By Dr. Kimberly Robinson
For thousands of school children, their spring field trip to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center® is a highlight of their year. It’s an educational voyage that transcends the classroom, sparking their imaginations the moment they glimpse the towering Saturn V moon rocket from their bus windows.
We are proud to welcome these children, who will spend the day immersed in the wonders of space exploration, from hands-on science labs to tours of the universe in the state-of-the-art INTUITIVE® Planetarium. They will see the Apollo 16 capsule and learn about the systems designed and built here in Alabama, from the technologies that first launched us to the vehicles that will take us back to the Moon and beyond.
In the mid-1960s our state leaders met with Dr. Wernher von Braun to plan and ultimately build a museum that would celebrate and demonstrate Alabama’s role in space exploration. Opening in 1970, the Rocket Center has become a center of educational excellence with a focus on workforce development. It’s a place where world-class exhibits and immersive learning techniques combine to create the ultimate classroom.
The Rocket Center is also home to Space Camp®, the longest operating and largest STEM camp program in the world. Since opening in 1982, more than 1 million people from 150 countries have attended Space Camp, many going on to careers as engineers, pilots, scientists, teachers, and astronauts.
We proudly serve as Alabama’s biggest front porch, with the largest welcome mat. While we are honored to host our out-of-state guests, we have designed several opportunities specifically to inspire and equip Alabamians through our Alabama Benefits package.
With Alabama’s support, the Rocket Center provides free Space Camp to middle school students through the Space Academy for Leading Students in Alabama (SALSA) program. Each year, two students from each legislative district in Alabama can attend the program to learn how teamwork, problem-solving, and leadership skills can take them far in life.
In addition to the SALSA program, we offer a 60-percent discount to Alabama school groups who schedule a weeklong Space Camp experience. This year alone, over 2,000 students will receive this benefit.
The Alabama Space Academy for Educators offers our state’s teachers professional development that reinvigorates them to return to the classroom equipped with exciting hands-on activities for teaching STEM subjects. Since 2016, almost 700 Alabama teachers have attended the program with nearly 150 more scheduled for this summer.
The Rocket Center also works with corporate partners to bring opportunities to young people, including Mission: BLAST (Building Leaders with Adaptive Skills for Tomorrow). Mission: BLAST is a three-day leadership experience for 17–19-year-olds that combines the STEM skills taught during Space Camp with concepts to prepare students for the professional world, including personal communication skills, teamwork and leadership, gratitude and giving back, and networking.
Entering our 54th year of operation, we are just getting started. We are in the midst of extensive renovations across our campus. We opened a new Space Camp Operations Center this past May, which has since hosted over 20,000 Space Campers. This summer, we will salute the return of our Space Shuttle Pathfinder and five historic rockets to our skyline.
We are also in the planning stages for an expansion wing to our museum that will provide more targeted workforce development and exhibit spaces, while creating a better guest experience by connecting the Saturn V building and the original museum. It will be the new front door for our museum guests from across the state and around the world and will showcase opportunities for joining Alabama’s robust STEM workforce.
With the support of our state’s leaders, our mission to inspire the spirit of discovery through education and immersive engagement will shine bright for decades to come. We are so grateful to the State of Alabama for its investment in the U.S. Space & Rocket Center because when we do well, Alabama benefits.
Dr. Kimberly Robinson has served as CEO and Executive Director of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center since February of 2021. She is a native of Birmingham, AL, with a mechanical engineering degree from Vanderbilt University and a doctorate degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Prior to joining the Rocket Center, Dr. Robinson had a NASA career that spanned more than three decades. For more information on the programs mentioned here, visit https://www.rocketcenter.com/ or call 1-800-637-7223.