Teacher learns some out-of-this-world lessons at academy

WASILLA — Now that Valley educator Michelle Boyden has been to Honeywell’s Space Academy in Alabama, she feels much more grounded in her quest to inspire young people.

As a middle school science and math teacher for 12 years and a school counselor for 12 years, the mother of two science-minded boys is about to launch into a new adventure.

The former Teeland Middle School counselor and Colony Middle School teacher is heading to Mat-Su Central Correspondence School to serve as a combination counselor and teacher. She’s hoping the position will provide an outlet for starting her own space camp after school and on weekends.

“I’ll have time to work with kids more proactively and be able to apply some of the hands-on lessons I learned at the Space Academy,” said Boyden, who’s facing an empty nest as her youngest son, Zachary, joins his brother Sean at Michigan Tech University in August. “I figure with my sons being gone, I’ll need some sort of worthwhile distraction.”

Boyden was one of 250 teachers from 27 countries and 47 states chosen to participate in this year’s all-expenses paid, six-day Honeywell Educators at Space Academy at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala, last month.

Designed to give hands-on and simulated space-related activities educators can use in their own classrooms, the Space Academy puts teachers through 45 hours of professional development tied to U.S. science and math curriculum standards.

Those lessons include undergoing real-life astronaut training, including a high-performance jet simulation, scenario-based space missions, land and water survival training and a state-of-the-art flight dynamics program.

Each Honeywell educator received a full scholarship following a rigorous application and selection process involving competing teachers from around the world. The scholarship included tuition, round-trip airfare, meals, accommodations and program materials.

Boyden said she decided to apply for the scholarship because she wanted to learn more about space science so that she could teach it to youngsters who need more hands-on experiences.

“I have never taught space before, but this is right up my sons’ alleys, who are studying materials science and engineering and chemical engineering,” she said, adding her husband, Colin, teaches language arts at Teeland and also leads the Science Olympiad Team there. “Now I can sort of speak their language.”

Boyden said she got quite close to the group of teachers assigned to her at the Space Academy. They were known as “Team Columbus” and were from Australia, Canada, Minnesota, New York, Arizona, Georgia and Nebraska.

“We took the lessons very seriously, but we also had a lot of fun,” she said. “The excitement and enthusiasm was contagious.”

Boyden said she enjoyed testing a small Thermal Protection Shield (TPS) involving a piece of foil, a copper screen and a small torch to learn the concept of energy transference using knowledge of conduction and heat.

“If I could duplicate that lesson, it’s something kids would never forget,” she said. “You could see the heat waves and watch the energy transfer to your copper. It was pretty cool.”

She said her son Zach wants to help create the next heat shields used in future missions to Mars and the moon.

Although more elaborate lessons involved being in a shuttle simulator and completing two complete space missions, as well as experiencing a mock helicopter crash into water, everything she did during her week in Huntsville will help her come up with exciting math and science lessons for her future students.

“Honeywell recognizes that less and less kids these days are going into math and science fields, so this is one way to encourage more of them to seek out those types of careers and graduate with higher degrees in the sciences,” Boyden said. “Since I’ve always loved doing hands-on activities with students, this just helps endorse that. I can’t wait to try some of these things with the kids at Mat-Su Central. My goal is to do some fundraising and maybe get some kids down to one of these space camps, but for now I just want to try a space club here at home.”

Contact K.T. McKee at kate.mckee@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.