Florida Trip

After getting over the long trip by exploring South Beach at Miami and Daytona Beach, we drove up to Cape Canaveral and settled into our accommodation at Camp Winona. On the first day of Space Camp, we received a tour of the facilities including the main launch sites and the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). We also met and listened to a veteran astronaut talk about his time with NASA and in space. On Day 2, the students got to learn what it takes to become an astronaut through the Astronaut Training Experience. Students worked in simulators and had to carry out tasks to accomplish various missions. We also saw the exhibits at the Kennedy Space Center which helped us appreciate the enormous effort required to go to Space. On the final day, students entered into Mar Base 1 which simulated what life on Mars might be like. Students had to solve engineering challenges including keeping the Mars Base functioning when it got hit by a shower of meteorites.

After we completed the Space phase, the group headed back down to southern Florida to start our Sea phase. It started by fishing off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, which unfortunately also included a number of students experiencing sea sickness for the first time! The group then experienced the Miami Seaquarium where we learnt about seals and manatees which are commonly found in the local area.

The group then headed over to The Bahamas to spend the day on Paradise Beach and snorkeling through an old shipwreck called the SS Sapona. Students swam around the ship wreck and also swam through the exposed hull. On our full final day, the group took airboats through Florida’s Everglades. We toured through large open grass areas and mangrove swamps. On our return from the water, we had a tour conducted by a local ranger who told us all about the local area. We were also lucky enough to find a wild alligator that we could get close to.

It was a fantastic trip with students having many new and unique experiences. Thank you to all involved, in particular Ms Soh (Biology) and Mr Kor (Physics) who were the teachers on the trip.