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Special event is one of many Scobee will host this semester.
By Matthew Reyna
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
The Scobee Education Center wants homeschooled children to experience field trips that will inspire a passion for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).
The center will host its first Home School Day May 29.
Home School Day will feature two simulated Earth Odyssey missions for homeschooled students and their instructors.
They also will be treated to a special presentation of “The Sky Tonight,” a Scobee public programming show.
“It is a simulated mission into space,” said Celina Terrones, flight director and academic program specialist at Scobee. “It will include a simulated visit to the International Space Station.”
Mission 1 will launch at 9 a.m. and will be completed by 11 a.m. Mission 2 will launch at noon and be completed by 2 p.m.
Participants should arrive prior to 8:30 a.m. for Mission 1 and prior to 11 a.m. for Mission 2.
Each mission has a capacity of 32 students. The event is open to students in the equivalent of fifth through ninth grade.
One home school teacher or parent may chaperone a maximum of three students.
“The purpose is to assist home school groups and families practice various STEM components,” Terrones said.
Scobee hosts events for school children throughout the year.
“We are planning several more missions,” Terrones said. “We had a Valentine’s mission, a Fiesta mission and more coming. This is our first Home School Day, but there will be several more.”
The center also will host summer camps and STEM classes for elementary and middle school students throughout the summer.
Terrones also said the center has launched a partnership with Head Start for the Micronaut program for children in grades pre-K to third.
The center wants to offer these events for kids who otherwise might not have the opportunity to visit Scobee, Terrones said.
Tickets to Home School Day will cost $50 for the initial student and chaperone, plus $30 for each additional student up to three.
For more information on the event, visit www.alamo.edu/sac/planetarium/.
For more information on the new planetarium and upcoming events, call 210-486-0100.
