~Baneza Montalvo~
MY TRIP TO FLORIDA!
~FIRST DAY & FIFTH DAY~
The first day in Florida we went to
Sea World. We saw a lot of animals. We saw stingrays, dolphins, killer whales, sharks, manta rays, and manatees. We also saw a killer whale show and a dolphin show. I think both of them were very cool. I had never seen that before. The fun part of the whole show was when the killer whales would get us wet. We got on a ride called the Manta, which allows you to feel how a manta ray moves by having you ride parallel to the ground, twisting, looping, and moving quickly. I also touched and fed a dolphin and touched a stingray. I learned that dolphins don’t like it when you rub them on top of their heads. They liked it when you do it under their chins. This was a nice day to start a fun and educational adventure. It was a great way to spend Halloween.
~SECOND DAY & FOURTH DAY~
The second day in Florida we went to Kennedy Space Center with Stephanie Donald, Cathy Collins, and Bekah J Collins. The first thing we did in Kennedy Space Center was take a picture with all of us in it. After that we got on a ride that simulates what it feels like to be in a shuttle launch. That ride was fun except it shook my cheeks too much. We also got to meet astronaut James Riley and take a picture with him. He talked about his experience in space. We also met Mitch Currah who helped the astronauts from Apollo 13 come back to Earth alive. Then we went to the Rocket Garden, where we saw and got in the Mercury Capsule. When I got in it, it was very small. I couldn’t stretch my legs that good. I saw the Titan II and Saturn V. I also got to see the inside a full size replica of the shuttle. I got to see the Astronaut Memorials. When I entered the the shuttle I realized it was big enough for people to stand straight inside of it. The second time we went to Kennedy Space center we saw 2 Imax movies. One of them was about the Hubble telescope and the other one was about the International Space Station. We also went to the Astronaut Hall of Fame. In the Hall of Fame, I got to see a statue of Alan Shepherd. He was the first American in space. I saw his space suit, gloves, and helmet in which he trained in. I saw all the astronauts in the hall of fame and their mission patches. Two of them that I saw were Buzz Aldrin, the man who is famous for walking in the moon and Roger Chaffee who was in the Apollo I mission. I saw and learned a lot of interesting things. We also had a BBQ and we swam at Stephanie Donald and Cathy Collins house. By the way the BBQ was great!
~THIRD DAY~
The third day in Florida we went to Epcot Center. My favorite thing we did in Epcot center was when we got on the Future Ride, also known as the BIG GOLF BALL. I like that ride because it showed you how everything started from the beginning of time till present. The people they used in this ride looked so real. At first I thought they were human beings, but as we got closer they weren’t. We also got a tour to see a green house. That was pretty interesting. We saw a tomato tree, which holds the worlds record for the largest number of tomatoes grown from a single plant. We saw a ghost pepper “which is the hottest pepper in the world”. The interesting part of the green house was that they didn’t grow the plants with soil. They used liquid nutrients. Some of the food grown in the green house is used in the restaurants in Epcot center. We also got on a ride that simulates how it feels to land on mars. Esmeralda was the commander, Mayra was the pilot, and I was the navigator. That was an adventure. Hence, lets just say we landed safely on the Martian planet. We also saw many cultures. One of the performances we saw in Japan town was a lady making candy. That was very cool to see. She made all kinds of animals. Some of the ones she did were a flamingo, a monkey with a banana, a tiger, a dragon, and a pink cat. “We asked her to make the monkey and the banana”. She did the animal candies super fast. The candy was 220 degrees hot. We got on a ride called test track which it showed you about how they test the transmission by going up a steep hill, how it feels when the car gets out of control, and how it handles large bumps in the road. Also this ride went very fast in the test track. We got on Soarin’ which it took us on an adventure to California.
