Coming Home

We are on our flight now, hurtling across the gulf.  It truly has been the trip of a lifetime.  Thank you to Drs. Aaron Thomas and Ed Galindo of the University of Idaho who put the Summer of Innovation program together, and to Shandy Lam and Becky Highfill and all their SOI staff.  Thank you to NASA.  I  know our group will treasure these memories.  I hope that the would-be pediatrician, wildlife biologist, teacher, veterinarian, and those yet undecided in our group will hold on to those dreams, and take what they've learned this weekend to build even more goals. 
Thank you to the families who let them travel thousands of miles away to make these memories. And thank you to our group, for being fun, patient, wonderful kids.  It has been a blast (yeah, pun intended)!

Last Day in Florida

Yesterday was our final full day in Florida, and once again we packed it in.  We got up early again, and headed to Kennedy Space Center, where we were able to go into one of the old shuttles (it seems much smaller inside), see an incredible 3-D Imax film about the Hubble Space Telescope, and go into a Space Shuttle Simulator.  The astronauts had a hand in designing that ride, and it tops anything at Disney World!  While you are standing in line, they play videos of the astronauts talking about the take-off experience, and they're quite moving.  Then you are shuttled into a room, where one of the past shuttle commanders explains each stage of a launch.  That part alone was worth the trip to KSC, as it really helped us understand what we had been watching on Friday.  We had wondered why we had to sit so far away.  Now we know.  If you are within 400 feet of the shuttle, the heat will kill you.  If you are within 800 feet, the sound will kill you.  And, we were told, if you are within several thousand feet, the vibrations stir up so much unfriendly wildlife (all those alligators), it isn't safe to be around.  Now we get it!
The ride itself, while undoubtedly less intense than an actual launch, was still quite an experience.  Lots of shaking and a sense of the speed that the astronauts feel when they go from 0 to several thousand mph in a matter of minutes.  By 8.5 minutes, they are in orbit and going 17,500 miles per hour, 220 miles above the earth.
In addition to understanding the launch better, we learned quite a bit about how the research done on the shuttles has benefited society, generating knowledge that has led to the development of things like cochlear ear implants, biogenerators and micro heart implants.  Even the infrared ear thermometer came from shuttle research.  Personally, I felt pretty sad knowing that for now, our own space program is more or less on hold.  We saw a mock-up of the Orion, which was to be the next spacecraft, combining the reentry benefits of the shuttle with the ability to leave Earth's orbit that the capsule rockets had.  Unfortunately, the funding for that has been scrapped.
Another amazing thing at Kennedy was that Imax film.  We saw images of stars being "born" in a distant nebula near Orion's belt, TRILLIONS of miles away.  That makes me feel pretty darn small.
Until this weekend, I don't think I fully appreciated what these astronauts go through.  The men and women who dedicate themselves to these missions are truly heroes.

After KSC, we headed to Cocoa Beach, where the kids all put their hot selves into the Atlantic Ocean for the first time.  As you can see from the pictures, it was another great day.

Disney Day

We had quite a day yesterday.  Headed to Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. The kids all had a blast, and so did the chaperones, although I was so paranoid about losing a kid in the masses, I was on hyperalert the whole time. It was packed.  It was HOT.  I think we all drank about a gallon of water, but sweat it all out.  At least they have air-conditioned stores to offer respite when you think you might be near keeling over...
We started the day with the Tower of Terror, and then hit Star Wars.  From there we went to Chronicles of Narnia, and then to the Aerosmith Rollercoaster (my favorite).  All that, plus lunch and some street entertainment took five hours.
We headed then to Animal Kingdom, where thank goodness they had a rafting ride that soaked us, cooled us, and gave us a little more energy for the rest of the evening.  We hit the Yeti rollercoaster, and then made our way to the Safari, which was so amazing.  We saw a bull elephant, a lion couple, a baby rhino and lots of other beautiful creatures.  That took us all the way to 8:30, when we finally returned home with sore feet and happy kids.
Today we're headed to Kennedy Space Center and then to Cocoa Beach.  I'll have pictures from both up tonight.  Just hoping our feet survive all this!

