Huntsville, Alabama, known as The Rocket City, blends high-tech cool and culture. “Huntsville truly offers so much for your students,” says Pam Williams, tourism and education sales manager for Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau. “At the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, home to Space Camp, Aviation Challenge, Space Camp Robotics, and Cyber Camp, everyone can be an astronaut! It’s not all science and technology, though. Huntsville is a perfect destination to allow your students to ignite both the left and right brain.”
Blast Off
As the largest space museum in the world, U.S. Space & Rocket Center is the perfect place to teach science curriculum. Students can take a guided tour of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center museum, participate in interactive presentations and demonstrations about life on the International Space Station, watch a Spacedome IMAX movie, and complete a hands-on group activity.
The U.S. Space & Rocket Center is home to Space Camp, a popular draw for visitors. Space Camp is designed to inspire and motivate youth to push the boundaries of human exploration. Most campers come in the summer for the weeklong programs available for fourth grade through high school students.
Learn
The HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology is a nonprofit genome research institute. Located in Cummings Research Park, the 152-acre campus is home to some of the world’s leading scientists, entrepreneurs, and educators. The fields of biotechnology and genetics are continuously growing, and Educational Outreach at HudsonAlpha seeks to prepare the future STEM workforce. This is done through hands-on, lab-based field trips that engage students in scientific thinking and by putting high-tech biotechnology tools in their hands.
Credit: Huntsville/Madison County CVB
Don’t Miss
Students can speak one-on-one with working artists at Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment, the largest privately owned arts facility in the U.S. With about 200 working artists, small businesses, restaurants, and live performance venues, this huge historic textile mill is now a rising home for music, art, and culture. Student groups can participate in a wide range of art-inspired activities taught by the artists themselves, including chocolate making, screen printing, and painting. STEAM work labs are coming soon.
Ask
Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau
866-372-2478
huntsville.org/educational-escapes
Main image: U.S. Space & Rocket Center; credit: Huntsville/Madison County CVB
