For most people , the road to NASA starts with an interest in the skies and a sense of adventure . For the students at Airway Science for Kids ( ASK ), the journey down that road starts with a video game called Kerbal Space Program ( KSP ). At its core , KSP teaches kids and adults alike about rocket science . Even in a video game , getting into space isn ’ t an easy feat , but KSP makes it approachable . In KSP , players can build rockets , space stations , and even explore different planets . The game covers many advanced concepts in physics and rocket science , but in a way that is more accessible to the average student than traditional learning in a classroom .
When the students at ASK want to play Kerbal , they begin in ASK ’ s brand new Kerbal Lab at the Aerospace Training Center ( ATC ).
Over the past year , ASK has been in the process of designing a computer lab specifically for playing Kerbal Space Program . Airway Science ’ s resident Kerbal expert , Jay , has been playing Kerbal for nine years and helped design the Kerbal Lab . He wanted each computer station in the lab to resemble the science museums that he loved as a kid . “ I wanted to create an immersive , hands-on space that could be used to teach people about spaceflight in fun and engaging ways - a space where people could go to forget the troubles of the outside world , broaden their horizons , learn new things - and most importantly have fun !”
The Kerbal Lab incorporates cutouts of characters from the game , murals of the planets and stars , and whiteboard tables where students and instructors can further explore some of the more complex aspects of the game .
8 LET ’ S GO AEROSPACE