US Space & Rocket Center needs 875 Space Camp registrations to meet goal

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- The U.S. Space & Rocket Center needs 875 registrations to reach the goal of 2,011 more participants in week-long Space Camp programs this year.

"We're working to get that (registration) number up," said Michael Flachbart, the center's vice president of operations. The sales team is now focusing its efforts on school districts, especially those in cities with direct flights to Huntsville International Airport and whose school year starts after Labor Day.

The number of registrations and reservations for week-long camps for the fiscal year so far has reached 11,648, an increase of 16 percent compared with the previous year, according to figures presented Tuesday at a meeting of the Alabama Space Science Exhibit Commission's executive committee. The commission oversees the Space Center.

Of the week-long programs offered, registrations for only two of them - Space Camp and the Teachers Program - are down, and only slightly, said Evans Quinlivan, the chair of the business committee. The number of registrations and reservations for all programs for the fiscal year so far is 32,240, up 3.28 percent.

Quinlivan noted there are "strong" increases in the numbers of those signed up for week-long programs like Space Academy and Advanced Space Academy.

Flachbart said no more reservations are available for the center's Fourth of July fireworks show, which will be synchronized with a fireworks display at Bridge Street Town Centre.

Bridge Street and the Space Center are partnering for the first time to host dual "Celebrate Huntsville" fireworks shows.

About 2,500 people are expected to be on the Space Center grounds to see the show, scheduled from about 8:45 to 9 p.m. Gates for the event will open at 7 p.m.

During the meeting, executive committee members saw the video of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's welcoming remarks to 12 students and teachers from Pakistan and India taking part in a recent State Department-sponsored camp. The video was shown to trainees at the start of the program.

In her remarks, Clinton said her own daughter, Chelsea, attended Space Camp in 1993.

Mine would love to go, I bet there are tons of kids right here in the Valley who would love the opportunity but didn't hear about the scholarships/free slots availible till AFTER the fact.

It is a bit pricey, our budget can't justify the lump sum going to one week at camp for one kid.

Space Camp, Sorta' « Traveling Ph.D.

U.S. Space and Rocket Center

It started out as just the spark of an idea. “Coach,” I said, “Do you want to go somewhere over the Memorial Day weekend? Maybe we could go to Shiloh or something?”

You’ll notice, however, that this blog entry has pictures of a rocket, not a rusty old cannon. A quick peek at Mapquest smashed that idea. Five hours down, five hours back, mostly back roads through Kentucky and Tennessee, all to drive around a battlefield in 90+ degree weather – yeah, uh, no. Shiloh has been shelved (again), hopefully to be visited one weekend this fall when the skies are crisp & clear and the smell of crushed leaves & apple pies fill the air.

Still, we wanted to go somewhere. I offered St. Louis. The Coach countered with Louisville. I offered Mammoth Cave . The Coach said Marengo Cave . Given the fact that my leg is still messed up, we decided that caving probably wasn’t a smart idea. Then it dawned on me: The Coach has wanted to go to the Huntsville Space Center for about eight years now. Another check of Mapquest uncovered the fact that Huntsville was only a little over four hours away. {1}

LEFT: Saturn V Rocket. IU Ring. At the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, Home of Space Camp. Huntsville, Alabama. May 2011.