The HabForum

I'm going to Adult ASA (6 day) in September of '07.
Is there anyone here who's been to Adult ASA recently? I'm wondering how the program differs from student ASA.
Are adult participants still housed in the Hab? Are the lectures similiar? What else can you tell me about the program?

I went to ASA in '91 and '92 (when it was called Level II) and SA (Level I at the time) in '89. Had a great experience each time and I'm greatly looking forward to going back.

Spacecanada went to the 8 day ASA a few years back. I know you are still housed in Hab 1 and will still use the Enterprise as your shuttle. I think for the most part it is pretty similar to the youth camp but you get more freedom and are not so strictly controlled. Spacecanada will know more about how close it is to youth ASA.

Booger, that's the second time my posts have been 'debugged' and lost to the emptiness that is the internet. I will copy this message before I hit 'post' so I don't lose it... again...

Yes, indeed, I went to the Adult 8-day camp in 2004. It was absolutely incredible. It was different from the adult 6-day programme in obvious ways but I learned a lot about the normal adult 6-day programme as well:

- Adults get more stuff at check-in than the youth do.
- Adults get special stuff for their 6-hour EDM too!
- Missions are pretty much the same, but if you have a really keen group you will get more anomalies and activities, etc.
- Lectures are on similar topics but they often get more involved as adults ask more questions and get deeper into the topics than most youth do. This can cause some lectures to run overtime but that's good since you learn so much more!
- You still get the same camp food, with bonuses! Seriously, some meals they would put up a sign saying 'such and such food is available for adult trainees only'. That could mean we got fruit salad, bagels, chicken parmesan, etc. A very nice surprise!
- You have no curfew. You can wander around campus all night if you choose. (Unless other counsellors think you are a youth Space Academy kid... ugh... )
- You have freedom to come and go on/off campus as you wish. That means you can go to Wal-Mart to pick up something you forgot, or to the Mariott for supper or a post-EDM party. (Beware, Otters still allows smoking - gross!) Some adults even choose to sleep at the Mariott instead of in Hab1.
- You still get a room in Hab1 to call home for the week, so bring warm pyjamas.
- You also have freedom to attend as many or as few lectures and activities as you wish. Why you wouldn't attend them all is beyond me!
- Counsellors are also open to your ideas. If you would rather tour the museum and go to the gift shop instead of seeing an IMAX, they will probably let you. If you want to trade astronomy time for more time in the orbiter/station/MOCR sims, that might be possible too. It all depends on your counsellors, the white shirts, and the rest of your team too.
- Adults have hardly, if any, free time. If we did have any, we sure filled it up with as much extra stuff as we could think of!
- Your team mates come from more diverse backgrounds than youth - doctors, engineers, teachers, etc. It makes the week a lot more interesting and you can learn a lot from your team mates as well.
- Missions are much the same. If you have a really keen group you may get more anomalies ad extra activities and such. We had some completely random stuff the counsellors made up solely because we had an ear doctor on our team, and another because we had a real electrical engineer. The possibilities are endless... and we had a VERY creative group... you should have seen how we resolved some anomalies!
- Area 51 has changed since yours (and my) days in Advanced Academy (Level 2). I haven't been to the new one but it looks really awesome!

I think that is all. I could be missing some stuff though. Let me know if you have any questions and I will answer them as best I can. Adult camp was the best time I ever had at Space Camp. I hope you wil have a great time as well! (I know you will!)

Spacecanada, thanks so much for the information. Sounds like the program is pretty much what I figured it would be, which is great. Makes me want September to come along sooner than ever.
I'm sure as my session date gets closer I'll have more detailed questions for people.

Reading different people's comments in these forums, has made me smile more than once. Sounds like the Hab is still as cold as ever and the food is, well, let's just say I remember putting BBQ sauce on just about everything and eating a lot of fruit cocktail and jello when I was there. Oh, and tossing extra cereal in my pack during breakfast to eat at other meals.

Too bad you didn't sign up for the 8-day alumni adult camp! You would qualify since you did Level II when you were younger. (They just don't advertise it...)

Ask all the questions you can think of. I'll be glad to answer them. Oh, all the good memories are coming back... raiding the cafeteria at night, taking photos of rocket park in the dark... etc. So much fun!

I thought about the 8 day program but time and money prevented me from doing it in 2007. Most it's the time. I'm already kinda stretched for vacation time. The fact that one of the adult sessions is scheduled over Labor Day weekend and I've got an off-Friday at the end of that week means I'll only have to spend three days of vacation, and that I can swing.

Fair enough! I was originally signed up for the 6-day camp in 2004 but they cancelled our sesion and offered us a spot in the 8-day camp at no extra cost. We really lucked out there.

The 6-day camp will still be awesome. I wish I could come too!