Friday, July 30, 2010

3-2-1 Liftoff!

I have a trio of fun giveaways going on right now:

Family calendar giveaway from BusyBodyBook right here.

JumpStart Get Moving Family Fitness game for the Wii right here.

Spinbrush MyWay! (for girls) battery operated toothbrush right here.

***

This week, Mister Man has been at camp - his first "real" day camp. It was supposed to be a full day from 9am to 3pm, but not enough people registered for the full day, so they canceled the second half of the day. I was really proud of Mister Man when we found out about the change last week. He's been looking forward to this camp for months - he picked it out all by himself and chose to do the full day versus the half day option - but he took it in stride and didn't freak out.

Each day when we get to camp, he runs out of the car and into the building where his camp meets. And I do mean runs. I follow him and sign him in, but he's already busily ensconced in that day's activity by the time I finish with that. He's too busy to say good-bye.

So what has him so intrigued? It's a space camp. They build rockets and learn all sorts of facts about space - one of his favorite topics. After reading the description of the class, he fell in love. He was sure that he was going to build a rocket and discover The Unknown (which apparently is a planet that scientists know exists but have yet to actually discover).

I had a really hard time explaining to him that in a week long space camp, he was not in fact going to discover a planet. In fact, his rocket wouldn't make it into orbit at all. He would be lucky if it got 50 feet off the ground. That took a lot of convincing, but he finally understood - before the class started - that he was not going to be discovering any new planets.

He did build his rocket though, and today was launch day - with parents invited (and most showed up, although a very visible few did not).


They headed out to a field for the launches. Everyone had a rocket to launch, so there was a lot of waiting. Fortunately, they had a task. For each rocket that launched, they were to use an altimiter to determine how high the rockets went. It was pretty cool, actually.


When it was their turn, the children filled their rockets with water from the communal bin. Next was the walk out to put the rocket onto the "aquapod" before it was pumped to 50psi by the instructor.


Next, all the children had to check the skies to ensure they were clear. For the first few rockets, some of the children were concerned as an airplane was flying past. The instructor reassured them that no, the rocket would not interfere with the airplane's flight.


Once the all clear was given, the child pulled the ripcord, and the rocket flew into the air, releasing the parachute from the cone to help it float gently back to the ground. (Ok, so my camera doesn't take pictures fast enough to get any of the flight sadly. Yet another reason I need a fancy DSLR!)


He was so thrilled with all he learned, and there was a neat ceremony afterwards where each child was presented with a certificate of achievement. Mister Man is already talking about what he'll learn next year. He can't wait. And honestly, I can't wait either!

12 comments:

Jen L. July 31, 2010 at 8:03 AM  

That sounds like a blast!

Dawn Parsons Smith July 31, 2010 at 8:32 AM  

Space camp is so cool! You should go to the NASA Space Camp for kids! That one rocks too!

I think your photos are great!

Pat July 31, 2010 at 9:25 AM  

What fun for Mr. Man!! He will always remember this. It's great idea to let your child pick out the summer camp he wants to go to--makes it much more exciting!

Sherry @ Lamp Unto My Feet July 31, 2010 at 9:53 AM  

What fun! I always thought it would be cool to go to the NASA Space Camp. :D

As Cape Cod Turns July 31, 2010 at 8:23 PM  

Awesome! That sounds like a very cool camp!

Anonymous July 31, 2010 at 9:07 PM  

Wow! What a great day! I was fascinated by Space went I was a kid too! Glad he enjoyed!

Michelle July 31, 2010 at 11:08 PM  

Jen - He loved it and learned so much. So glad he did it.

Dawn - Ummmm this was a park district half day camp. NASA Space Camp? That might be a little out of my league.

Pat - I hope he will! I will guide him a bit in what he chooses, but he's definitely in charge.

Sherry - Me, too. But I'm hoping Mister Man doesn't hear that it exists or I'll be bombarded with begging ;)

Sue - It was. I loved how enthusiastic and supportive the instructors were, too.

Patty - So am I. I was a little worried when he had such a different concept of it, but it worked out great!

WeaselMomma August 1, 2010 at 7:15 AM  

That sounds like an entirely cool camp! I wanna build a rocket.

Alexis AKA MOM August 1, 2010 at 7:00 PM  

I'm so glad he got to go, that looks like so much fun.

Cole would so dig this!!

Michelle August 1, 2010 at 8:41 PM  

WeaselMomma - It was... and hey, if you really want to build one, I know the perfect little guy to help you!

Alexis - I know. This was the camp Cole was potentially going to (that was run by our park district v Champions) but oh so fun!

septembermom August 2, 2010 at 7:28 PM  

My boys would love it! Very cool!

Michelle August 16, 2010 at 10:35 PM  

Kelly - It was pretty awesome. We're already looking to see what they will offer next summer :)

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