(sent to parents on December 19, 2001)
Dear Students:
The
3rd science theme unit in sixth grade this year will focus on
preparations for the 2020 manned exploration of Mars.
In this unit you will think about how you would live and work on Mars.
You will also need to think about your trip to and from the “Red
Planet”. The trip will take six
months each way! The space ship
will not be a “Space Shuttle”. It
will be a special space ship, probably built in orbit near the new International
Space Station. Our Mars explorers
will probably get to their Mars Ship by Space Shuttle!
Now
that you have this background information, you may understand why we want
students to experience Space Camp. At
space Camp you will experience much of the training that Astronauts experience
as they prepare for work in space. You
will get the feel of reduced gravity and work in a model of a real Space Shuttle
vehicle. You will work as part of a
team to launch a Shuttle mission and bring it home safely.
You may even get to be Commander of the Space Shuttle itself!
Our
Space Camp trip will happen on a weekend, March 1-2-3, in Laval, Quebec, Canada. We will travel by chartered bus, leaving on Friday
(1:00 P.M.) and returning on Sunday
(9:00 P.M.) Most expenses
will be paid by our PTA and student fund raising.
Transportation costs will be paid by the school.
The only additional cost to
campers would be for personal expenses at
travel rest stops and gift shops ($25.00).
We
cannot take everyone, and not everyone would want to go or should go on this
trip. We can take 24 students from
the 6th grade. Campers
from each class are to be part of a work team in their classrooms and will
represent those teams on the trip. A
Space Camper’s responsibilities will include gathering questions from the work
group and looking for answers at camp; recording the Space Camp experience in
writing and digitally for sharing upon the Camper’s return; working with
others to prepare a presentation for the Camper’s class and/or the school.