~THE FOURTH DAY~
The fourth day in Florida I tried something new! I tried Grilled Maui Maui and clam strips. Not the best food I tried before, in my opinion. Miss Bushman tried blue crab, Mr. Hanks had oyster strips, Esmeralda tried Grilled Maui Maui and clam strips like me, and Mayra tried the Dark Maui Maui and steamed shrimp. After that we went to the beach in the afternoon. It was a bit chilly but it didn’t matter we wanted to get in. Mayra and I tried body surfing, which was fun “we liked it when there was big waves” and Mayra also tried boogie boarding. The water was warm but it was windy, so when we got out we were freezing. Later that afternoon we watched Apollo 13. I learned that when Apollo 13 was on their way to the moon both of their oxygen tanks blew up. So they had to go into the moon lander, there was a problem with that. The moon lander was built for only 2 persons, but there were 3 of them in Apollo 13. Either way they tried their best so all 3 could fit, but there was a problem with that too. Now they had too much carbon dioxide, which could lead them to death. So now Mitch Currah the man we meet in Florida and Ken Mattingly “the astronaut that was suppose to be on board with Apollo 13 that was not allowed to fly because he was going to get the measles, which he didn’t” came to the rescue. They started building a filter out of a square that would fit into a circle. Using materials only found in the moon lander. After that they had to turn off all the power, to make sure they had enough for re-entry. They made sure that everything worked in the simulator run by Mitch. Ken discovered a procedure of the order to turn things back on to minimize power usage. He also discovered a way to take battery power from the lander back to the Apollo capsule. The whole world held their breath as they came back. If they were even a little bit off they would burn up and never come back to Earth. Apollo 13 made victory when they arrived home safely. This movie made me appreciate Mitch a lot more. He was up at least 21 hours a day until they were home safe. He was fresh out of college and only 23 or 25 years of age at the time. That average age of NASA engineers at that time was 25 because they thought everybody else was crazy and went somewhere else to work.
~FIFTH DAY~
The fifth day in Florida we went to Merritt Island animal refuge with Stephanie Donald, Cathy Collins, and Bekah J Collins. We saw a lot of different plants, one turtle, and a couple of birds. The animals were not out as much because it was cold. When we were done with that Miss Bushman was by the water and out of nowhere her battery flew out of her camera recorder and fell into the water. She never found it again. After that we went to the beach, there we saw the shuttle on the launch pad through a telescope. When I saw it I couldn’t believe I was seeing it. It was very sad and disappointing not getting to see the shuttle launch. After that, we walked in the beach and I found a lot of different seashells. When we left from there we went to eat to a BBQ place called Beef “O” Hardys. When we were done eating, we went to the Planetarium. There we tried this electrical static ball, but Miss. Bushman’s hair didn’t go up. There was also some whisper disks. When you would talk through the metal hole the other person across the room could hear you. We saw a show of the constellations and then we saw a laser mania show. That got me really dizzy but it was really cool to see.
~SIXTH DAY~
The sixth day in Florida we went to Trax. There we played miniature golf, go carts “my favorite thing from there”, and laser tagging. When we were on the go-carts Cathy bumped with Esmeralda, also nobody would let Mayra pass, and Mr. Hanks was speeding. When I was driving, there was a turn on the track and I forgot to slow down which almost made me get out of control. When we were finished with all the games Mr. Hanks found an airboat ride. So on our way there, there was a little stand that was selling gator jerkey. Everybody tried it except Mayra and I. After that we went on the airboat ride, which was fun and very cold at the same time. We also meet Captain Gil who has worked there for 20 years. We got to see an alligator in its den because it was too cold for them. That day we only got to see one because the weather wasn’t so good. Later that day we went to a restaurant to eat. Everybody tried something new except Bekah and I. Everyone tried gator and Miss. Bushman and Mr. Hanks tried “FROG LEGS”. Esmeralda and Mayra tried deep fried gator and stuffed crabs. This was our last day in Florida. The sad part of this was we didn’t see the shuttle launch and we had to say good-bye to Stephanie, Cathy, and Bekah. Hopefully we could go back soon and see the shuttle launch we were hoping to see. The most important thing I learned was if you try hard you can accomplish anything you want to do. My advice to anyone is to try hard and never give up.
WHS NASA Club students visiting Kennedy Space Center.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Mayra Rojas Reflection
Day one and day five --- The day we went to sea world
Today is our first day in Orlando. We have no idea of what we are going to do today, the three of us say (Baneza, Esmeralda, and me), said “why don’t we go to Sea World”. Ms. Bushman said “sure we should go”. We went to sea world, at first we didn’t know what to see, and then Mr. Hanks suggested we go to see one of the shows , so we went to go see some shows they were really cool, especially how they train the dolphins and whales and other sea animals to do all the stunts.
We’ve got to learn many interesting facts about every kind of animal there was in sea world. We even got to hold half of a rib bone that one of the manatees had lost while it was being saved.
We got to meet the trainers from one of the dolphin shows. Baneza and I (Mayra) got to actually touch a dolphin but unfortunately Esmeralda didn’t. We also got to feel how it was like to be a manta ray, how they swim through the water.
