Almighty Dad | A stay at home dad blog

We went on a lengthy vacation this summer.  We criss-crossed the eastern and central United States and drove 5,800 miles in two and a half eeks.  On our way back to Colorado we saw a really cool van with “Space Shirts” written all over it.  The van was basically, from top to bottom, a big advertisement for Space Shirts.  I said to myself, “whoa, that’s pretty cool.”  I opened my laptop right there on Westbound I64 near Charleston West Virginia, and I looked them up.  It turns out they are a company located right outside the gates of the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt (that’s my middle name) Island Florida.  They sell t-shirts and memorabilia that commemorate each shuttle mission.  I wrote them a letter just to tell them how cool I thought their van was.  I got a quick reply which then prompted me to reply again.  After a few e-mails I wound up telling the owner that my boys, Neil and Alan, are named after Neil Armstron and Alan Shepard and that we happen to be huge fans of astronauts and all things space related.  It was just fortune that we saw their van, but it got me thinking about how I can better educate the boys.  I can’t say what the space shirts people were doing in West Virginia, but it was good for me.  Seeing their van reminded me that there are so many cool things to learn that most kids don’t experience because they don’t get enough time out of the classroom.  The kind people at Space Shirts wound up sending me a t-shirt and two decals that recognize the most recent shuttle mission, STS-127.  This morning I’m giving the boys a lesson on STS-127.  All because of Space Shirts.  Isn’t that cool?

The Mission

Okay, I confess.  I had to look it up.  We watch the shuttle and the news when it’s on TV, but we’ve been really lax, despite my best intention, in fully following the space shuttles.  STS-127 is the 32^nd construction flight of the ISS (International Space Station).  It delivered the final pieces of the Japanese “Kibo” laboratory complex.  They call it a porch in space.  I don’t really know why, but all I can think of is a bunch of astronauts playing banjo drinking from a bottle printed XXX.  I’m sure NASA was thinking something else.  So that’s pretty cool.  I also learned that the ISS is nearly complete; it’ll be done in 2010.  Its occupiable space is already the size of a 5 room house, its living space has increased 45% in the last two years.  Again, impressive.  The mission lasted 17 days (the longest planned space shuttle mission to date) and was a complete success.  The mission details are on NASA’s website.  The next mission, in September, is unsurprisingly named STS-128.

The International Space Station

Neil and Alan have an idea about space.  It closely resembles Star Wars.  Without bursting their bubble too much, I’d like to quickly inform them that the space station doesn’t look anything like the Death Star.  We  have spent, in the past, a few minutes looking over the various modules of the ISS.  I gotta admit, I am impressed.  The boys, not so much.  They wondered why it looked so clunky and didn’t have wings or anything.  It’s hard to explain to kids about research.  The ISS is intended to study the effects of space on humans, plants, bugs and other living things.  It is not intended to vaporize Alderaan.  Scientists use it to study the possibilities of future space flight and colonization.  I bet most adults scratch their heads and wonder what the heck a bunch of scientist are doing is space.  Well, it sounds a lot like science fiction.  They actually are up there, in part, to figure out how to colonize space.  Here’s a list of experiments currently being run.  Even the boys found that interesting.  Just think 500 years ago people were struggling to cross oceans.  Now we’re working on crossing space.

Science Resources and Support

The National Academy of Sciences was signed into being by Abraham Lincoln in 1863.  Its role is to advise any branch or office of government on all things relating to science.  The nice thing about it is that it operates outside the framework of government and it’s a non-profit organization.  Their sole purpose is to research and to advise government.  It is governed by a council of 12 members who are elected from the membership of 2100 scientists.  If we expect to continue growing as human beings we need to support organizations that champion science and science education.  The National Academies are truly worthy causes.  Also, who knew that the NIH (National Institute of Health) had such a comprehensive science education resource page?   I was pretty surprised myself.   The government should really advertise these things better or people like me are going to think all they do all the time is uselessly bicker with each other.  Even NASA has a “Kids’ Club” to teach kids the basics of space.  I highly recommend giving it a look.

My brief encounter with the Space Shirts van on I-64 in West Virginia has gotten me thinking about science education and the space program.  I have to thank them for having such a bright van because otherwise I never would have spent the time to write to them and I never would have thought about teaching the boys about the International Space Station and shuttle missions.  They are, after all, named after astronauts, and we do have an interest in science and space.  It’s about time we put all those good intentions and interest to use.  Supporting the sciences is vital to our national interest, our children’s education, and our advancement as a species.  There is no greater ambition in the world than to further our understanding of it.

No related posts.