The solar system is discussed, earth's orbit, the planets and their attributes; then on to the computer lab. In the computer lab they discover the sun's diameter, the phases of the moon and much more.

Logbook excerpts:

• Z-Star: I learned on earth I weigh 121 pounds and on the moon I weigh 19.36.
• Lil Pluto: I weigh the same thing on Venus and Uranus but on Mercury I weigh 36.27 pounds.
• Penguin: The phase of the moon I was born on is the whole moon. That is pretty cool to know.
• Starfish: I learned that gravity is the most important thing on other planets.
• Sun-Sun: I learned the maximum temperature of Mercury (+800 Degrees Fahrenheit)
• Sun: Today at STARBASE, I learned about the planet's mass, size and temperature.
• Diamond: I learned about orbits at the computer lab.

1. Inertia 2. Force = Mass x Acceleration 3. For every Action there is an equal and opposite reaction

To demonstrate these laws, the children perform an experiment with Eggbert. Eggbert is a member of the NASA space station and needs to get back to earth quickly after the space station has been hit by a meteor. The children have to design and construct a restraint system that will prevent additional injuries.

Logbook excerpts:

• Butterfly: One of our activities was Eggbert's Crash Landing, I was hoping that our egg did not crack but it did.
• Moon: It is important to make sure your egg is on tight before you let it go.
• Challenger: Today Brown, Christian and I invented a way to equip the egg enough so it wouldn't crack.
• Comet: We had to strap an egg really tight and see if it will crack but guess what? My egg and three other eggs did not crack.
• Walrus: My favorite part of the day was Eggbert's Crash Landing. Some cracked and some lived because of inertia.
• King Shrimp: My favorite part was securing Eggbert in his seat and watching him launch. Unfortunately my partners and my Eggbert cracked.
• Astronaut: Today we learned what ROYGBIV stands for: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet (this is the order of the rainbow colors)

What makes up our air (nitrogen, oxygen and trace) and what are the properties of air:

1. Air takes up space
2. Air is made up of matter and therefore has mass
3. Air applies or exerts pressure.

Logbook excerpts:

• Astronaut: The atmosphere is pressure pushing down on me. It is 14.7 lbs/in square and rounding to the nearest whole number = 15 lbs/in squared.
• Venus: We learned how air takes up space and atmospheric pressure.
• Pluto: Air is made up of gas and therefore has mass.

Bernoulli's Principle is used to teach about flight. 'Faster moving air across the surface creates less pressure than slower moving air across a surface.' The four forces of flight are demonstrated with paper airplanes that each child creates. They vary the wing and tail by different folds of the paper. This demonstrates lift, gravity, thrust and drag.

Then it is into the computer lab to use the Microsoft Simulation Software and practice flying using their newly learned concepts.

Logbook excerpts:

• Astronaut: Daniel Bernoulli was a mathematician that studied air and physics. I learned that ailerons control banking and rolling (turning) of the airplane.
• Uranus: When you throw a paper airplane air will push it.
• Orbit: We flew a plane on the computers. My plane flew upside down and fell in the water. We located some things that a pilot can see when flying a plane. Some of them are altimeter, air speed, vertical speed indicator.
• Milky Way: I learned that slow air = high pressure, fast air = slow pressure. I learned how to fly an airplane and drag and thrust.
• Baby Milky Way: By actually trying to fly a plane I see what pilots have to go through.

Creating your own model rocket ... the highlight of the five days. Each child puts their rocket together and decorates them. Then it is off to launching! Every child launches his or her own rocket and best yet they take them home when the five days are complete.

Logbook excerpts:

Building the Rocket:

• Pluto: Today I learned how to make a rocket. Traelor went step by step to us make the rocket.
• Mars: We got to decorate our own rockets and put anything on them including stickers. So thank you Mr. Traveler for another wonderful day.
• Star: The class made rockets today. We did a lot of measuring and gluing. We had to put wods (insulator) in our rocket so our parachute wouldn't catch on fire.
• Solar System: I built a rocket. I learned engine mount construction.
• Zodiar: While we built our rocket we talked about engine mount construction, rocket construction, rocket design, and flight simulators.
• Planet Star: Today we learned how to build a rocket ship. I was wondering if they made real rockets like that at NASA center.

Launching the Rocket:

• Waning Moon: I didn’t like it, I LOVED IT!
• Waxing Moo: Our rockets went really high in the air. Some went in the trees and some went into another field. I hope I can find the parts I need so I can launch my rocket at home and show my parents.
• Mariner: The rocket flew high into the sky; you could hear it as it soared. We did a countdown 5 to 1. We used engines that had sulfur in them, the sulfur stunk!
• Pioneer: I never knew that a battery could have enough power to launch a rocket. This was an amazing life changing experience. I will probably be thinking about it five years from now.

As sixth graders most children want to be a movie star or an athlete. This discussion leads them into what does it take to get to their dreams. The importance of doing well in school.

Logbook excerpts:

• Solstice: At first when I saw D + A = R I thought it was a math problem, then our teacher told us it meant Dreams + Action = Reality. I think that is a positive message showing that if you dream and take action you can reach your goal.
• Luna: If you want something badly enough you shouldn't be afraid to work for it. Anything is possible if you believe in yourself. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't because you can!
• Rocket: This is a great way for me to achieve my goal of being an animal doctor. I am going to work harder to achieve my goal in life.