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Tag: Museum

The Doctor Is In

Written by Ryan Faricelli on . Posted in Alumni, Mission Updates. No Comments on The Doctor Is In

Four-time Space Camper (And U.S. Space and Rocket Center Education Foundation Board Secretary) Dr. Gretchen Green is no regular Space Camp® alumna, having received education at Harvard, Yale, and Brown on her way to practicing as a radiologist in North Carolina. 

A clear leader in her field and expert in her scientific craft, Dr. Green recently came on the Dare to Explore podcast, and she was quick to give credit to the power of mentorship for helping her along her journey in the medical field.

“Meeting a mentor along the way really helped,” said Dr. Gretchen Green. “My mentor [asked me about a specific medical situation], and I rattled off about 13 different things as an answer to his question. Upon responding, he looked at me and said, ‘You’re not an ER doctor – you’re a radiologist.” 

Green had her doubts, explaining her desire to become an ER doctor, but according to her, her mentor looked at her and simply said, “No, that’s not how you think.”

“It took someone like that with that perspective to call me out and say from an educator’s standpoint that my mind was meant to do something else,” said Dr. Green. “When I got to the ER, I put it together, and I thought right I can’t think 13 different things here, I have to make a quick decision and move forward.”

This moment encouraged Green to really look inward and determine who she was and discover herself and how she thought. Upon this self-examination, she knew that radiology was the path she was supposed to take. 

This story from Dr. Gretchen Green may, on the surface, speak to career-paths but the wisdom is far-reaching. Whatever your mission is, whatever you seek to discover in life, it is valuable to find trusted mentors who have walked that path ahead of you, who are willing to look back and point out the way. It’s truly astounding what we often learn about ourselves by looking at the lessons of those around us.

Learn more about Dr. Green and other scientists, engineers, and professionals from the space and aeronautics field by subscribing to “Dare to Explore,” the official podcast of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center Foundation. “Dare to Explore” can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and anywhere else you listen.

The Sound of Space…

Written by Ryan Faricelli on . Posted in Mission Updates. No Comments on The Sound of Space…

Drummer for Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson, Rock & Roll Hall-of-Fame inductee, Grammy Award winner and friend of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center Education Foundation.

Chris Vrenna’s career has been anything but standard mission protocol. 

Vrenna joined our podcast Dare to Explore to talk about music, space, and how a meaningful, committed mission can bridge the gap between industries, between dreams, and even build another stop at the intersection of arts and science. 

Even with this incredible, far-reaching career, Vrenna wanted to talk to us most about the things he says he can’t do. 

“One of the movies that’s been on cable constantly for years is The Martian, and it’s all rooted in very real technology,” said Vrenna. “It’s crazy how in it he goes and finds the old Mars Rover and fires it up, simply because the batteries have died, which is really one of the only ways they stop functioning, and through that figures out how to communicate back to Earth.”

“It’s so cool to me that we have this technology,” continued Vrenna. “I’m fascinated by things I don’t understand and things I can’t do, and [communication through space] is the biggest one of them all. When James Webb started sending pictures, didn’t we all just sit there looking at the first images? It looked like a poster straight out of the 70s – just phenomenal. 

Vrenna showed this love of discovery and learning when he talked to us about education. He spoke on the virtue of knowledge, and how knowledge is worth acquiring for the sake of knowledge. That knowledge doesn’t need a reason. 

“Sometimes, learning is just about learning,” said Vrenna. “If we don’t support that, how are we supposed to have a productive society.” 

This passion for education is perhaps most shown off in Vrenna’s newest mission: teaching. After a second torn rotator cuff from his music career, Vrenna knew it was time to lean into his other life-long love – discovery. Since 2018, he has been a professor right here in Huntsville, Alabama, helping to show the next generation of artists, scientists and citizens that sometimes, you don’t have to choose one path or another. Sometimes, it’s okay to discover them all. 

Learn more about Vrenna and other scientists, engineers, and professionals from the space and aeronautics field by subscribing to “Dare to Explore,” the official podcast of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center Foundation. “Dare to Explore” can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and anywhere else you listen.

