In this Summer 2022 highlight, our Washington, D.C. & Houston group reports on their last few days in Houston. Enjoy!


Our time in Houston was a whirlwind! Here is a visual summary…

Group of students holding blue Smithsonian Journeys flag.

Our group with Astronaut Anna Fisher!

Three students sitting on ground working on project.

Izzy, Zoe, and Ben D creating model landing vehicles for Mars.

Our group coded rovers to get them through a model Martian landscape:

Students watching demonstration of thermal protection.

We engineered thermal protection and tested it!

Large group of students smiling together in front of The International Space Station banner.

We spent a lot of time learning at Johnson Space Center!

Students sitting in movie chairs holding popcorn.

We also went to see Top Gun! Pictured are Ben D, Ben A, Zoe, Izzy, and Vibhav!

Students smiling in van.

We sang in the van every day 🙂

Nine students smiling standing in front of the Ghost Shuttle.

We went inside Ghost Shuttle! The trainer for all the historic shuttle missions.

Group of students smiling standing in front of Apollo Mission Control Center.

We got to see inside the historic restored Apollo Mission Control Center where they re-created the first moon landing for us!

Chairs and old screens at Apollo mission control.

Apollo mission control

Students sitting in chairs behind plexi glass to watch mission control in action.

We got to see inside the current mission control for the International Space Station! We even saw astronauts working in space while we were up there!

Nine students smiling in front of Nasa Mission Control Center sign.

Inside the historic Mission Control Center on a behind the scenes visit!

View of Building 9

A view of “Building 9” where astronauts train for the ISS.

Students with arms up smiling on ride.

Going out with a bang with our last night at the Kemah Boardwalk!

And a goodbye message from our resident poet…

“Things will only ever ‘be over’ if we allow them to be. Everything we learned and how we changed will stay regardless of our physical distance from each other, and as we reminisce over the short time we had together, the butterfly effect of these special moments will stay with us forever. Memories last much longer than the moments they remember but they are both important to our experiences. Every laugh and smile and friend made won’t disappear unless you forget to remember. Don’t be a stranger, I will always miss our moments together.” — Vibhav