Opportunity of a Lifetime

This has been an incredible day.  We woke up at 4:15 a.m. EST, and trudged to the bus.  Though I think Cape Canaveral is maybe usually a 2 hour or less drive, today was gridlock, so we arrived about 9:40 to the causeway.  The weather was strangely cooperative; though we were nervous about the shuttle taking off, the overcast skies kept the temperature and sun from being an issue.  The kids were so fantastic.  We sat behind a rope line right on the water, with thousands of other spectators.  Two hours.  After a four hour bus ride.  And not one complaint. Not one.  Not a peep. The fact that dolphins kept bobbing through the water, and that we saw a manatee do a graceless but endearing leap above the water helped keep us all entertained.
Throughout the wait period, NASA had announcers talking about the history of Atlantis and the shuttle program over loudspeakers.  At about 10:30, they said it looked good for the 11:26 liftoff time, and they were cautiously optimistic.   Finally, at 10 minutes, the whole crowd stood up and quietly listened to the announcer.  Some 40,000 people were there, and everyone was quiet.  At just about a minute before liftoff, there was a concern about some piece of equipment that might not have retracted, and I think our hearts collectively stopped, thinking that the launch was going to be postponed.  Fortunately, they were able to use a camera to confirm it had retracted, and seconds later it took off.
As you can gather from the video, we were excited.  Some of the grown ups (yours truly) were a little teary.  The kids all had huge grins on their faces.
And then we got back on the bus!  Some SIX HOURS later we got back to the hotel after another long bus ride.  The kids have had a swim, dinner and another swim, and now it's time to rest up for DISNEY WORLD!

Up In The Air--both us, and the launch!

Kamille and Matthew with Terrance Howard

We are about one hour from landing in Orlando, and so far, everything has been going smoothly.  Everyone got here early (thanks to all the families!), we checked in without a hitch, and both of our flights left on time.  We flew right over the Grand Canyon, which was pretty cool.  Lots of comments about seeing cacti and desert for the first time.  Dashed for a quick lunch at the food court in Phoenix and got on our next leg.
The pilot announced a little while ago that there's a 70% chance of the shuttle NOT launching tomorrow because of the thunderstorms, and I can attest to the fact that it's bumpy out there right now, but we'll cross our fingers.  And at least we have Saturday and Sunday to work around!
The other big excitement is that Terrance Howard, the actor (Hustle and Flow, Iron Man, Crash) is on our flight.  He was very gracious about letting us snap photos with him. Hopefully they can text those to some of their family!
Pretty crazy that you can blog while in the air with the inflight wireless.  It sure helps pass the time!

Today's the Day!

In about one hour, we'll all be meeting at the Wellness Center to jump in the Youth Activities Van and head to Spokane International Airport.  We are supposed to arrive in Orlando at about 7:30 tonight; just in time to check-in and go to sleep.  If all goes according to schedule, we have to leave the hotel at about 5:15 a.m. eastern time tomorrow to get to the tarmac to see the launch.  It does look like that schedule is in doubt, though, as they are predicting thunderstorms.  If that happens, though, we will still have a chance to  see the launch on Saturday or Sunday, so no need to panic!
I assume I'm not the only one who had trouble sleeping last night, with all of the excitement! At least we have a long plane ride ahead of us to catch some zzzz's.  Hopefully I can post some pictures tonight from the Mike Ditka Resort.  

Our Adventure Begins!

On July 7th, nine kids and two chaperones will be headed to Orlando, Florida to see the final space shuttle launch as part of the UI NASA Consortium's Summer of Inovation program.  All of the kids, as well as the chaperones, were able to participate in a space camp, led by Dr. Aaron Thomas and Dr. Ed Galindo from UI, during the Tribe's Rock'n the Rez Science and Culture Camp in 2010.  Their enthusiasm and participation has led them to this moment.  Next Thursday, we'll be taking off from Spokane at 8:30, and spending three whole days having adventures in hot and humid Florida.  Keep checking here for more updates!