Amritsar : It was a unique experience for an 8-member team of Delhi Public School including Saifranpreet Singh, Dilraj Singh, Sanmeet Singh, Jay Singh, Rasheebvir Singh, Samdeep Aujla and Zynapreet Kaur and one teacher Ms Arti Sood who had returned after a USA study tour to explore the scientific, cultural, creative and natural exhibits of NASA and Disney’s Theme Parks besides other world attractions.
Excited over their experience the DPS school group after their return from a 15 –day trip said they were fascinated to explore NASA’s spacecraft and launch site. They visited the ”Astronaut Hall of Fame” besides a theme park –Sea World devoted to study of marine biology where the first killer whale “Shamu” was born in captivity 23 years ago and challenges faced by marine wildlife.
In addition to this they also visited the ‘Rocket Garden’ , ‘Early Space exploration Tour’ center, ‘Lunar Theater’ that provides a rare look at the harrowing final moments before man landed on the moon. The educational group felt proud to see the picture of Indian astronaut ”Kalpana Chawla” who died during earth landing a few years back. They were also enthused by the tales of the exploits of another Indian astronaut Sunita Williams.
The group told about their visit to “Moon Rock Café, the only place in the world where guests can dine next to a genuine moon rocks” having lunch and interaction with the Astronaut JERRY L ROSS, and a tour of Astronaut Hall of Fame and SPACE SHUTTLE EXPLORER were the highlights. They also visited ‘Apollo Saturn V’ Centre and Space Shop
The IMAX 3-D film Cinematic journey of discovery took them to experience the lunar surface and a walk alongside the extraordinary astronauts who have been there to experience what they saw, heard, felt, thought and did at Kennedy Space Center. In this make belief world they were able to sit inside the Space Shuttle during launch, experience the exhilaration of a space walk as well as float effortlessly through the Space Station.
Also information on Science of Rocketry, Propulsion, simulator room G-Force Centrifuge
The students had an opportunity to learn from creative works of ‘Disney Production Arts and Sciences’ besides youth education series ‘YES’ workshop which showcased the way technologies, techniques, and storyboarding are shaping today’s media; ‘Disney Animation Magic’ explored the artistry and history of animation. The group also got the first hand experience at making animations .
Another section on ‘Dynamics of Technology’ highlighted how technology, science and imagination contributed in the real progress of multimedia techniques and the way visual effects were used in Disney creations.
The other notable part of the group’s itineraries included, shooting of stunt shows besides ‘Ocean Discoveries’. The Principal of the School Mrs Sangeeta Singh informed that students had an exhilarating experience in various visits including Universal’s Island of Adventure, statue of liberty, central park NYC, Brooklyn bridge, ground zero, Chinatown and Empire state building.