2011 NASA Student Symposium

Kennedy Space Center - Visitor Complex

We spent the morning at the Visitor Complex. We visitited many attractions, including:
Shuttle Launch Experience
Shuttle Explorer - a full scale orbiter replica
Robot Scouts
Rocket Garden
IMAX - Space Station 3D
In the afternoon, we participated in a "Career Panel" event that was webcast on the NASA Explorer School site.
John and Alex enjoyed making a science project: a speaker phone.
At dinner this evening, Alex and John received Certificates of Recognition.
Everyone is packed and ready to head home in the morning. Breakfast is at 6:00 a.m. and we board the bus for the airport at 6:30 a.m.

2011 NASA Student Symposium

Kennedy Space Center, Presentation, Astronaut Samuel Durrance, and Ron Jon's Surf Shop...

It was a beautiful day to visit the Kennedy Space Center. We toured KSC and made several stops:

The Shuttle Endeavour sits on the Launch Pad 39A waiting for a launch date/time, covered by the work/access platform.

We made a stop in front of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB)...

and the countdown-clock,

and the media area.

We enjoyed our visit to the Apollo/Saturn V Center.

Alex and John stand below a Saturn V rocket... the type used during the Apollo program.

After our tour, John and Alex make the presentation for our Robotics Club. They really did a terrific job and received many complements for the work of the team and their presentation.

At dinner this evening, we treated to a presentation by Dr. Samuel Durrance. He was a Mission Specialist on STS-35 and STS-67.

After dinner, we made the 20 minute walk up the beach to Ron Jon's Surf Shop.

Tomorrow, we will spend the morning in the KSC Visitors Complex. In the afternoon, we will participate in a "Career Panel" event, which includes many employees of NASA in a wide variety of careers. Our group will be participating from 1:15 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. This event will be webcast at http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/nes2/home/chat-index.html.

2011 NASA Student Symposium

Travel Day

We left Parkside around 7:00 a.m. and arrived at the hotel on Cocoa Beach around 3:00 p.m. That gave us time to hit the beach before dinner.

John and Alex burried Glenn in the sand... it didn't take long.

At dinner, we heard Robert Cabana, the Director of Kennedy Space Center, talk about his days as an Astronaut and the many events and people who inspired him along the way. For more information about Director Cabana, see http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/cabana.html

After dinner, Alex and John practiced the presentation. Tomorrow, we will make our presentation and visit the Kennedy Space Center.