LIMESTONE, Maine — Maine School of Science and Mathematics humanities instructor Michael McCartney recently attended Space Academy for Educators at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, located at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center’s Official Visitor Center in Huntsville, Ala.
The educational program promotes science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), while training students and adults with hands-on activities and missions based on teamwork, leadership and decision-making.
McCartney was part of a program that is designed for teachers who want advanced education in the STEM fields. He experienced astronaut simulators and embarked on a virtual tour into space to save the International Space Station (ISS).
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. Educators earn 45 hours of continuing education credit and can apply for graduate credit through The University of Alabama in Huntsville.
Space Camp operates year-round and uses astronaut training techniques to engage trainees in real-world applications of STEM subjects. Trainees sleep in quarters designed to resemble the ISS and train in simulators like those used by NASA.
Nearly 750,000 trainees have graduated from Space Camp since its inception in 1982, including STS-131 astronaut Dottie Metcalf- Lindenburger, European Space Agency astronaut, and NASA astronauts, Samantha Cristoforetti and Dr. Kate Rubins. Last year, children and teachers from all 50 states and 64 international locations attended Space Camp.
For more information on Space Camp, visit the website www.spacecamp.org.
