NASA launches first middle school BaseCamp Published Aug. 7, 2007 By Airman 1st Class Mike Young 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Edwards middle school students learned about NASA's mission as they launched their own ideas on space exploration during a camp program at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center here from July 30 to Saturday. Expedition I BaseCamp was the first of its kind and included lectures from scientists, pilots and astronauts as well as tours and group projects throughout the week. "The goal was to get the kids into science and math and show them how they can use what they learn," said Michelle Davis-Judd, NASA Dryden pre-college officer. "Hopefully, these skills will help get them started on the right career path." Twenty-six students were chosen to participate in the program from about 50 applicants. Mrs. Davis-Judd said the students were selected on a very competitive basis. To get selected, each student had to answer five out of 10 essay questions they were given and were chosen based on their answers. "All the students participating want to be here," she said. "They had to work hard to get selected." The students were divided into teams of five and six, and chose one of two space missions to coordinate. They could either choose a mission to the moon or a mission to Mars. "By working as a team, we were able to bring new ideas to the table," said Sierra Higgins, a 12-year-old camp participant. "I also got to meet a lot of kids who were interested in the same things as I am." The students created plans for a trip to either the moon or Mars. They had to coordinate the navigation, arrival and return home for their mission. During the week, the children received hands-on training as they worked together to construct various air and space travel machines for their mission. Some of these missions included bottle rockets made out of household items as well as airplanes and space landing devices. Tami Simmons, education specialist and program lead for the camp, said the program was designed to inspire kids by giving them hands-on experience and expanding on what the children learn in school. "It is really interesting because a lot of the things we learned about don't seem possible," said Trey Higgins, a 14-year-old camp participant. The children also received object lessons about the space environment. They used flour and marbles to demonstrate how moon craters are formed as well as created their own moon rocks using household products. Aside from on-the-job training, the aspiring astronauts, pilots and engineers received a first-hand glance into some of NASA's facilities as a part of the week-long curriculum. The teams were graded on all of the projects during the course. For their final grade, each team had to present a plan detailing their mission to a panel of engineers and scientists. The panelists evaluated the student's final mission plans and awarded a trophy to the best presentation. "These kids are the next generation," Ms. Simmons said. "We wanted to give them the tools it takes to succeed and to help them achieve their goals."