Mars student journeys to space camp
In the fall, Valencia resident Michael Bridgeman will attend Mars Area High School.
But it won't be the first time he's learned in a stellar location.
This past week, Michael, 15, went to space camp. He attended Advanced Space Academy at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala.
The weeklong science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) program trains students with hands-on activities and missions based on teamwork, leadership and problem-solving.
In 2020, Michael won a full-tuition scholarship to attend the program, while he was still an eighth-grade student at Blessed Trinity Academy.
The scholarship was paid for by an anonymous donation to the school, and students ages 12 to 14 could apply by creating a video about the importance of STEM education and imagining concepts of a planet that could support human life.
“He was supposed to go to space camp last year, but because of COVID, it was pushed back,” said Michael's mother, Patricia Bridgeman. “But he had a wonderful experience.”Michael found getting the chance to meet astronaut Larry DeLucas over Zoom to be one of the best parts of his space camp trip.“Just listening to him talk, and what he taught us, that was the most interesting thing about it,” he said.The camp had a busy schedule, but one that was worth it to Michael.“It was go go go throughout,” Michael said. “They didn't give you much downtime. The only downtime you got was half an hour to 15 minutes before bed and when you woke up.”That busy time was spent doing STEM experiments and simulated missions, including a flight simulator of an F-18 Eagle, scuba diving to simulate microgravity and listening to presentations on space careers and commercial spaceflight.
Michael has attended some STEM activities before, including going to a Mars Area School District STEM summer camp three years ago. His enthusiasm for STEM was bolstered by his trip to space camp.“I think it would be great to go into space or to work for NASA,” he said. “I really like astroscience and space science. I liked learning about space history, and we even did a planetarium show at space camp. I loved zooming around and looking at all the planets.”When Michael attends Mars Area High School this fall, he says he won't know many people at the school. But he made connections at space camp with whom he hopes to keep in touch.“I met a lot of people,” he said. “I got all of the phone numbers of the people in my group, so I'll be staying in touch with them.”
