When Traverse City East Junior High biology teacher Linda Williams returns to school in the fall, she will have quite a "what I did on my summer vacation" story to share with her students.
Williams is one of three northern Michigan teachers who have been selected by the U.S. Space and Rocket Center to participate in the 2006 Honeywell Educators at Space Academy program in Huntsville, Ala.
Along with Anders Hill of McBain Middle School and Carlton Bishop of Petoskey Public Schools, Williams will join 200 science and math teachers from 19 countries and 43 U.S. states to complete an intensive educator curriculum focused on space science and exploration, as well as real-life astronaut training.
Each participant earned a scholarship to participate in the program following a rigorous selection process, including a 500 word essay describing the tools and techniques they use to motivate students to study science related fields and pursue technology-related careers.
"This program is a great way to learn new skills and brush up on some old ones. I'm looking forward to being able to share things in a new way," said Williams, who will attend the eight-day program beginning Thursday, June 22.
During her stay, Williams will participate in a variety of activities including 40 hours of classroom, laboratory and field training. She will also be involved in astronaut training exercises including a high-performance jet simulation, scenario-based space missions, land and water survival training and state-of-the-art flight dynamics programs.
"It appears that they have done a real nice job in covering all areas of science and how astronomy can relate to all of those areas," said Williams on the curriculum.
Williams, in addition to the scientific studies, is looking forward to meeting teachers from all over the world.
"It will be a great cultural exchange," Williams said.
Nearly 250 teachers have graduated from the Honeywell Educators at Space Academy program since its inception in 2004. Williams is the first teacher from Traverse City Area Public Schools to be selected.