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Our fifth day is a happy day; yes finally we are going to see the shuttle launch (yah) we all woke up early for this day. Unfortunately Ms. Bushman got an email telling her that the launch was delayed all of us were so sad. We had already been ready to see the launch but unfortunately we did not see it. On our fifth day in Florida we went back to sea world. This time we got to feed the dolphins and pet them again. We also got to touch manta rays it was really cool. They were really slimy, but it was cool to get to touch them.
We also got to see again the kids Baneza and I meet in the Astronaut Hall of Fame. All of us were glad to see each other again.
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Day two and also day four --- This was the original day of the launch¬ when we first planned our trip-- and the day we also went to Kennedy Space Center
We had to wake up early; we went to Kennedy Space Center. The three of us feel asleep on our way to Kennedy Space Center. When we arrived, we were all excited to see and learn about all this new stuff. At first, we didn’t know what we were going to do. Then Mrs. Hanks spotted that an astronaut was going to give a talk so all of us went to hear him give his talk. We also took a picture with him,
Astronaut James Reilly. Then we went to a ride that there is in Kennedy Space Center; It’s called Shuttle launch experience. It was an experience that felt like if we were actually on a shuttle launch. Then we went to see the rocket garden. Yeah, I know it might sound weird but it’s a garden of pure rockets. It’s pretty cool. We also got to meet a hero, well a hero to me and to many other people. Why is he hero you ask me? He is a hero because he is one of the persons that helped get the astronauts of Apollo 13 (The Successful failure) get home. That is why he is a hero thanks to him he saved 3 astronauts. THANK YOU MITCH CURRAH.
On the fourth day, went back to Kennedy Space Center. We also got to go to The Astronaut Hall of Fame. We got to see a lot of awesome stuff. Baneza and I got to get on a ride that was similar to what you feel g-force like when you are on an airplane. It was really cool. We also got to see the memorial of the astronauts whom had died. We saw a lot of interesting things for example; we saw memorabilia of Buzz Aldrin. We also got to meet these little kids here while we were waiting to get on the ride. They were really cool and very intelligent. They had come from Southwest Virginia. They had also come to see the launch only Baneza and I met them. They were really fun and were good company. I hope we could meet up again.
We also got to see the modules of the space suites that the astronauts got to wear when they went into space. We saw all sorts of stuff that I really thought was cool.
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Day three--- we went to the Epcot center November 2nd, 2010
Today is a rainy day we couldn’t do much so we decided to go to Epcot Center. It was really fun. We went on a lot of educational rides (e.g. Mars expedition, The Land, behind the scenes, etc...).
The Mars expedition was an interesting ride. We got to actually feel and see what it was like to go to Mars. When I got on it for the first time I was with Esmeralda and Baneza team AKS. Mr., Mrs. Hanks and Ms. Bushman were on a separate team.
Esmeralda was our commander, Baneza was the navigator, and I was the pilot, successfully we made it alive ha-ha.
The Land, on this ride we got to see how some parts of the USA are: deserts, wet lands, grasslands and tropical.
I loved behind the scenes. It wasn’t actually a ride. We got to tour Epcot’s greenhouse. We learned how to build a greenhouse out of a fish tank and in our own back yard. By only using stacked planters, they were able to get about 20 plants instead of one growing in the same space. They also grew the plants without soil by spraying them with liquid nutrients.
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Day six—we went to the beach and watched the movie Apollo 13
We were going to the beach, but first we went for Stephanie and Kathy. But they were leaving to go see the doctor so they told us that we could stay in their house, so we did and we watched Apollo 13. But at half of the movie everyone got hungry so we were going to eat at his restaurant that Ms. Bushman recommended. We did go eat there, at first we didn’t know what to eat, there all sorts of sea food. Mr. Hanks ordered blue crab, Ms. Bushman also ordered the same but they ordered the all you can eat meal, which comes with two side orders and you can choose all other sea food items that cost less than what you ordered. This allowed us to try crab, fried white fish, Maui Maui, steamed and fried shrimp, and clam strips. Then the three of us tried all of the food so we knew what we liked and were ready to order. Baneza ordered Maui Maui grilled and her two side orders, Esmeralda ordered the same Maui Maui and I ordered Maui Maui darkened and my two side orders. This time we had all tried something new. All of the food that we had tried was very delicious and fresh sea food. Something new that we also tried that wasn’t sea food was hush puppies these were really good and yummy. Then when we went back to Stephanie’s house we started to watch the movie and then we went to beach when Stephanie and Kathy came back.
