ASTRONAUT CAMP- FLORIDA

Have you ever wanted to step into the shoes of an astronaut and experience rocket flight and cosmic(宇宙的)exploration? On this journey to Florida you will come as close as possible to this experience without actually traveling into space.

Part 1-Visit the Planetarium(天文馆)

From traditional star displays and cultural shows that detail the importance of astronomy around the world, to feature presentations that show the depths of outer space, the planetarium has something for curious stargazers of all ages.

Part 2-Take Part in Mission Space

What’s it like to be an astronaut? You’ll find out on Mission SPACE! Before you board, you’ll train for your mission on the X-2 Deep Space Shuttle at the International Space Training Center(ISTC).Each member of your 4-cadet(学员)crew will assume an important role: navigator, pilot, commander or engineer.

Part 3-Lunch with an Astronaut

This 90-minute encounter at the Space Center in Cape features a buffet-style lunch along with a personalized presentation from one of celebrated astronauts. At the end of the event, there’s a brief question-and-answer session, plus time for family photos with the astronaut. Astronauts describe what it's like to live in space-eating, exercising, sleeping and training. No topic is off-limits.

Part 4-Experience Rocket Flight

Enter the Shuttle Launch Experience, and recreate the feeling of a space shot in real time, from the launch pad(发射台)to orbit. Adjust before six seconds, the main engines fire up, and as the speakers say“3, 2, 1….” the rocket launches.

If you’re gathering your teenage kids in the living room to watch “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” on Disney+, just know there’s a good chance they’d rather be playing “Fortnite”, a popular game.

That could totally be the case according to a new study from a consulting firm in Deloitte, which analyzed the generational divide in at-home entertainment.

The study, based on an online survey of more than 2,000 consumers, showed preferences are changing rapidly between millennials and the younger generation when it comes to how they want to spend their leisure time.

For Gen Z, defined as those born from 1997 to 2007,video - whether movies or television shows - is not a priority, the study found. 26% of Gen Zers in the survey said playing video games as their favorite entertainment activity, compared to 14% for listening to music, 12% for browsing the Internet and 11% for engaging on social media. Only 10% said they would rather watch a movie or TV show at home.

That compares to millennials (born 1983 to 1996),18% of whom chose watching movies and TV shows as their preferred mode of entertainment. Video games were the the entertainment option of choice for 16% of millennials.       

“Gen Z would much rather spend time gaming, listening to music or using social media,” Jana Arbanas, entertainment leader at Deloitte, said. “That was a really alarming contrast that we saw relative to the shift that's happening and how Gen Z will impact this industry.”

“Millennials took the behaviors they developed as teenagers, and they've taken them forward into their early 30s, and so if Gen Z is anything like that, their behaviors may change slightly, but I don't see a complete aging out of their behaviors,” said Kevin Westcott, technology, media and telecom leader.

If you have a pet, you've probably wished at some point that it could talk to you.Too bad that's impossible...or is it? Alexis Devine would tell you that her dog can in a way.

Devine,an artist in Tacoma, has had Bunny, a female Sheepadoodle for a year. And in that time, Devine says she’s introduced Bunny to more than 50 words by teaching her to press buttons that play words out loud. For instance,as seen in videos,Devine has posted on social media,if Bunny wants to go to the park,she’ll press a button that says“park”.Or, if she wants to play, she’ll hit the button for“play”.Those posts on TikTok have become wildly popular with 3.4 million followers.

Devine was inspired after finding Christina Hunger,a speech-language pathologist(病理学家)who teaches her dog, Stella, how to communicate with buttons.“My goal before I got her was that I wanted to have the most connected,engaged relationship possible,”Devine said.“I feel like there's so much potential in animal relationships and I really wanted to make the most of it.”

So how does Bunny learn to use the buttons? Devine said a lot of it is from repetition. Normally when Devine adds words, she’s already using the word in conversation with Bunny. The hope, she said, is that Bunny has already built an association with that word. Then, to help her learn the button’s position, Devine will repeat the word and strengthen the behavior after Bunny presses a button.

While Devine and Bunny have fun with the buttons, Devine said they communicate great without them.“I don't want to take away any of her dog-ness,” Devine said.“The buttons are super interesting and they may give us more in-depth insight into what's going on inside a dog's mind, but she already has all the tools she needs to communicate.”

My phone beeped as I closed the passenger door. I knew that the text was from my friend. Robin, a poet. And I did not want to read it.

Robin had recently submitted her manuscript to several publishers and she expected a response from one soon. From my view, her writing life was already charmed: work at a celebrated workshop and publication in literary journals. I was waiting to hear back from some book consultants. Three weeks had passed since I sent them some manuscript pages. I'd returned to my state of frustration(挫败)and the familiar misery.

I needed my phone for navigation, so I had no choice but to look at the screen. “I have news.” It was Robin.“Good news…" My insides shook as I sat waiting for my husband. Can we escape?

As I longed for some of Robin's magic to wear off on me, I had to figure out how to respond to her text, how to be a friend. "Is it about your manuscript?” "Yes!" she answered." We can talk later but I have a book coming out next year! I'm in shock!!!"" I cried, quietly. I dug deep to find the words friendship called for -"wonderful,""amazing,""extremely talented." But as I reread, each word felt pathetic. This time, jealousy had put a valuable friendship at risk. To overcome it, I had to face that Robin had achieved something I could not. None of my excuses - the demands of motherhood, financial pressure, ""I’m not good at this"- seemed to hold up anymore.

Two days later, I wrote to the consulting company again. They responded:"The writing is really good." I was overjoyed. Robin and I are still stairs apart on the writing-success ladder but all four of our feet are moving upward. After her book was released, she and I met over beers. I asked about her writing process; how did she create her book? A clue: it wasn't magic.