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Space Camp trip to boost science education
Science education in the region will soon receive a cosmic boost when three local educators jet off to the NASA Space Camp in the United States, courtesy of a project organised by the University of the Sunshine Coast.
Delaney’s Creek State School principal Stuart Maish, Beerwah State School Year 4 teacher Dominic Taylor and USC Education student Emily Verrall of Buderim were selected for the trip from a large number of applicants.
From July 5-16, they will take part in activities that astronauts and NASA support crews go through in their training, before returning to the Coast to share their experiences, knowledge and new resources with other teachers.
The trip to Space Camp (the US Space and Rocket Center’s Space Academy for Educators) in Huntsville, Alabama, has been funded by Nambour Rotary Club, Education Queensland’s Science and Engineering Education Centre and USC.
Activities are likely to include building and launching rockets, taking part in anti-gravity and G-force simulations, flying jet propulsion jackets, attending lectures by astronauts, and viewing real and replica space shuttle equipment.
Emily, 23, is a second-year Bachelor of Primary Education student who is currently working as a pre-service teacher at Talara Primary College, Currimundi.
“This trip is going to be fantastic,” she said. “I’ve always been fascinated with space and science, and my interest in it has increased through some of the courses that I’ve done at uni.”
The Immanuel Lutheran College graduate said she was keen to share her Space Camp experiences with fellow students at USC when she returns, and in her own classroom when she becomes a teacher.
“I think you can really bring science and space into the classroom,” she said. “It’s something that is amazing for kids.”
Mr Maish, 49, has been a space enthusiast since watching the televised moon landing of Apollo 11 in 1969 as a young schoolboy. He said he felt fortunate to be selected for this trip.
“This is a great opportunity,” he said. “It’s a lifelong passion and interest that’s going to be consolidated by visiting NASA.
“I’m looking forward to the opportunity of learning and working with Dominic and Emily to further ignite interest and passion about science among other teachers and students.
“At Delaney’s Creek, I do a fair amount of science along the lines of basic rocketry and some astronomy. We fill the students’ water bottles up with water and are able to launch the bottles 50-60m into the sky.
“It really engages students and inspires a sense of discovery as they ask ‘what if we try this next?’. One of the best things about teaching science is to see that raw passion and excitement.”
Mr Taylor, 40, also has had stars in his eyes for decades. In his earlier years as a teacher in Central Queensland, he worked as a Star Lab facilitator, guiding students from various primary schools through a giant, inflatable planetarium.
He currently teaches a unit in force, motion and rocketry at Beerwah State School, which is part of a network of local primary schools that will benefit from his Space Camp experiences.
“I’m looking forward to the trip on a number of levels, but particularly to building collaboration with other teachers and educators locally and from around the world and to continue those relationships in my teaching,” he said.
Mr Taylor said he also planned to keep his students up to date during his trip by writing an online blog while he attends Space Camp.
— Terry Walsh