Kris Light and Renee Kelley, outreach educators at the American Museum of Science and Energy, recently attended Space Camp at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, NASA’s official Visitor Information Center for Marshall Space Flight Center, in Huntsville, Alabama.

The educational program promotes science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM, while training students and adults with hands-on activities and missions based on teamwork, leadership, and decision-making. Space Camp uses astronaut training techniques to engage trainees in real-world applications of STEM subjects, a press release said.

Light and Kelley were part of the Space Academy for Educators Program, which is designed for teachers who want to advance education in the STEM fields. They experienced astronaut simulators and took a virtual tour into space to save the International Space Station. Trainees also followed lesson plans based on NASA content (which is correlated to the National Science Education Standards) and received content and knowledge to pass on to their students in the classroom. [Read more…]