Deke Slayton Space Week 2025 schedule for the week
Areas that are bolded list the different guest speakers and their topics.
*Schedule and presenters are subject to change without notice
Monday:
8:00am- 8:15am- Student drop-off at museum
8:15am- 9:00am- Introductions, daily team building activities
9:00am- 10:00am- Apollo 13 documentary
10:00am- 10:30am- Deke Slayton video, morning snack
10:30am- 11:00am- STEM teambuilding activity
11:00am- 12:00pm- Fred Haise, Apollo 13 lunar module pilot
12:00pm- 1:00pm- Lunch
1:00pm- 2:30pm- Robotics/Rocketry
2:30pm- 3:00pm- Afternoon break- STEM team building activity, snack
3:00pm- 4:30pm- Robotics/Rocketry
4:30pm- 5:00pm- Daily wrap up, log book reflection
Tuesday:
8:00am- 8:15am- Student drop-off at museum
8:15am- 9:00am- Daily team building activities
9:00am- 10:00am- Jeff Bennett, NASA senior engineer- space station flight control system
10:00am- 11:00am- Morning break- STEM team building activity, snack
11:00am- 12:00pm- Dr. Simon Gilroy, Professor of Botany at UW Madison– growing plants off Earth
12:00pm- 1:00pm- Lunch
1:00pm- 2:30pm- Robotics/Rocketry
2:30pm- 3:00pm- Afternoon break- STEM team building activity, snack
3:00pm- 4:30pm- Robotics/Rocketry
4:30pm- 5:00pm- Daily wrap up, log book reflection.
Wednesday: (this is our one day that breaks from the schedule we use for the rest of the week; it is our off-site field trip day in which we travel to the airport and planetarium.)
8:00am- 8:15am- Student drop-off at museum
8:15am- 9:00am- Laurel Brandt- aviation, navigation, and the basic principles of flight
9:00am-10:30am- at field south of Sparta- Radio control airplane flyers demonstration
10:30am- 12:00pm- at the Sparta Pool– zero gravity experiment in water
12:00pm- 1:00pm- Lunch
1:00pm- 2:15pm- Visit to the Sparta Airport to see and explore airplanes in person, learn about what it takes to be a pilot
2:15pm- 3:00pm- Driving to La Crosse
3:00pm- 4:15pm- Visit to the Planetarium at Central High School
4:15pm- 5:00pm- Drive back to Sparta
Thursday:
8:00am- 8:15am- Student drop-off at museum
8:15am- 9:00am- Daily team building activities
9:00am- 10:00am- Chris Amundsen, Sparta STEM School teacher- heat shield
10:00am- 11:00am- Morning break- STEM team building activity, snack
11:00am- 12:00pm- Dr. Dawn Kopacz, Assistant Professor of Practice in Meteorology – Climatology at University of Nebraska- flight/launch weather conditions, weather satellites- how they’re launched, data they report
12:00pm- 1:00pm- Lunch
1:00pm- 2:30pm- Robotics/Rocketry
2:30pm- 3:00pm- Afternoon break- STEM team building activity, snack
3:00pm- 4:30pm- Robotics/Rocketry
4:30pm- 5:00pm- Daily wrap up, log book reflection.
Friday:
8:00am- 8:15am- Student drop off at museum
8:15am- 9:00am- Daily team building activities
9:15am- 11:00am- Rocket launch at Southside Early Learning Center in Sparta, fire off the rockets that the space cadets have been building all week, family and friends are invited to attend
11:00am- 12:00pm- STEM activity at museum
12:00pm- 1:00pm- Lunch
1:00pm- 2:00pm- Liz Warren, NASA Chief Scientist- human health and performance
2:30pm- 3:00pm- Afternoon break- STEM team building activity, snack
3:00pm- 4:15pm- Mark Lee, retired Viroqua, Wisconsin NASA astronaut
4:15pm- 5:00pm- Daily wrap up, log book reflection
5:30pm- Graduation! Presentation of certificate of completion and special lapel pin by astronaut Mark Lee, the Sparta mayor, and museum board president followed by a dinner for the students and their families, Space Week instructors, and donors to Space Week. At American Legion in Sparta.