Space Camp® Online

Educator Alumni Bring Students to SPACE CAMP®

Several educators from Honeywell-sponsored SPACE CAMP sessions are now sharing their love of SPACE CAMP with their students by allowing them to experience it first-hand. After a memorable Camp experience last summer, Honeywell educator Rob Rand brought several of his students to a Pathfinder program during the first week of April here at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center (USSRC). Rick Friesen, also from the Honeywell program, brought four students from Canada to Advanced SPACE ACADEMY this month. And later in April, one Honeywell educator from India will be bringing 23 students to SPACE CAMP.

Alumni Spotlight

Brian Matney was 10 years old when Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, and at that impressionable age, he developed a strong interest in NASA and space travel. Not long after the explosion, Brian discovered SPACE CAMP and begged his parents to let him attend. After years of pleading, Brian got his wish in 1989 for his 13 th birthday. Brian returned to SPACE CAMP in 1991, 1992, and 1994, winning the coveted Right Stuff Award . Before Brian attended Camp in 1992, he set a personal goal to lead his team to victory in three of the awards given at graduation: Best Shuttle Mission, Best Space Station Design, and Best Mission Patch Design.

In preparation for the Best Shuttle Mission challenge, Brian built his own mockup of the shuttle flight deck under the pool table at his house. He studied his SPACE ACADEMY logbook from the previous year to design a space station that met all the requirements outlined in the Best Space Station Design challenge. About one month before departing for Camp, Brian came up with an idea for Best Mission Patch Design. The old SPACE CAMP logo seemed boring and flat to Brian; he wanted to bring it to life! With that concept as his inspiration, Brian took the old logo and made the orbiter angled and three dimensional, opened the payload bay doors, and added a communications satellite. Brian included three stars, which represented his third visit to Camp, and a sunrise, which signified a new beginning in Brian's life that he knew SPACE CAMP would bring.

Brian brought the patch design to Camp in loose sketch form to allow his teammates to add to it. Dawn of a New Era became their unofficial team motto; consequently, Brian and his teammates added that phrase to the patch, along with their team name, session date, and first names. Brian also let his teammates color the patch so it would be a group effort. At week's end and much to Brian's delight, his team won Best Mission Patch Design (shown right). His Space Station Design would have won as well, but each team was allowed to win only one award. Brian later learned that his patch was also selected to be published in the SPACE CAMP application brochure the following year.

This life-changing experience encouraged Brian to pursue a career in art. Brian received a scholarship to the Savannah College of Art & Design in Savannah , Georgia , where he sharpened his design skills and graduated with a degree in Graphic Design. Since then, Brian has worked for printing and signage companies designing logos, stationary, album covers, posters, signs, and more. His impressive list of clients includes Krystal, Two Men & A Truck, BankOne, Holiday Inn, Wachovia Bank, March of Dimes, and Nextel. For Brian, the SPACE CAMP experience may not have led to a life among the stars, but it certainly provided the catalyst for a career in creating out-of-this-world art and design. For more information about Brian or to view his design/art work, please visit www.brianmatney.com .

25 th Anniversary Update

Our SPACE CAMP 25-year celebration will be here before we know it! Special 25 th Anniversary summer events will kick off on Thursday, May 17, at 6:00 p.m. with a panel discussion of Dr. Wernher von Braun's recently released book, “Project Mars: A Technical Tale” (shown right). The panel discussion will be hosted by Chase Masterson ( Star Trek: Of Gods and Men and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ); director James Kerwin; Austin Boyd, retired Navy pilot, NASA astronaut candidate finalist, and noted author; and Steve Cook, Director of the Exploration Launch Projects Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.

The inaugural SPACE CAMP Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony is quickly approaching, as well. Festivities will be held on Wednesday, June 13, at 7:00 p.m., with William Shatner and NASA Astronauts Story Musgrave and Jim Halsell speaking. A special Hall of Fame Selection Committee has been formed to choose the inductees from this year's class of nominees. The nine committee members are as follows:

Arthur Charles Meier II (Committee co-Chair): retired Deputy Director of the Missile Research Development and Engineering Center of the Missile Command;
Mike Flachbart (Committee co-Chair): SPACE CAMP alumnus and current Vice President of Aerospace Programs for the USSRC;
Betsy Rogers: 2003 National Teacher of the Year and SPACE CAMP Educator alumnus;
Axel Roth: retired Marshall Space Flight Center employee who worked on Apollo, Skylab, Spacelab, and Space Station Programs and the son of Ludwig Roth, one of the original von Braun Team members;
Charity Nehls: SPACE CAMP alumnus and current Aerospace Planning and Logistics Assistant Manager for the USSRC;
Barry Holman: engineer with the Rolls-Royce Corporation in Indianapolis , Indiana , and he and his wife have established a Memorial SPACE CAMP Scholarship in their son's name;
Veronique Paquette: 2003 Teacher of the Year for Washington and former staff member for International SPACE CAMP;
Hillary Dunham: SPACE CAMP alumnus, former SPACE CAMP counselor, former Aerospace Associate for the USSRC Education and Corporate SPACE CAMP departments, former Account Executive for the USSRC sales team, and current Regional Program Manager for the National Inventors Hall of Fame; and
Christopher Key: SPACE CAMP and SPACE ACADEMY alumnus, former AVIATION CHALLENGE staff member, a private pilot, and currently employed as a consultant with Pricewaterhouse Coopers' Advisory Services.

Tickets for all 25 th Anniversary events, along with combination USSRC museum passes and tickets to the IMAX Theater, are now available for purchase online. Please visit www.spacecamp.com and click the “Buy 25 th Anniversary Tickets Now” icon in the upper left hand corner. This link will take you to a separate page where you can choose which tickets you would like to purchase. Reserve your tickets today, as these 25 th Anniversary events are expected to sell out quickly!

A new item especially geared for the 25 th Anniversary will soon be available for purchase in the SPACE CAMP gift shop. Major Jill A. Long will be visiting the USSRC on July 5-7, 2007, and speaking to our SPACE CAMP and museum guests as part of the 25 th Anniversary celebration. Major Long will also be signing special Revell model kits of her signature A-10 Thunderbolt, aka the “Warthog,” which will be available for $24.95 each. Only a limited number of these model kits will be available at this event – please be sure to stop by the USSRC and purchase yours!