"My week at space camp!
Girls' World takes you behind-the-scenes of one of the coolest camps in America: Space Camp! 3, 2, 1 ... lift off!
Have you ever wondered what life as an astronaut would be like? At Space Camp, a sleep-away camp in Huntsville, AL, girls go through a six-day astronaut training program, where they get to use equipment and flight simulators based on real astronaut training! To get the scoop, we asked two program graduates, Keziah, 10, and Cara, 11, to tell us what a week as a trainee is all about.
Astronaut Training
During Space Camp, trainees complete two, one-hour simulated flight missions. "We got to pilot a mission to Mars!" Keziah exclaims. "There were so many buttons to push." Another fun part of the experience is trying freezedried space ice cream — the kind astronauts snack on while in orbit! "It wasn't cold, like I thought it would be," dishes Cara. "It's really dry, but actually pretty tasty!" Keziah adds.
Besides that, trainees get to scale the Mars Climbing Wall, see an astronaut's view of Earth at the IMAX Spacedome Theater and test out the 1/6th Gravity Chair, which simulates the feeling of walking on the moon!
Summer of Space Space History
Campers also learn about the history of space exploration and get to see cool space artifacts, like an astronaut suit, a rock from the moon and the Apollo 16 capsule! "I loved learning about outer space during our lessons," Keziah tells us. "Saturn is my favorite planet!"
Camp Life
When they're not busy training, campers eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Space Camp cafeteria. "We had meals from different countries around the world that visit the International Space Station. One night, dinner would be from Russia, the next England, and so on!" Cara says. Campers sleep in bunk beds on different floors of a four-story, space-age looking "habitat," as its called. "It looks like something they would put on Mars!" Cara shares.
Both Keziah and Cara had so much fun that they went back the following year! "I think every girl should go to Space Camp because it's fun and teaches you about space, the space race and all the astronauts," says Cara.
It's also a great way to meet people from all over the world. "It was so much fun — I made lots of new friends," Keziah tells us. Cara adds, "I still talk to many of the friends I made at Space Camp!" So if you're ready to take off on an out-of-this-world adventure, both girls agree: Space Camp is for you!