Finally the day we got to the beach, the three of us were ready to go to the beach. We’re ready but when we got out of the car it was chilly, but we didn’t care. I was the first one to get into the water. The water was so warm and I told Baneza to come on in. She did but she didn’t come in completely. I was the first one to start boogie boarding. At first, I didn’t know how to boogie board but I learned how to. Also Baneza and me for the first time went bodysurfing and it was fun we actually learned how to bodysurf.
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Day seven--- the day we went to the nature walk
This day was a cold day in Florida. We decided to go to for a nature walk; yah; it was really fun. We saw many plants that I had never seen for example I saw this plant that look like grapes but were poisons little balls that, just looked like grapes. We also took a lot of funny pictures. Then after that we went to the beach again where it was close to the shuttle pad. When we saw it we tried to get pictures of it so we did but they weren’t really close. After that we went to a planetarium it was really cool to see and learn about the planets. We also got to see a show about the constellations and laser mania. What we learned about the constellations was really cool, because after that we got to see Jupiter and four of its moons through the big telescope. It was really cool how we got to see Jupiter and how we were finding the constellations.
The day we had fun
Our last day in Florida. Well that day it was all about having fun. Yep pure fun. This day we went TRAX, we had gone go-carting, laser tagging, and miniature golfing. It was really fun. In the go-carts it was awesome. Well Mr. Hanks was speeding, no one let me pass or go through. Everyone was safe and it was really fun. After the miniature golfing we went to an airboat ride. It was really fun and cold. We actually got to see only one alligator and we also named him George. The name of the captain of the airboat is Captain Gill. We also got to buy and try gator jerky, well Baneza and I didn’t try it. Esmeralda and I got to try alligator meat but it was deep fried. It was good, yum.
Oh well, we didn’t get to see what we wanted in the shuttle launch. However, we got to learn more than what we lost. I also learned that anything is impossible and that even the impossible is possible, and to never give up. Also if you work as a team you can do anything and anything is possible with team work.
Today is our first day in Orlando. We have no idea of what we are going to do today, the three of us say (Baneza, Esmeralda, and me), said “why don’t we go to Sea World”. Ms. Bushman said “sure we should go”. We went to sea world, at first we didn’t know what to see, and then Mr. Hanks suggested we go to see one of the shows , so we went to go see some shows they were really cool, especially how they train the dolphins and whales and other sea animals to do all the stunts.
We’ve got to learn many interesting facts about every kind of animal there was in sea world. We even got to hold half of a rib bone that one of the manatees had lost while it was being saved.
We got to meet the trainers from one of the dolphin shows. Baneza and I (Mayra) got to actually touch a dolphin but unfortunately Esmeralda didn’t. We also got to feel how it was like to be a manta ray, how they swim through the water.
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Our fifth day is a happy day; yes finally we are going to see the shuttle launch (yah) we all woke up early for this day. Unfortunately Ms. Bushman got an email telling her that the launch was delayed all of us were so sad. We had already been ready to see the launch but unfortunately we did not see it. On our fifth day in Florida we went back to sea world. This time we got to feed the dolphins and pet them again. We also got to touch manta rays it was really cool. They were really slimy, but it was cool to get to touch them.
We also got to see again the kids Baneza and I meet in the Astronaut Hall of Fame. All of us were glad to see each other again.
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Day two and also day four --- This was the original day of the launch¬ when we first planned our trip-- and the day we also went to Kennedy Space Center
We had to wake up early; we went to Kennedy Space Center. The three of us feel asleep on our way to Kennedy Space Center. When we arrived, we were all excited to see and learn about all this new stuff. At first, we didn’t know what we were going to do. Then Mrs. Hanks spotted that an astronaut was going to give a talk so all of us went to hear him give his talk. We also took a picture with him,
Astronaut James Reilly. Then we went to a ride that there is in Kennedy Space Center; It’s called Shuttle launch experience. It was an experience that felt like if we were actually on a shuttle launch. Then we went to see the rocket garden. Yeah, I know it might sound weird but it’s a garden of pure rockets. It’s pretty cool. We also got to meet a hero, well a hero to me and to many other people. Why is he hero you ask me? He is a hero because he is one of the persons that helped get the astronauts of Apollo 13 (The Successful failure) get home. That is why he is a hero thanks to him he saved 3 astronauts. THANK YOU MITCH CURRAH.
