On Wednesday, March 21^st, our 5^th grade class departed for the famed NASA headquarters in Houston. This is a much anticipated annual trip for our students as they enjoy their first overnight trip as a Brook Hill student.

Upon arrival in Houston, the students got a behind the scenes experience at NASA’s space museum. The program, Stars and STEM led our students through a presentation on the current and future plans of space exploration which is focused on sending a man to Mars somewhere around the year 2035. Next, our group participated in three different STEM activities that included coding with Ozobots, creating a functional rocket, and designing a device that challenged gravity in order to keep an egg from breaking during a long drop.

The students were able to take their previous knowledge and understanding of different science concepts taught in our curriculum and apply them in a fun, interactive, innovative, competitive way that literally brought science to life. The activities were both meaningful and stimulating and taught our kids real applications to the skills and ideas they learn in the classroom.

The second day was spent on a private tour of NASA’s facilities learning about the past, present, and future of space exploration. The group saw and learned about the original mission control as well as the mockup lab that is two football fields long full of training supplies and full-scale models of the space station!

The trip was educationally rich and taught our students about one of America’s greatest prides: space exploration. In addition, it gave our students experiences that connect to our curriculum and allowed them to experience science in a real way.