Olivia Erhardt, Mariemont Senior

Olivia Erhardt, an incoming senior at Mariemont High School, recently attended Space Camp at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, home of Space Camp and NASA’s official Visitor Information Center for Marshall Space Flight Center. The week long educational program promotes science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), while training students and adults with hands-on activities and missions based on team work, leadership and decision-making. Olivia was part of the Advanced Space Academy Program, which is specifically designed for high school trainees who have a particular interest in aerospace. She spent the week training with a team that flew a simulated Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Once aboard the ISS, the crew participated in experiments and successfully completed an extra-vehicular activity (EVA), or space walk. Olivia and crew returned to earth in time to hear retired Space Shuttle astronaut Col. Bob Springer speak at their graduation! Space Camp crew trainers who lead each 16-member team must have at least a year of college, and 67% of the 2011 staff are college graduates. Space Camp operates year-round in Huntsville, Alabama, and uses astronaut training techniques to engage trainees in real-world applications of STEM subjects. Students sleep in quarters designed to resemble the ISS and train in simulators like those used by NASA. More than 600,000 trainees have graduated from Space Camp since its opening in Huntsville in 1982, including STS-131 astronaut Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger. Last year, children and teacher from all 50 states and 58 international locations attended Space Camp. Interested in training like an astronaut? Visit www.spacecamp.com or call 1-800-63 SPACE.

Olivia Erhardt plans to attend college with a major in astrophysics and her summer experience matches her aspirations.