There's learning about physics from a textbook, then there's meeting astronauts and trying a flight simulator. It was clear which of these the students of Sydney Technical High School preferred.
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Students from the all boys' school at Bexley visited the NASA base during the recent school holidays. The 10-day US excursion was the trip of a lifetime for 74 students in Year 9-12 and six teachers, who boarded flights to Orlando and Florida for an immersive experience in space exploration.
The trip started with three days at NASA's Kennedy Space Centre. "The boys were amazed to see the actual Atlantis space shuttle and were able to participate in the realistic launch simulation," Principal Steven So said. "A highlight was meeting NASA astronauts who gave accounts of their experiences and answered questions asked by the students."
The group was given a rare glimpse behind the scenes with a back-of-facility tour, including the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket.
One of the students' favourite experiences was going in the life-size simulator of the space shuttle launch including a take-off with all the mission control commentary, increased g-forces, and cabin vibration. "Some of the students did that numerous times," Mr So said.
The astronaut training day was also exciting for the boys, who were able to practise how astronauts deal with micro-gravity on spacewalks completing international space station repairs, use virtual reality headsets to practise movement while traversing the Mars landscape, and tumble as they piloted the simulated module that will land on the planet.
They also toured Disney parks and Universal Studios where the learnt about teamwork, immersive storytelling, film innovation and special effects. Students were given access to see the mechanisms of the thrill rides which include a stationary section where the carriage is weighed before take-off to calculate the specific force needed and of course had to include learning about the efficiency of the electromagnetic braking systems.
Other attractions included Sea World and Disney's Animal Kingdom, where students had access to biology lessons with animal keeper talks and a guided safari.
