This upcoming school year, Rose Hill Middle School eighth grade teacher Jason Lotz will have all “the right stuff” to help students appreciate Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) more, thanks to a week-long space camp in Huntsville, Ala.

There, Lotz got the opportunity to do some real-life astronaut training including simulated astronaut training and shuttle missions, as well as designing, building and testing rockets. The trip was sponsored by Honeywell, which put on a school assembly at Rose Hill last fall focusing on Newton’s Three Laws of Motion.

For Lotz, the space camp was an opportunity to learn more about STEM and how to teach it more effectively.

“I knew that was an area I needed to work on,” he said. “I wanted to try something new and different… When I received this opportunity I got really excited and wanted to give it a try.”

The camp, held at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala. had 200 educators from 24 countries and 39 states working together on teams. Lotz said the center’s ambiance helped set the right tone for their training.

“We were busy the entire time,” Lotz said. “It definitely felt like we were somewhere related to space. The whole campus is for space, rockets all over the place. We had artifacts from different missions all around. I definitely felt the environment was very conducive to learning about this.”

As part of his 14-man team, Lotz got to work inside a training center for a simulated rocket launch and docking at the International Space Station. There, they had to make repairs and then have the rocket make a successful reentry.

“Each person had their own job, and it felt real,” he said. “We had responsibilities. We had problems that arose. We really got into it. It was the definition of collaboration. I had 13 people I had just met a couple days ago and we had to work together. The great thing that it really led to were times of feeling academically and mentally challenged.”

Lotz and the others also got to meet real astronauts, as well as Ed Buckbee, who worked with the first Mercury astronauts and was able to give a first-hand account of what it was like to work in the United States’ space program during its early years.

“Many of my group members were pretty inspired by that,” Lotz said.

One thing Lotz said he learned while in Huntsville was how much the city’s identity is inextricably linked to that of the space program.

“That’s what they are known for and they are very proud of it,” he said.

As far as lesson plans are concerned, Lotz said he hopes to incorporate aspects of space exploration into the different classes he teaches, including one on pre-chemstry and the human body.

“I want to take the whole of space and tie it into everything,” he said. “For example, we study human body at the end if the school year. What happens to your body when you go into space? You actually get taller, and you lose bone mass – you’re not using the bones because you’re floating. I want to show that in the classroom.”

The hope, he said, is that giving real-life examples will help students connect better with the material and allow those who aren’t naturally interested in science an opportunity to explore it in a way that will pique their curiosity.

“Basically, I think what it’ll do is get rid of the stigma or stereotype that comes along with STEM,” he said. “You can tie it back to almost anything. These activities can help everybody. It’s finding that one little thing the kid is strong at. Just because it’s science doesn’t mean the kid who’s not good at it can’t do it as well. They feel more engaged if they have a theme to tie back to.”

The use of STEM is also becoming more popular.

“My common sense tells me it helps people to become more balanced they’re going to have more skills,” he said. “Students don’t realize how important math is, no matter where you are. With engineering, it’s in the news every day that we need more engineers. With STEM, from what I’ve heard and seen and done is the students don’t realize they’re doing engineering.”

Another thing he wants to help students realize is that space exploration is not just for those who want to be astronauts.

“You can be an engineer working on the rocket,” he said. “You can be doing PR for NASA. There’s so many others things.”

Lotz’s biggest hope, however, is that more and more teachers from the district will attend the space camp each year.

“If we can get one or two every year in a certain period of time, we have one teacher from every middle school going,” he said. “And it’s not only the enthusiasm that is brought onto other students. It’s something that is easy to relate to science. Kids love space.”