Space camp fulfills dream for local educator

Published 9:30 am Monday, August 15, 2022

At the Space Academy for Educators, Valley Point Middle School teacher Kali Tomlinson “felt like a kid again and got to fulfill childhood dreams of going to space camp.”

Through a scholarship from Northrop Grumman, Tomlinson was part of a crew with members from around the world — Chile, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the U.S. — at the Space Academy for Educators in Huntsville, Alabama, for five days last month, she said.

“It’s absolutely crazy, definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience as an educator.”

The U.S. Space and Rocket Center served as the “basis for the camp, which was pretty cool, and I learned so much from teachers all over the world,” she said.

Tomlinson and her fellow campers spoke with “real NASA engineers (to) get some inside information about missions coming up for the Artemis rockets” — the first launch of NASA’s moon-focused Space Launch System rocket, Artemis I, is slated for Aug. 29 — and “I had lunch with rocket scientists.”

NASA engineer Homer Hickam, whose book “Rocket Boys” was the basis for the critically acclaimed film “October Sky,” “spoke to us and gave me an autographed copy of the book dedicated to my students,” she said. “I nerded out hardcore about that.”

Tomlinson embarked upon space camp with a focus toward “how I can bring this back to my” sixth-graders and discovered numerous methods to “get them excited,” she said. “There’s a lot of excitement today about where space travel has gone and where it’s headed.”

“This generation that’s in school, when they grow up, if you have enough money, you’ll be able to go to the moon, which is not something our parents or grandparents could’ve imagined,” she said. In addition, “NASA is celebrating diversity, and it’s awesome for our students to see minorities — who have traditionally been underrepresented in these fields — doing big things.”

“There’s also that perseverance mindset,” which is taught at the camp, and which she hopes to instill in her students, she said. “We need people to solve problems, out-of-the-box thinkers, and we all — kids and adults — need to collaborate, cooperate and communicate better.”

“We are so proud of (Tomlinson) for pursuing prestigious opportunities that impact her personal/professional growth and have such a positive influence on student learning,” said Amy Smith, director of middle school curriculum for Whitfield County Schools.

“When teachers attend professional learning opportunities outside of the building, they often return invigorated, motivated and in possession of helpful knowledge, strategies and instructional materials, (so) I believe it is important for school leaders to support our teachers in their pursuit of advanced knowledge, as the benefits are distributed amongst the staff and — most importantly — students,” said Drew Bragg, principal of Valley Point Middle School. “Teachers are lifelong learners, and these opportunities enhance their expertise, ultimately positively impacting student learning.”