During the final week of the Easter holidays, the Physics department took us to the vast landscape of Houston, Texas.

Our adventure started with a once in a lifetime scene of a rare solar eclipse taking place over Waco, Austin (yes, a thrilling 4-hour coach journey away). The weather seemed gloomy and the clouds were gathering. But luck was on our side, as we got to experience just over 4 minutes of totality with the beams of light bursting through the gaps! This literally was a once in a lifetime experience. The sky was black, the temperature dropped, and it almost felt like you were in space. The sky went pitch black, except you could see a ring of light around the moon, as if the moon was glowing. The experience and feeling was completely unmatched to anything I had ever witnessed before. The drive was definitely worth it and afterwards being able to shop at Buckees for souvenirs was definitely a sensory experience.

The next day we journeyed to Space Center Houston to begin our Space University challenge. Every group fully immersed themselves in new and challenging activities. We had to collaborate and communicate in our groups with other schools and complete problem-solving skills to finish tasks we had never done before, such as building a mini rocket with a proper deploying parachute, a Martian habitat able to withstand Mars’ harsh environment, coding and building a rover all within a tight budget of $600 million. To top it all off we were able to hear about the adventures of space form a real astronaut, who explained his inspirations, trainings and first hand experience of being in Space.

“I honestly had such an amazing time at NASA, the workshops were so interesting and fun to do especially when we could collaborate with other schools and make friends.”

“Some of the activities were really hard, especially the robot End Effector Build however it wouldn’t be fun if it were too easy.”

After building a rocket we got to launch it the day after, competing between groups to see who’s went the highest. This was a highlight of the week, because we learnt a lot about how a rocket launches, how to build one that is efficient and practical for space. It was almost like building a real rocket.

“Although building a rocket and launching it was really fun, I am a bit sad we could not easily bring it home.”

Another unforgettable experience was being able to experience a weightless environment when scuba-diving. We completed challenges underwater to get a taste of what actual astronauts must go through during their training.

“Scuba diving was most likely my favourite activity of the week because it was something I had never done before and the instructors there were so kind and helpful.”

Not only did we work hard, but play hard too in the evening by bowling, playing laser-tag and mini golf after getting to try authentic Tex-Mex food from small locally owned restaurants.

This trip was such a highlight and an amazing experience. I am sure Miss Ballie-Whyte’s incredible photography will do justice for the pure joy, excitement and thrill we all felt during this trip.

Thank you again to the physics department for a once in a life-time opportunity!

“I would 100% go again.”

“I would do anything to have this trip again”

As the jet lag subsides, watch this space for what our newly trained astronauts will do next!