On the fourth day, went back to Kennedy Space Center. We also got to go to The Astronaut Hall of Fame. We got to see a lot of awesome stuff. Baneza and I got to get on a ride that was similar to what you feel g-force like when you are on an airplane. It was really cool. We also got to see the memorial of the astronauts whom had died. We saw a lot of interesting things for example; we saw memorabilia of Buzz Aldrin. We also got to meet these little kids here while we were waiting to get on the ride. They were really cool and very intelligent. They had come from Southwest Virginia. They had also come to see the launch only Baneza and I met them. They were really fun and were good company. I hope we could meet up again.
We also got to see the modules of the space suites that the astronauts got to wear when they went into space. We saw all sorts of stuff that I really thought was cool.
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Day three--- we went to the Epcot center November 2nd, 2010
Today is a rainy day we couldn’t do much so we decided to go to Epcot Center. It was really fun. We went on a lot of educational rides (e.g. Mars expedition, The Land, behind the scenes, etc...).
The Mars expedition was an interesting ride. We got to actually feel and see what it was like to go to Mars. When I got on it for the first time I was with Esmeralda and Baneza team AKS. Mr., Mrs. Hanks and Ms. Bushman were on a separate team.
Esmeralda was our commander, Baneza was the navigator, and I was the pilot, successfully we made it alive ha-ha.
The Land, on this ride we got to see how some parts of the USA are: deserts, wet lands, grasslands and tropical.
I loved behind the scenes. It wasn’t actually a ride. We got to tour Epcot’s greenhouse. We learned how to build a greenhouse out of a fish tank and in our own back yard. By only using stacked planters, they were able to get about 20 plants instead of one growing in the same space. They also grew the plants without soil by spraying them with liquid nutrients.
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Day six—we went to the beach and watched the movie Apollo 13
We were going to the beach, but first we went for Stephanie and Kathy. But they were leaving to go see the doctor so they told us that we could stay in their house, so we did and we watched Apollo 13. But at half of the movie everyone got hungry so we were going to eat at his restaurant that Ms. Bushman recommended. We did go eat there, at first we didn’t know what to eat, there all sorts of sea food. Mr. Hanks ordered blue crab, Ms. Bushman also ordered the same but they ordered the all you can eat meal, which comes with two side orders and you can choose all other sea food items that cost less than what you ordered. This allowed us to try crab, fried white fish, Maui Maui, steamed and fried shrimp, and clam strips. Then the three of us tried all of the food so we knew what we liked and were ready to order. Baneza ordered Maui Maui grilled and her two side orders, Esmeralda ordered the same Maui Maui and I ordered Maui Maui darkened and my two side orders. This time we had all tried something new. All of the food that we had tried was very delicious and fresh sea food. Something new that we also tried that wasn’t sea food was hush puppies these were really good and yummy. Then when we went back to Stephanie’s house we started to watch the movie and then we went to beach when Stephanie and Kathy came back.
Finally the day we got to the beach, the three of us were ready to go to the beach. We’re ready but when we got out of the car it was chilly, but we didn’t care. I was the first one to get into the water. The water was so warm and I told Baneza to come on in. She did but she didn’t come in completely. I was the first one to start boogie boarding. At first, I didn’t know how to boogie board but I learned how to. Also Baneza and me for the first time went bodysurfing and it was fun we actually learned how to bodysurf.
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Day seven--- the day we went to the nature walk
This day was a cold day in Florida. We decided to go to for a nature walk; yah; it was really fun. We saw many plants that I had never seen for example I saw this plant that look like grapes but were poisons little balls that, just looked like grapes. We also took a lot of funny pictures. Then after that we went to the beach again where it was close to the shuttle pad. When we saw it we tried to get pictures of it so we did but they weren’t really close. After that we went to a planetarium it was really cool to see and learn about the planets. We also got to see a show about the constellations and laser mania. What we learned about the constellations was really cool, because after that we got to see Jupiter and four of its moons through the big telescope. It was really cool how we got to see Jupiter and how we were finding the constellations.
The day we had fun
Our last day in Florida. Well that day it was all about having fun. Yep pure fun. This day we went TRAX, we had gone go-carting, laser tagging, and miniature golfing. It was really fun. In the go-carts it was awesome. Well Mr. Hanks was speeding, no one let me pass or go through. Everyone was safe and it was really fun. After the miniature golfing we went to an airboat ride. It was really fun and cold. We actually got to see only one alligator and we also named him George. The name of the captain of the airboat is Captain Gill. We also got to buy and try gator jerky, well Baneza and I didn’t try it. Esmeralda and I got to try alligator meat but it was deep fried. It was good, yum.
Oh well, we didn’t get to see what we wanted in the shuttle launch. However, we got to learn more than what we lost. I also learned that anything is impossible and that even the impossible is possible, and to never give up. Also if you work as a team you can do anything and anything is possible with team work.
