International Space Camp 2007 started with bang this evening quite literally as fireworks were set off to mark the occasion.
Preceding the fireworks was the International Space Camp Opening Ceremonies.
After the procession of teachers and foreign visitors, the event kicked off with comments from U.S. Space & Rocket Center CEO, Larry Capps.
The 2007 Teacher of the Year, Andrea Peterson, was then invited on stage to provide her remarks. The United States Teachers of the Year representing the 50 states, District of Columbia, and various territories were then brought up one-by-one to introduce themselves and briefly provide some information about where they are from. Despite some quibbles about who had the nicest beaches (Florida, Hawaii, the North Mariana Islands, etc. — it was all in good fun), the teachers were dressed up in outfits appropriate to their origins and proved to be quite entertaining.
After the teachers from the United States were done, my favorite part of the opening ceremonies began. As I said last week, the visiting nations always give short presentations to educate the audience about where they come from. They’re always informative and are often very funny. This year didn’t disappoint.
Students and teachers from the following countries all got up to tell the audience a little about their country:
| Australia Austria Belgium Canada China Costa Rica Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Germany |
Greece Hungary The Netherlands New Zealand Norway Portugal Republic of Korea Russia Singapore Switzerland Turkey |
I promise to get more video up soon, but for the moment, I will provide you with one or my favorite ones from the ceremony. Switzerland didn’t come with a teacher in tow. As such, they were able to do this sketch:
Hab1.com bids welcome to all of the students and teachers from around the country and the world.
Enjoy the week!