By Russell Deason
Aviation Division
The 7th Annual Aerospace Summer Camp was held on July 19-23, 1999, at Maplewood Elementary School in Austin. The camp, sponsored by Travis County 4-H and the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, was tailored for 9-12-year-old children in the Austin area.
The day camp consisted of a series of educational classes combined with various hands-on learning experiences and field trips designed to spark children’s interest in aviation and aerospace. The various classes included news about solar power, space food, weather and geology. Each child also built his or her own rocket during the classes and there was a group rocket launch on Thursday where each child’s rocket flew successfully. The highlight of this year’s camp was the space flight simulator that revolves on three axis and gives the children a real taste of the disorienting effect of space travel. The camp concluded with a trip to Space Center Houston/NASA on Friday.