Esmeralda Arreola Reflection
Mayra Rojas, Baneza Montalvo and myself (Esmeralda Arreola) were invited to watch the final launch of Discovery. There were nine schools in the Pacific Northwest that were chosen to watch the shuttle launch. Our school was selected because of our accomplishments as a NASA Explorer School. I was chosen by my teacher to attend the launch because of my involved with NASA. I’m involved in my schools NASA (MESA) club. I’ve been a participant of the INSPIRE program for two years now and this past summer I had an internship at Ames Research Center.
Unfortunately, there were some problems interfering with the launch. The original day of the launch was schedule to be on November 3rd. One out of the three engines was not performing as planned so the launch was postponed two days. The second interference was the weather and the third problem was a hydrogen leak followed by a crack on the insulation on the external fuel tank, which postponed the launch until November 30th.
.
Not being able to see the launch was very disappointing for all of us. However, we gained more than we lost from this great experience. Ultimately, we all hope we will be able to see the launch as the day approaches.
During our time in Florida, I had an extremely educational experience. We stayed in Orlando, Florida for seven unforgettable days. As the days went on, I experienced something new everyday. The first and third day of our adventure was spent at Sea World. At Sea World, I learn the habitats of various animals. I also had the chance to feed and pet dolphins. The second and fourth day we went to Kennedy Space Center. While I was there, I learned more about NASA’S program and I saw many aircraft such as Saturn V, Titan, and Mercury. I also had the opportunity to meet some important people. I met astronaut James Riley and Mitch Currah. Mitch Currah worked on the human space simulator. He was one of the people who worked to bring the astronauts back from the Apollo 13 mission. I learned many things while I was there. One was it took ten thousand people to build the Hubble telescope and while it was in space something was wrong with the mirror so they had to install contact lenses to fix the blurriness. They had made it more efficient to view so now scientist are able to see as far as the furthest galaxy away. In 2013, the James Webb Space telescope will see beyond the Hubble telescope. This telescope will a replacement for the Hubble and will consist of infrared-optimized equipment.
The fourth day we also went to U.S Astronaut hall of fame. This was one of my favorite places because I learned about NASA’s history. The third day we went to Epcot Center. The most interesting thing about Epcot Center was the greenhouse effect they have developed there. Every living organism is grown by nutrient solution rather than soil. They have the worlds largest number of tomatoes grown on a single plant followed by the worlds hottest pepper-the ghost pepper. The fifth day we went to the beach and watched the movie Apollo 13. On the sixth day, we went Meritt Island, we went on a nature walk and visited a planetarium. At Meritt Island we were able to see the shuttle at the launch pad. I saw the shuttle from a telescope and it was truly amazing. On the nature walk, I saw turtles and other wild life. The planetarium shows was on constellation (Legends of the Night Sky: Perseus and Andromeda) and Laser Mania. I also saw Jupiter and its moons from a telescope that is 24 inches in diameter. On our last memorable day we went to Trax. At trax, we rode on go-carts, played miniature golf and laser tag. Later that evening, we went on a boat ride to search for alligators. Then, we went to a restaurant. I tried food that I never ate before. The foods were alligator, Maui Maui, frogs and white fish.
I had an unforgettable and education experience. It was disappointing not being able to see the shuttle launch but I learned things that were life changing. Overall, the most important thing I learned was go after what you want. Many things can happened if you strive for your goal. If I had the chance to do it all over again, indeed I would.
Written by Esmeralda Arreola
Unfortunately, there were some problems interfering with the launch. The original day of the launch was schedule to be on November 3rd. One out of the three engines was not performing as planned so the launch was postponed two days. The second interference was the weather and the third problem was a hydrogen leak followed by a crack on the insulation on the external fuel tank, which postponed the launch until November 30th.
.
Not being able to see the launch was very disappointing for all of us. However, we gained more than we lost from this great experience. Ultimately, we all hope we will be able to see the launch as the day approaches.
