Homeschool Space Shuttle Study

Our Space Shuttle Model! Great Fun, and not too hard - the boys really enjoyed building it (imagine that)- and it kept them busy while I read information about the latest space shuttle (non) launch. The launch that got postponed..... repeatedly. The Discovery is scheduled to be "rolled out" on January 31 - to the launch pad. Well, back to the launch pad. We are excited to follow details about Discovery's last mission.

During our unit study - we were fortunate enough that some of our homeschool peeps planned a rocket launch.  It was a pretty exciting adventure! We're looking forward to launching our own pretty soon-

It was a successful launch- more so than the one NASA had planned for later that afternoon! Thankfully, it appears that they have now finished all the necessary repairs and are back on track for the upcoming launch.

It gave us the opportunity to "discover" just what the crew aboard "Discovery" would be eating & how they would shower.
We had fun making our own (pretend) astronaut food for lunch. We used packaged salmon because they have their food from metallic packets that are similar looking.

We visited a science center not too long ago that gave us the opportunity to purchase freeze-dried ice cream. I can remember eating the same thing after visiting Kennedy Space Center for a launch, when I was in the sixth grade. It was actually the exact same "Neapolitan" flavor. The boys really got a kick out of that!

While the boys measured and poured water from a cup to a bowl- we discussed how much water it takes for the team aboard the International Space Station to live. We simulated their cleansing rituals by using a wet paper towel. There are some fun facts available at the NASA web site: http://www.nasa.gov/ - click on the "Missions" tab and check it out.

We hope to visit the space center soon- but in the meantime, the kids had a fun hands on learning experience that they won't soon forget!