Oxnard school kids blast off to space in immersive STEAM camp, meet astronauts
OXNARD, Calif. — Kids like Elizabeth Palacios are sparkling with enthusiasm thanks to Oxnard’s summer S.T.E.A.M. program called “Space Class.”
“You learn about a lot of stuff about space, rovers, galaxies,” said Palacios.
The third grader says she’s gearing up for a new career.
“When I grow up, I, like, want to be an astronaut or an engineer for NASA,” said Palacios.
And now, she’s learning from some of the brightest experts.
Thirty scientists, engineers, and astronauts are visiting multiple schools in the Oxnard School District to share their experiences in space.
“Right now, we are standing on a planet in space. It's spinning at a thousand miles an hour,” said NASA Astronaut Nicole Stott.
Stott says the program is giving kids the opportunity to get curious and self aware.
“It's just a really inspirational way to think about their place in space to write, to imagine and know, ‘okay, I'm on a planet in space. And what does that mean in the grand scheme of things?’”
One of the highlights for the kids was the traveling space museum, which featured 12 rotating stations.
“We're giving the kids a defining moment, like the moment that they'll look back on and be like, 'that's the reason I wanted to go into science or engineering,'” said Former NASA Rocket Scientist and Space Class Founder Kevin J. DeBruin.
There are a lot of activities today that simulate what it's like to be in an actual aircraft.
“They can go on a commercial aircraft and figure out how to strap in there. We can put them in the F 117 simulator. They're able to crawl in and it moves around. We put them in a hovercraft, a moon rover. All of these things just hopefully blowing children's minds and giving them the unique experience of what it's like to be an explorer,” said DeBruin.
Wednesday, the kids will get to meet astronaut José Hernandez.
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