During our time in Florida, I had an extremely educational experience. We stayed in Orlando, Florida for seven unforgettable days. As the days went on, I experienced something new everyday. The first and third day of our adventure was spent at Sea World. At Sea World, I learn the habitats of various animals. I also had the chance to feed and pet dolphins. The second and fourth day we went to Kennedy Space Center. While I was there, I learned more about NASA’S program and I saw many aircraft such as Saturn V, Titan, and Mercury. I also had the opportunity to meet some important people. I met astronaut James Riley and Mitch Currah. Mitch Currah worked on the human space simulator. He was one of the people who worked to bring the astronauts back from the Apollo 13 mission. I learned many things while I was there. One was it took ten thousand people to build the Hubble telescope and while it was in space something was wrong with the mirror so they had to install contact lenses to fix the blurriness. They had made it more efficient to view so now scientist are able to see as far as the furthest galaxy away. In 2013, the James Webb Space telescope will see beyond the Hubble telescope. This telescope will a replacement for the Hubble and will consist of infrared-optimized equipment.
The fourth day we also went to U.S Astronaut hall of fame. This was one of my favorite places because I learned about NASA’s history. The third day we went to Epcot Center. The most interesting thing about Epcot Center was the greenhouse effect they have developed there. Every living organism is grown by nutrient solution rather than soil. They have the worlds largest number of tomatoes grown on a single plant followed by the worlds hottest pepper-the ghost pepper. The fifth day we went to the beach and watched the movie Apollo 13. On the sixth day, we went Meritt Island, we went on a nature walk and visited a planetarium. At Meritt Island we were able to see the shuttle at the launch pad. I saw the shuttle from a telescope and it was truly amazing. On the nature walk, I saw turtles and other wild life. The planetarium shows was on constellation (Legends of the Night Sky: Perseus and Andromeda) and Laser Mania. I also saw Jupiter and its moons from a telescope that is 24 inches in diameter. On our last memorable day we went to Trax. At trax, we rode on go-carts, played miniature golf and laser tag. Later that evening, we went on a boat ride to search for alligators. Then, we went to a restaurant. I tried food that I never ate before. The foods were alligator, Maui Maui, frogs and white fish.
I had an unforgettable and education experience. It was disappointing not being able to see the shuttle launch but I learned things that were life changing. Overall, the most important thing I learned was go after what you want. Many things can happened if you strive for your goal. If I had the chance to do it all over again, indeed I would.
Written by Esmeralda Arreola
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Day Two at Sea World.
Launch was postponed so we gave the girls the morning to sleep and do school work. In the afternoon we revisited Sea World. Mr. Hanks noticed a Bird of Paradise and gave us a Biology lesson on how it pollinates. The bird lands on a projection, which forces it to step into pollen. The bird gets nectar and plant gets pollinated.
Feeding the dolphins.
Shamu show amazing what the killer whales can do.
Christmas being set up.
Trying fish, maui maui, steamed shrimp, fried shrimp, fried fish, beer battered fish, and blue crab…
Eating crab is very messy.
Feeding the dolphins.
Shamu show amazing what the killer whales can do.
Christmas being set up.
Trying fish, maui maui, steamed shrimp, fried shrimp, fried fish, beer battered fish, and blue crab…
Eating crab is very messy.
Day two at Kennedy and Astronaut Hall of Fame
We went back to the Kennedy Center for day two. The students walked into a shuttle so they could see how big it is. We watched two IMAX movies: one about the International Space Station and the other about the Hubble Telescope. They were amazing to see. We laughed when the astronauts threw m & M’s. I jumped at the launch when debris came flying at me. 
Lunch at Kennedy. Mr. Hanks and I tried turkey legs.
I was excited to see the Mercury capsule on loan from the Smithsonian. It was used for the third flight in space. I could see the wire fraying. I definitely would not fit.
Mayra and Baneza waited in line for the G force simulator. They spun around real fast.
Esmeralda tried the hands on things to see how they work.Esmeralda at the control panel used during Mercury.
Watch out we have several future astronauts…
Help I need a larger helmet…
These mirrors make me taller….make
me wider and shorter.
Bing, bing, ha, ha, I scored a goal on you. Students had to move to control the game. Hands raised up made it go up…squatting down make it go down. Baneza won both times making the top ten.
This is what the inside of the shuttle looks like.
Robot being taken to ISS on STS-133 to stay and conduct experiments.
One of the earliest space comic books.
Look what I got a picture of…
Letter written back to a student from John Glenn. He was so popular it took six people to help him keep up with his mail.
Astronaut John Young's flying suit. Stephanie was very good friends with him. I really enjoyed learning more about him.
Two of four collectibles that after 25 years of not being able to find the owner were donated by the postal service to the astronaut hall of fame museum. Two of the four there are only 7 in existence. They were mailed from all over the world and had the autograph of the mission control.
Mercury 7 astronaut suit.
Wow, we are here to see the STS-133 launch.
Receiving the Distinguished Service Medal.
