention to many things at once! |
And now, boys and girls, this is the REAL Saturn V! It hangs from the ceiling of the space center and is so big that I could not just take one picture of it!
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| This is the part that would sit on the launch pad. |
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| Saturn V (you say it "Saturn Five" because the "V" is a Roman numeral). |
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| One of the many sections... |
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| Another section (closer to the top)... |
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| The top...where it says "United States" is where the crew would sit. |
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| This is the "brain" of Saturn V! It is the computer inside the rocket! |
Often when you go to camp, you make new friends. Well, I am not the only bear in the world that likes to travel! The Australian principal of the year has a little bear friend from her school that goes wherever she and her teachers travel. It was so fun to get to meet someone from another country and learn about life on another continent! Hughy and I had such a great week learning about space science together! I have him a little West Virginia pin to remember me by, and he gave me a tiny koala bear. We may not see each other for a long time, but Hughy will always be my friend.
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| My Australian friend from Hughes Primary School! |
Oh, boys and girls, I still have so much to share with you. In my next post about space camp, I will tell you what it is like to time travel into the future to conduct a lunar mission, what it feels like to be in space, and a very special meeting with another West Virginian!
Until next time...
