2016/2018 Reviews

The comments below are a snap shot of the group’s experiences:

Ben Stirling

Space camp was a truly awesome trip. We got to mess around with robots, meet an astronaut, see the decommissioned space shuttle Atlantis, appreciate the true scale of a Saturn V Rocket, see where NASA’s and SpaceX’s rockets are launched, see a successful SpaceX launch one evening, and got to experience microgravity simulators, VR, and a Mars Mission in the Astronaut Training Experience. It was really inspiring to be there and to experience the future in action

Ben Wilkins

This trip was such an amazing opportunity and definitely a major highlight of my time at Wellington College. It was an experience like no other, where we got to get an inside look into NASA, go behind the scenes at Disneyworld and Universal Studios, try indoor skydiving and learnt what it would be like to become an astronaut and go into space! Although there were endless highlights throughout our time in Orlando, for me our education programme at Universal, Disneyland and NASA were definitely up there. At the theme parks, not only did we get some insight as to how some of their most popular and pretty insane roller coasters work, we also got to see the physics in action by riding them (whilst skipping the queue)! NASA was another major highlight, learning from those who have experienced space travel first hand, seeing where history was made and witnessing an actual rocket launch on the beach. Overall the trip was absolutely incredible and an experience that will be with me forever.

Ryder O’Neil

Although much of the educational part at the theme parks was annoying when we started I was amping to get on the rides, by the end I always found that I was pleased I had done it and got a lot out of it. The courses all struck a really good balance between learning, and also getting to experience the rides first hand, to see the things you are learning about in action. The NASA course was also an amazing once in a lifetime experience, with the astronaut training as a clear highlight. We also got the chance to see space x launch a rocket, which is probably something I’ll only ever see once. Overall it was an extremely enjoyable trip with a lot of educational value as well.

Nicky Heitger

‘you could do anything on your first trip to the States and I was extremely lucky to be able to do so much on mine. The Space Camp trip to Orlando started off with Disneyland, where we were privileged enough to do an Education programme that included an incredibly interesting behind the scenes experience. Then we transferred to NASA, which was simply out of this world, excuse the expression. Seeing the complexity of the Space Shuttle and simply the size of the Saturn V rocket, as well as experiencing the launch and microgravity simulators was something I will never forget. One of the most special things I think I will see is watching the rocket launch from Cocoa Beach. And then we move on to the rollercoasters at Universal. Learning about the energy changes, and what is required to build a safe rollercoaster was made very interesting by the experienced staff. And then the whole trip was rounded off with a very social dinner at Medieval Times, with lots of screaming and yelling. I made new friends and strengthened old ones. Overall the 2018 Florida Trip was one of the best parts of my time at Coll.

Josh Cory

Space Camp was truly a once in a lifetime experience. For me, the highlight of the trip was NASA, where we were able to experience astronaut training and see Space Shuttle Atlantis. Being over there with a great group of students and teachers also helped to make the whole trip experience amazing. Overall, the trip was great fun, and I feel very privileged to be able to say I went to Space Camp.

Matthew McCabe

I am immensely grateful to Ms Anderson, Mr Bangma, Mr Clark, and Mr Caughley (my group leader) for organising this incredible trip for all the students who received the privilege of going on this trip. It was really useful to see topics we learn in school being applied in so many different real world situations. The classes we took learning about Mars Rovers, as well as the Astronaut Training Experience at the Kennedy Space Center were amazing. This trip has shown me that there is much more to the world of physics than I could imagine.

Noah Adler

Each day was something new, whether it be learning how some of the attractions work at Disney world or touching a scorpion, there was always something entertaining to do. Space Camp was the most fun I’ve had at/during school time and I highly recommend it.

Sailesh Patel

Space camp was an amazing experience. We got an insight into the future of space exploration at NASA, while also learning to use robots to explore surfaces of Mars. Overall it was a very enjoyable trip and it was a privilege to be able to go on it.

Paul McDonald

The NASA course was very fun and engaging, and the ATX Astronaut training was extremely fun as well. One of the best parts of the trip was getting to witness and engage with the differences of culture in America. Space Camp was loads of fun and I greatly enjoyed the whole trip.

Arlo Doak

Space Camp was a once in a lifetime experience for me, it isn’t every day that you can go to the US, meet an astronaut, control a rover on a mars surface and watch a rocket take off from Cape Canaveral. It was one of my highlights while here at WC and it was great to see how physics that we learn in the classroom translates to the rockets and the theme park rides. For anyone who is interested in space exploration or engineering this trip would be a must do!

Prakash Bhana

2018 space camp trip to NASA was one of the best trips I have ever been on, to go to Kennedy space center is truly amazing and people should really take advantage of this opportunity if they get the chance. My favourite thing that we did on the trip has the ATX astronaut training, as you get to do simulations and also get a feel of what it is like to work as an astronaut.

Aaris B

For me visiting the Kennedy Space Center was an amazing experience. There we worked together to complete challenges in the robotics course, we heard an astronaut talk about his time in space, saw the real Atlantis Shuttle and many other rockets. Overall, Space Camp 2018 was absolutely amazing.

Owen Garrett

From a physics point of view it was brilliant to go to NASA and learn all about the Apollo missions and also the future of space travel. Overall I had a lot of fun and learnt some really interesting things.

