It’s as close to space as most human life-forms will get. When Cody Kuhn thought about what he wanted to do over summer break, he started surfing the internet.
Usually the 12-year-old and his best friend Josh Pian would sign up for a sports camp or join a church group, but this time they were looking for something a little different.
Unable to survive another summer of bad camp food, the two stumbled upon Cosmosphere, a space center in Kansas.
Having an interest in science and history, their curiosity about astronomy led them to the massive space museum for a week of space exploration.
“I’ve always been interested in space,” Kuhn said. “When I look up at the night sky, I think ‘I want to go up there someday.”
While waking up early wasn’t the best part, he said, being able to strap on a flight suit and experience what it is like in zero gravity was.
The Future Astronaut Training Program took the two through various missions where they could practice spacewalk rescues, launch homemade rockets and find out what to look for in the sky. During free time, they explored the museum that is home to artifacts that include a moon rock taken during an Apollo mission and life-sized rocket replicas.
For Pian, learning about constellations was the best part. The centrifuge (chair spin) wasn’t bad either, he said.
While both say they want to see Mars one day, Kuhn is more likely to make a lunar landing.
With one too many options on the table, Pian says he hasn’t narrowed down what he wants to pursue out of high school.
That won’t stop them from continuing through the program. With five levels to complete, the students plan to graduate from each camp. If they do, they will get a behind the scenes look at NASA.
They are already “working” on their parents to sign up as soon as they finish the seventh grade.
Contact this reporter at charisp@lakesunleader.com
Lake of the Ozarks, Mo. —
