Learning Beyond the Classroom


19th August 2016
Who would have thought that as a young primary student watching Neil Armstrong walk on the moon, one day I would have the opportunity to visit NASA, let alone meet and speak with astronauts who travelled into outer space and to the International Space Station. During the July school holidays ...

Who would have thought that as a young primary student watching Neil Armstrong walk on the moon, one day I would have the opportunity to visit NASA, let alone meet and speak with astronauts who travelled into outer space and to the International Space Station. During the July school holidays, I was fortunate to accompany a group of students to visit the Houston Association for Space and Science (HASSE) Space School, in Houston, Texas, USA. Two of our Year 8 students, experienced this chance with me and a contingent of some 130 students from Australia and New Zealand.

Upon arriving in Houston we were warmly welcomed by HASSE CEO Jamie Liu, who spoke to the girls about the “Curiosity”, a car-size robot currently exploring the planet Mars, and about how the integration of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics has made this possible. The visit to the NASA’s Johnson Space Centre was a journey back in time. We explored the history of space exploration, from the development of space rockets and capsules that took man firstly into space, and then to the moon; the Space Shuttle program; Skylab the first space station; living in space at the International Station; and visited the original Mission Control Centre and learned about the development of spacesuits.

While at the Johnson Space Centre it was evident that space exploration has become a reality because of the dreams and aspirations of young individuals, who were prepared to work hard and persevere, so that mankind can travel to space and beyond. It certainly provided a powerful message to our students - dreams and goals can be achieved if you are willing to keep pushing the boundaries and accept that any setback is an opportunity to learn.

“Space Camp” at the US Space and Rocket Centre at Marshall Flight Centre Huntsville was an interesting and exciting experience. There was the opportunity to experience the different simulators, such as the Multi-Axis Trainer (MAT), the 5 Degrees of Freedom (5FD) and 1/6th Gravity Chair used by astronauts during training. We were also able to design and build a space rocket and be involved in Mission Control Space Shuttle mission simulations. Involvement in these types of activities for the students builds their confidence and problem-solving skills, while enabling them to work collaboratively with students from other schools. While there were many highlights from the trip, listening to and speaking with retired astronauts, Dr. Leroy Chiao, Dr. Don Thomas and Robert Stewart speak about their experiences in achieving their goals to become astronauts and travel to outer space was certainly a highlight. All spoke of their dreams and goals, of the importance of working hard to improve and that making mistakes in their learning was vital in achieving their goals. That for success we need to take on all challenges and opportunities presented to us otherwise we will never know what we are capable of achieving.

However, the major highlight for me was the inspirational talk given by Amber Gell, a Rocket Scientist and Spacecraft System Engineer, and the opportunity to meet her. Amber is currently part to the team designing and building the Orion Spacecraft to take astronauts to Mars in the years to come. She breaks the stereotype of being a scientist. Amber spoke of the importance of her time at school, stating this provided the building blocks for shaping how she grew as a person and providing the inspiration for what she wanted to achieve in life. She spoke about how taking on new challenges and adventures encouraged her to perceive ideas about how problems need to be solved and how they should be solved. She stressed that as learners we need to be asking the ‘how’ and ‘why’ types of questions and value our time at school. Amber is a great advocate for STEM education and she certainly inspired the girls to dream big in this area.

The HASSE Space Program – Learning Beyond the Classroom provided experiences that not only included seeing what individuals have achieved in space exploration but also the opportunity to learn about and put into practice the STEM skills of team-work, critical and creative thinking, problem-solving and communication; all this at the same time allowing students to build their confidence in their own abilities, to explore and be creators and innovators and to immerse themselves in technology. These are important transferable skills that are required by students now as they venture into a future which involves careers that don’t yet exist.

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