Tony Xie

The part I enjoyed the most was going to Disney land and universal studios, this was definitely a highlight for me because not only did we get to enjoy the rides but the guides also took us on a tour to see the behind the scenes of these rides and showed us exactly how they worked. From this we learnt the physics behind each ride and how they create all these special effects to give the riders an extraordinary experience. The trip was great and I’m really glad I went on it.

Joseph Galinski

Space Camp was an experience I’ll never forget. For me, it brought physics out of the classroom, and we got to see many concepts that we learn about in class applied in the real world solving real problems. During the trip we got to see the laws of physics used at Kennedy Space Center in the design of their rockets, and also behind the scenes at the theme parks we went to. Aside from the physics, we also got to experience another culture, and also just have a great time with friends and meet new people. On one evening, we got to see a rocket launch from the Space Center which I think was the highlight for me. Overall, Space Camp was a really fun and educational experience which I would highly recommend to anyone with an interest in the subject.

Jim Zhu

So, Space Camp. To be honest, it's still sort of a blur - Each day filled with activities that each could easily have been a full day's trip. The highlight, of course, was visiting the Kennedy Space Center. Seeing pieces of NASA and space history first hand, and seeing an astronaut up close speaking about his experiences was just amazing.

To paraphrase what I think is a great summary of the trip from a roommate - "I still may not want to be an astronaut, but that was incredibly inspiring nonetheless".

Teik Jin Chua

The Kennedy Space Centre was definitely the main highlight of the trip for me, where taking part in similar simulations that astronauts also do for training, as well as seeing the rockets and the history of the NASA space program was really amazing. Overall, the trip to Orlando was very interesting and fun. I would definitely recommend the trip to anyone who likes physics or to those interested in learning new and exciting things.

Joseph Hewson

Space Camp was a great way to meet new people from WC at different years whilst having a great time with those who I already knew. During our time at NASA we learnt how to program robots made by NASA, to perform certain tasks such as completing a course. We also spent time looking into the basic physics behind the rocket launches that happen on Cape Canaveral before applying them in experiments outside of the classroom. I would encourage anyone who can go on this trip to do so.

Sam Toplis

The theme park section of the trip was big, bold and overall spectacular. It was an amazing experience to sit down and run calculations about a roller coaster before proceeding to scream around it with your mates at 100 km/h. Overall the 2018 Space Camp trip was a truly awesome experience shared with awesome people.

Baxter Kirikiri

Space camp was an incredible trip where we were able to see and feel real life physics in action at theme parks, learn about the US space agency and it's incredible history at Kennedy Space Centre, and experience a taster of American (in particular Floridian) culture throughout. My particular favourite moment, which I'm sure I share with a lot of us who went, was watching the Falcon 9 rocket soar into earth's orbit from Cocoa Beach. Space camp as an overall experience is something I'll never forget and something I would most definitely do again if I had the chance.

Ryan In

Through the exciting ‘behind the scenes’ tour of the rides, I viewed the rides at the theme park in a way I had never thought of them before. Learning about the physics allowed me to understand how the rides properly operated. Overall, the trip to Orlando was a wonderful experience and one which I will never forget.

Thomas Mander

After all the hard work to get the trip paid for, space camp was definitely worth it. Visiting NASA and finding out about the history and future plans was really interesting. To then see a Saturn V replica and the Atlantis shuttle, you can definitely see how America does things bigger. It was so much more monstrous than I could've imagined, and we fired them both into space! As well as this, doing the Astronaut Training Simulations and finding out first(ish) hand about life from launch, 0G and Mars was eye-opening but most of all loads of fun and when else do u get to use such expensive equipment. The most amazing thing for me however was seeing the Falcon 9 rocket launch. Standing 22km away the sound took 1 minute and 15 seconds to reach us. Even so it rumbled along the beach like a freight train as you saw the rocket streak across the sky.

Mums Dads and Caregivers

A quick email to say Thank You so much for organising such a wonderful adventure for the boys. Our son has had the experience of a lifetime. We really appreciate all the time and effort you have put into organising it and taking time away from your families.

What a trip - it is now 5.30 on Saturday night and our son is still talking about it! He had the trip of a life time and so very thankful that he could go on it. He absolutely loved every minute of it.

Thank you all for making this possible and I have to say especially Rachael, as she was his team leader and I so enjoyed Finding the Pengiuns and seeing what they had been up to each day! What an incredibly well run trip.

Hi Rachael, Ian, Michael and Matthew,

This a big belated thank you for taking our son and the rest of the Space Camp team for a trip of a lifetime. Our son had an amazing time and enjoyed it immensely.

We are very grateful for all your hard work and unflagging energy in corralling the boys for the two weeks and taking them on their many adventures.

Hi Guys

Just a quick note to thank you all for all of the time and effort you all put into the physics trip to the States. Our son loved every minute of it and he got so much out of it on so many levels. Perhaps the best thing was that it has opened his mind not just to the world but to the universe. Your time at NASA sounded amazing, particularly the astronaut training, and of course it was topped off by the unexpected and phenomenal bonus that you saw the Space X rocket launch. That was just incredible and something that our son and no doubt you too will remember for the rest of your lives.

We really appreciated the care that you all gave to our Son, particularly in marking his 16th birthday. He loved the fuss you made of him and it made him feel very special.

It really was an incredibly successful trip and a credit to you all. I can only imagine how exhausted you must have been when you got back - it was a full on trip and I guess you are never really off duty. I hope that Wellington College runs a similar trip in future years to give other boys the same opportunity to experience such a wonderful trip. We can’t speak highly enough of it.