To Infinity and Beyond

Holt's science teacher at Timothy organized a field trip to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville that incorporated a realm of experiences for the kids (and us!). We drove there on a Tuesday late in November in torrential rain.

When we arrived, we met with our group and broke into age groups (since we're homeschoolers, the museum had planned for all the different aged siblings as well). We decided we'd rather stay together as a family, so we chose to go with the 1st and 2nd graders.

We were first treated to a tour of the main museum. I'm about to reveal all my ignorance as I describe it. I should've taken notes, or at least chosen to blog sooner than three months later.


We got the history of all the different NASA projects, the moon buggy, the Mercury Project, and the showcase of our nation's space timeline. My favorite, though, was the quarantine trailer where astronauts stayed upon their reentry. Looking through the window, you could almost see them there beside the Scrabble set sitting at the table. Being claustrophobic, I think this might have been worse for me than hurtling through Earth's atmosphere.

He looks awfully tough for a man carrying a little pink coat.

After this tour, we were plunged into the 3D IMAX experience and watched the story unfold of the Hubble telescope.

Then Holt and Carolina were treated to a lab with a USSARC staff member. They created their own moon buggies powered with air from a balloon. It concluded with a race down the hallway.



Lunch was provided followed by a tour of some of the larger machinery outside.


Probably my favorite part of the day was the demo/explanation of the space station, mostly because Holt was chosen for part of the demo. Here he is modelling refueling at the international space station.

The rest of the day was spent enjoying some of the hands-on exhibits, like Holt landing the space shuttle on a simulator.

And then, of course, there's always the gratuitous cute factor.

And I loved Birch explaining to Holt the projects that Pop was involved with during his time at NASA. That put a personal "real" spin on it for him.

Hands down, the best school field trip ever.