Who’s going to be first in space…all 7 Mercury Astronauts raised their hand. They were cocky test pilots…unafraid and believe anything was possible. They knew they were the best.
Space souvenirs.
John Glenn’s flying suit.
Helmets of the test pilot astronauts.
Gemini capsule.
Apollo 1 lost to fire.
Challenger lost to o-ring failure due to too cold weather.
Columbia lost when wing fell off during reentry due to foam from external tank hitting it at launch. Original plans had it painted. Increased the weight by 1400 pounds and the cost by $750,000. Therefore, they stopped painting it as it would not be reused but the insulation can come out. In fact, the delay that made it come to November 30 launch for STS-133 was a tear in the insulation.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Launch Postponed Until November 30
We made it onto the bus ready to leave when a hydrogen leak was found. The launch has been postponed again...we will have to wait to find out when it will go...hopefully sooner than later. We want to see it!
After we got to get off the bus because the launch had been postponed. We succeeded in getting lost. We were trying to go to some trails. Finally, we decided to go to Cocoa Beach. We were disappointed that we had not been able to see the launch. We stopped at Stephanie's house. They allowed us to wash our clothes and watch Apollo 13. The students got a better understanding of what Mitch did in Houston. A powerful lesson for us all as to what can happen when we all work together.
As soon as we walked into the house, an announcement was made that the launch had been postponed until November 30. We had many emotions realizing that we would be back home. However, we recognized we had learned a lot and that the trip was a very valuable experience. Sometimes in life things don't work out like we want but we can always make the most of it. I have watched my students benefit from a rich experience and they have grown a lot. We have met amazing people who have touched all of our lives.
Took the girls to try sea food. We had blue crab, maui maui, fried shrimp, steamed shrimp, fried fish, fried clams, and hush puppies. It was exciting watching the students try something new.
Went to the beach at sunset. Very relaxing experience. The students got wet and cold. Fun watching them play in the sand and ocean. Great day!!! I'm so lucky to be here. Thanks everyone for helping us get here. It's been an amazing ride and we have two more days to learn, learn, learn....
After we got to get off the bus because the launch had been postponed. We succeeded in getting lost. We were trying to go to some trails. Finally, we decided to go to Cocoa Beach. We were disappointed that we had not been able to see the launch. We stopped at Stephanie's house. They allowed us to wash our clothes and watch Apollo 13. The students got a better understanding of what Mitch did in Houston. A powerful lesson for us all as to what can happen when we all work together.
As soon as we walked into the house, an announcement was made that the launch had been postponed until November 30. We had many emotions realizing that we would be back home. However, we recognized we had learned a lot and that the trip was a very valuable experience. Sometimes in life things don't work out like we want but we can always make the most of it. I have watched my students benefit from a rich experience and they have grown a lot. We have met amazing people who have touched all of our lives.
Took the girls to try sea food. We had blue crab, maui maui, fried shrimp, steamed shrimp, fried fish, fried clams, and hush puppies. It was exciting watching the students try something new.
Went to the beach at sunset. Very relaxing experience. The students got wet and cold. Fun watching them play in the sand and ocean. Great day!!! I'm so lucky to be here. Thanks everyone for helping us get here. It's been an amazing ride and we have two more days to learn, learn, learn....
Epcot Center November 2
We rode the mars ride. This simulates what it would be like to ride in a space vehicle to Mars. Each person had a role to play. At one point, we about crashed down the mountain side. A very exciting experience.
The students asked a lot of good questions.
It was interesting seeing the sea horses grasping things or floating in the water.I especially liked it when a young man yelled look there is a dolphin and went running to his parents. Life is for enjoyment and excitement in learning.
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| Roots exposed run nutrients over them. |
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| Rotate and nutrients sprayed on. |
It was amazing seeing nine pound lemons. We fed Tolapia.
Technology is used to incorporate the best of two plants.
We saw a tomatoe tree. They had one tree produce over 3,000 cherry tomatoes. It is one regular tomatoe plant. You brace it so the tree can grow up ward and then have it branch out over rope.
Pumpkin plants grown with nets holding up the pumpkin make perfectly round pumpkins. They raise pumpkins that get to be 500 lbs.
We also went on the Soaring ride. It is amazing to fly above California and see different places.
They used metal covered cardboard to run water over to cool the green house. 
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| The students had to check out the new cars...wouldn't you like to drive away in this! |
We had a meeting about the launch. We are getting excited...nervous because it looks like the launch is going to get delayed. We fly home Thursday and will miss the launch then.
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