The little guy and I went with Pack 121 to Space Camp.
And my thought? Not bad. Not bad at all...
If I were 9 or 10, I'd have loved it. As it was (or is) I ... well, it was kind of boring in spots. (When an activity is oriented towards the 9 year old level, it's a trifle simplified for my taste.) One really great thing, however, was the ability to roam the museum after closing. It was nice to have the time to examine things (such as the inner cutaways of various rocket motors) instead of moving along quickly to satisfy an impatient wife or child. Or closely examine the interior of the LEM or Gemini mockups, or the interiors of various missiles.
The interior of the SpaceCamp Habitat was a trifle... industrial. Rather like the exterior - 
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They're looking to replicate the appearance of a Space Station - and they succeeded well enough for my taste. The rooms aren't half-bad, but you'll be disappointed if you're expecting Tempur-Pedic mattresses. I've slept on considerably worse, and aside from getting a bit chilly last night, (solved with an extra blanket I'd had the foresight to snag) I slept remarkably well. I don't know what caused the gold tint in the shots - it was gray instead. 
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All in all, a good weekend. Interesting stuff, 4 meals, museum roaming - it was a lot of fun.
Will we do any of the other father-son camps? I don't know - time will tell on that. My first impuse, if the money was there - would be to say yes quickly.
But I've finally made it to Space Camp. Whee!
J.
Comments (3)
Museum romaing?
I thought space camp was in Huntsville.
When in Roma, do as the Romans do.
Ah well, Arrivederci Roma.
otpu
Posted by otpu | December 17, 2007 5:23 PM
Posted on December 17, 2007 17:23
Alas - no more Romaing - we're roaming instead!
J.
Posted by JLawson | December 17, 2007 7:33 PM
Posted on December 17, 2007 19:33
While my father and I went on excursions, they were not formal camps... we took a long weekend at the Dayton aircraft factory museam in OH and a week in DC to see as much of the Smithsonian as we could, and even then in the 1970s the Air and Space museum was packed.
I was a city explorer at a young age, and went through the environs of Toronto and Boston and found all sorts of wonderful stuff just by wandering around... he didn't have that bent nor I to music, although we did attend some concerts together and such. His version of the familial sleeping disorder only came on harder in those years of my early teens and thereafter so I knew that even the love of music could not keep him awake...
Of dinners we did many together, usually at the local diner, but often at better and, yes, worse establishments, and while ephemeral, those times stick with me more than one would expect. Just talking with my father about events as he saw them and our few mutual interest helped me immeasureably, even when we disagreed on things it was never heartfelt by either of us.
I did my best to try and keep to those things that I knew would tire him greatly, so while he was waiting for the snowthrower to pre-heat I was out there with a shovel and half the driveway cleared. We shared in that and mechanical projects and some woodworking, and learned his engineer's view of things which greatly influence me more than anything else. Perhaps the most profound and most obvious piece of that is not that mankind is special for using tools or even making them: we make tools to make tools.
By all measures a good man and a good father because he did not worry about being either, just that he would do those things necessary without rancor, without feeling put upon and with respect for himself and those around him. Very much the Swede by his lineage, although fully American by birth: taciturn and somewhat remote, but you never, ever doubted him.
Posted by ajacksonian | December 22, 2007 12:03 PM
Posted on December 22, 2007 12:03