By Rose S. Prinzi

In 1950, the tiny Alabama town of Huntsville was known as the “Watercress Capital of the World”.  Today, Huntsville, with that long ago reference forgotten,  is the home of the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, as well as, the world’s pre-eminent youth  SPACE CAMP®. 

This year will mark the twentieth anniversary that the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation will be offering scholarships to youth and adults interested in attending SPACE CAMP® through the Lucile M. Wright Air Museum Scholarship Fund.  Each year, individuals from fourth grade and up, who have an interest in the solar system, space travel, aeronautics and science have an opportunity to submit an application to the Community Foundation to receive financial assistance to attend the one week camp.  

Huntsville is now known as the “The Rocket City” because of the U. S. Space & Rocket Center and its close association with U.S space missions.  Huntsville is forever forged in history as the place where America’s space program was born.  It is where the rockets that put the first U.S. satellite into orbit were developed and sent men to the moon.  It is where the power for today’s space shuttle was developed and where the modules for the International Space Station were designed and built.  And it is where the next generation of spacecraft, the Ares I and Ares V, are currently being designed.

Besides the U. S. Space & Rocket Center, which houses thousands of artifacts, including the charred Apollo 16 Command Module, a rock brought back from the moon, the original Saturn V. Lunar rocket vehicle and a full-sized space shuttle mock-up, it is also the home of SPACE CAMP®.
           
In 1987, the $4.5 million U.S. SPACE CAMP Training Center was added as a wing of the existing center.  This 17,000-square-foot facility was inspired by NASA’s astronaut training facility in Houston, Texas.  More than a half-million young people and adults from all 50 states and dozens from foreign countries have participated in the various SPACE CAMP® astronaut training activities.

SPACE CAMP® is designed to encourage young people to pursue careers in science, math, engineering, robotics, and aerospace industries by giving them a first-hand introduction to the exciting work being done in the space program.

A recent recipient of the Lucille M. Wright Air Museum Scholarship and participant in the U.S. Space Camp/Advanced Space Academy is Ryan Webb, a sophomore/junior at Cuba-Rushford High School from Cuba NY.   This past summer, 15 year old Ryan, the son of Ronald and Melissa Webb, completed a week at the camp which earned him college credit while at the Advanced Space Academy through the University of Alabama.  While there he participated in astronaut training, as well as, experiencing the 5-Degrees of Freedom Chair (a chair that floats on air). Throughout the Space Academy, Webb learned about aviation including experiencing some of the same training fighter and test pilots go through.  He also competed for the Top Gun title during his week of training.

If you are interested in learning more about America’s space program, don’t miss this “out-of-this world” opportunity.  The Foundation is presently accepting applications from individuals seeking to attend the SPACE CAMP®.   Applications are located on line at www.crcfonline.org with a deadline date of November 15th.