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Sky-high interests ; Challenger space camp looks to the Red Planet

Posted on: Monday, 11 August 2003, 06:00 CDT

BLOOMINGTON -- The Joseph F. Warner Challenger Learning Center won't open until December, but students already are getting a glimpse of the excitement it will offer.

The center is sponsoring a space camp, Journey to the Red Planet, this week. The camp coincides with the recent launch of two unmanned space rovers to study Mars.

It's the first program for students offered by the center, which eventually will feature simulated spacecraft missions for students and adults.

On Tuesday, the nine students in the camp focused on the planet's land forms, including volcanoes.

"Earth is closer to Mars than it has been in thousands and thousands of years," said Janet Moore, the center's flight director. She and assistant flight director Stacey Shrewsbury -- both clad in flight suits -- conducted the camp in the Image Air hangar at Central Illinois Regional Airport.

Planes were heard taking off just outside the hangar, though students barely seemed to notice.

After matching land forms like craters, valleys and dunes to pictures of the planet, the students were given gelatin-based model volcanoes to simulate eruptions.

"Mars has a volcano that's three times as big as the biggest on Earth," Moore said. "It also has valleys that are deeper than the Grand Canyon."

Kirstin Keller, who will be in eighth grade at Olympia Middle School in Stanford, said the camp has piqued her interest in planets.

"I think it's really fun, all the experiments we've been doing," she said. "I like to do the volcano, and yesterday, we did a project with a robotic arm."

Anthony Duran, who will be in eighth grade at Parkside Junior High School in Normal, said the group learned basic facts about the planet's atmosphere and composition on Monday.

"I'm interested in space and astronomy," he said.

Moore said today's session will focus on life on other planets. On Thursday, campers will be shown around the planes and have a chance to speak with pilots.

On Friday, they'll have to design a landing module to fit different hypothetical situations.

Scheduling for the center's space missions will begin in September, Moore said. She said the center will be contacting administrators and teachers in school districts as classes begin next month.

Hard-hat tours of the center will be offered during Wings & Wheels 2003 on Aug. 9 and 10 in the airport's former terminal. Children's activities and information about the center also will be available.------------ Contact Rebecca Loda at rloda@pantagraph.com

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