MathAlive! Space Camp Tweetup

Two weeks ago, I attended the Space Camp Math Alive! tweetup in Huntsville, AL. The rainy morning started off rather wet and dreary. Fortunately, this tweetup was inside for the most part and allowed the soggy shoes from the short sprint across the puddle-laden parking lot to dry.

As the 26 participants eagerly waited for the final few guests to arrive and the event to get started, eager tweets and status updates started to go out to the Twittersphere.

Charity Stewart, Marketing and Social Media Manager for Space Camp and the U.S. Rocket and Space Center, started the fifth tweetup with introductions.

Tweeps came from Illinois, Alabama, California, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida, inclduing alumni from the inaugal Space Camp class in 1982, the first Space Academy class, and first Space Camp tweetup.

The group headed downstairs for a group photo by way the catwalk above the training center and past the Underwater Astronaut Trainer.

The group stood in front of a mockup of Endeavour that was quite intimidating with a big nose.

And another opportunity for a picture with a shuttle!

We were treated to a visit with Raytheon Huntsville Plant Manager Angel Crespo who is in charge of a new missile factory opening in Huntsville. The plant uses automation to increase safety, productivity, and efficiency. Crespo talked about the efforts Raytheon is doing in schools to increase interest in STEM. The MathAlive! exhibit is one of a few exhibits designed to teach children the importance of science, math, and engineering.

A delicious lunch of sandwiches, salad, and cookies filled our empty stomachs.

Giving us a little time to digest our food, we were treated to a behind the scenes tour of Space Camp. We saw the Habitat, where Space Campers sleep, and the Mission Training Center floor where a handful of simulators teach team building and problem solving skills.

We even got the chance to ride on the Multi-Axis Trainer, or MAT.

Back in the classroom, we had the privilege to meet and listen to five-time Astronaut and world record holder Robert “Hoot” Gibson talk about launching aboard four different space shuttles and the different tasks he was in charge of, including docking with the Mir Space Station.

Ending a really fascinating day was the MathAlive! exhibit. We learned about the engineering behind riding a skateboard, how the Hubble Telescope has taken such beautiful images, and how contamination from rainwater is measured to ensure safe swimming at beaches.

It was an awesome day of activities which, without all the hard work from Charity Stewart, couldn’t have been possible.

Here are some extra pictures from the day:

Want more? Check out the Storify I curated containing tweets and pictures from the attendees that day. And go visit the US Space & Rocket Center with many more cools things like a full size Saturn V rocket, the Office of Wernher von Braun, and Rocket City Legacy.