New Exhibit Open – Dare to Explore: Frontiers of Space

Written by Britain Meithe on . Posted in Mission Updates. No Comments on New Exhibit Open – Dare to Explore: Frontiers of Space

Dare to Explore: Frontiers of Space is a new and evolving exhibit showcasing current and future technologies of space exploration, such as a 1/10th scale model of ULA’s Vulcan rocket, Boeing’s Starliner Pressure Capsule test vessel, a 1/10th scale model of NASA’s SLS rocket, Blue Origin’s Mannequin Skywalker, and coming soon, Chris Sembroski’s Inspiration4 SpaceX launch and entry suit.

The Vulcan heavy-lift rocket is manufactured in nearby Decatur, and the pressure vessel is the skeleton of the reusable Crew Space Transportation Starliner module that will take crews to lower-Earth-orbit locations such as the International Space Station.

Opportunities to Do More

Written by Britain Meithe on . Posted in Alumni, Mission Updates. No Comments on Opportunities to Do More

Just like most cultural institutions around the world, 2020 has been a difficult year for the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. Attendance numbers were much lower than usual, and Space Camp isn’t operating right now, While it’s been tough, the crew at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center used this quieter time to develop new programs that could be offered to small groups in a safe and socially distanced environment. Taking advantage of areas not usually open to the public, the Rocket Center has been able to provide science-based lessons and experiences to our museum visitors. These new offerings include:

I.D.E.A.S. Lab

The I.D.E.A.S. Lab includes a fun acronym for the Invention, Design, Engineering, Astronomy and Space Lab. Each month, we tackle a new topic centered around these five core concepts. Past topics have included building Martian landers, designing and launching rockets, and mixing chemicals to determine the best combination for rocket fuel. Our education team leads children and adults on a journey of discovery and hands-on learning. That’s what really sets this experience apart – guests can get their hands dirty and put concepts they may have learned in school or read about in a book to the test!

Space Shuttle Experiences

Have you ever thought “You know, I would have made a pretty amazing astronaut,” or “It would be cool to go to outer space minus the danger”? Get the door, because opportunity is knocking! These new experiences take place on the Space Camp training floor, an area generally reserved for Space Camp. Guests may choose between the four-person Discovery Shuttle Experience or the two-person Enterprise Shuttle Experience.

In the Discovery Shuttle Experience, guests get a taste what it takes to pilot the shuttle to space and back. As the commander and pilot of the shuttle, they learn the sequence of controls needed to solve any anomalies (a fun vocabulary word for a problem) that occur by flipping the correct switches and pressing the right buttons that cover the flight consoles surrounding them. They also get a chance to land the shuttle on the runway to bring a successful flight to an end.

The Enterprise Experience takes simulated space travel to a entirely new level! Guests, acting as commander and pilot, make their way into lower Earth orbit (call it L.E.O., if you want to impress your friends) aboard the Enterprise shuttle. That’s where the fun really starts! Following a complex set of commands, commander and pilot must get ready to embark on a spacewalk to repair a broken satellite! Everyone gets strapped into a harness (you don’t want to float away in space) and works to complete a series of tasks to repair and deploy the satellite. One guest even gets to ride on the famous Canadarm that lifts the rider 15 feet into the air to allow for a close inspection of the broken satellite. After the mission is complete, commander and pilot return to the cockpit and make their journey back to Earth.

Aviation Challenge Flight Simulators

This simulator is usually reserved for Aviation Challenge campers, but this is your opportunity to take to the (simulated) skies and fly an F-18 Super Hornet. Guests sit in a cockpit surrounded by knobs, buttons, joy sticks and switches that may make them think they are in the real thing! An instructor guides the new pilot through the controls and off they go! Try a barrel roll or get really clever and attempt a Cuban Eight!
This suite of new programming joins our INTUITIVE® Planetarium shows, traditional documentary movies and virtual reality experiences to make a visit to the museum more memorable than ever before. So, if you have ever wanted to fly a fighter jet, be an astronaut, or just want to get your hands dirty in the name of science, head to rocketcenter.com and book an experience that will put your crew over the moon.