When it comes to out-of-this-world STEM school trips, it’s pretty hard to beat a visit to actual ‘Mission Control’ in Houston.
Nicknamed ‘Space City’, Houston is home to NASA’s Johnson Space Center – flight control for manned space missions and one of the world’s key centres for astronaut training. This is quite literally the beating heart of human space exploration and research.
Not only will you be able to explore the centre, you’ll also be able to take part in a 5-day ‘space mission’ there. Your group will get stuck into a range of engineering and maths-based activities like coding, mission planning and Mars Rover construction. You’ll go behind the scenes of astronaut training (including experiencing weightlessness during astronaut scuba training) and learn more on topics like sustainable habit construction, robotics and, of course, rocket design and launch.
You’ll enjoy talks by NASA employees on the realities of working there and a real-life astronaut will attend or even present a Q&A session during the week.
And that’s not all, other STEM-related activities in Houston include indoor skydiving (which is offered in conjunction with a special workshop designed to help students understand the science behind the experience), and the opportunity to visit an oil rig in the harbour and find out more about how science and engineering has made offshore drilling possible.
