Day 2

The second day of camp started out with another breakfast and walk to Button Auditorium for a talk from Dr. Tara Ruttley, Lead Hardware Engineer for the Health Maintenance System on the ISS. Following that, was a presentation from Daniele, an Italian scientist from the exomedicine institute.

Afterward, the campers moved into the Button Drill Room for a presentation by Dr. Michael Fultz, a biology professor at Morehead State University, on the scientific method.  Next, Danielle Gibson, Craft Academy graduate who has sent an experiment to the ISS, led a discussion on bio-luminescence in algae and had each team design a hypothetical experiment to present. 

The students took a break from the algae lesson to hear Don Thomas gave a talk about spacesuits and every camper was put in a drawing for a chance to try on a space suit that has actually been in space.

The campers then returned to Danielle and were guided through an experiment that applied what they had already learned about luminescence in algae.  First, they had to apply mathematics to properly dilute a solution. The campers were told to hypothesize which concentration would bio-luminesce the brightest. Then the lights were turned off and the students had to test out their hypothesis and present their results. 

The day wrapped up with the teams coming together to work on their project and mission patches and then everybody left to get ready for evening activities.

It was a very exciting night for the campers as they attended a public talk from Don Thomas about the time a woodpecker attacked his space shuttle. The talk was held in the Star Theater section of the Space Science Center and detailed the time NASA had to delay a mission for a month because one pesky and determined woodpecker decided to destroy the outer layer of an exterior fuel tank. His presentation included a chance for campers to pretend to be the woodpecker by using a pen to peck through the kind of foam that would have been on the outside of the more exterior fuel tank. He concluded with a book signing and campers left for dinner and an art project. 

However, the night was definitely not over. As soon as it got dark campers were led up to eagle lake to enjoy a public star party where they were given the chance to look through several different telescopes. It was a fantastic and informative day, that finished with a beautiful night of stargazing.