68 PRIS Patriot Enrichment Program (PEP) students and 27 adults (including the PEP lead learner, Elissa Mays) spent 3 days at the Pathfinder Space Camp program at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Mrs. Mays applied for and received a $30,000 grant from the ALSDE Gifted and Talented Students Education Program that made this trip a reality.
In the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade gifted pullout classes, we are working on a concept-based unit on space. She really wanted to provide these students with the opportunity to attend the Pathfinder Space Camp program to culminate their year of study. Pathfinder is a three-day, two-night program for groups in which students build a model rocket, train like an astronaut, and work in mission control or launch as part of the flight crew on a simulated space mission. The ability to train and work as an astronaut in a simulation at a NASA facility cannot be replicated outside of this opportunity!
Mrs. Mays says, "when I was in fifth-grade, my gifted class participated in a similar space camp program. I credit this experience as one of the motivators in helping me have the confidence to choose a college major in mathematics (a major traditionally dominated by men). Without the experience of space camp, I would not have had the opportunity to see such great examples of female role models with careers in the mathematics and sciences."