Mathematicians in Orlando

For one very sunny week in February, our Sixth Form mathematicians enjoyed an educational excursion to Orlando, Florida. 

Day One - Kennedy Space Centre

'On the first full day of the trip we were lucky enough to visit the Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral, and as someone who hopes to study Aerospace Engineering next year at university, this was an amazing opportunity. 

The first exhibition I visited was dedicated to the Space Shuttle Program, complete with Space Shuttle Atlantis on display. The exhibitions told the story of how the shuttle came to be, including having the prototype shown to NASA engineers when they were given the seemingly impossible brief of designing a reusable space vehicle. The RS-25 engine on display was intriguing to compare with engines I would see later on from the earlier Apollo program. 

We also had the opportunity to experience a launch simulator which talked us through the launch sequence from the ‘twang’ felt when the main engines fired up causing the whole structure to pitch upwards, to the vibrations when the craft moved through Max-Q, to the serene quietness after main engine cut-off and the crew experienced zero gravity for the first time. Another thing I found particularly well done was the tribute to the Challenger and Columbia disasters, with displays showing the hobbies and interests of the crew members and scorched parts of the two shuttles being very poignant to see in person. 

Another large section was dedicated to the ongoing exploration of space, with the highlight seeing the Falcon 9 First Stage which famously took a Tesla Roadster to space displayed above our heads. It was fascinating to see developments such as CubeSats which are satellites with a volume of a mere 10cm3, and how these contribute to both scientific study and everyday life. 

The highlight of the day, however, was when we took a bus past the famous Vehicle Assembly Building to a separate exhibition dedicated to the Apollo Program which contained a genuine Saturn V rocket. From outside the building, we could see the launch pads where many of the most famous spaceflights in history took off, and the exhibitions contained the suit Jim Lovell wore during Apollo 13, a lunar rock sample and the landing capsule from Apollo 14. 

Overall, the day was excellent – one that thoroughly affirmed my passion for aerospace. We saw so much history and technological development in such a small amount of time, and the exhibitions were expertly put together which is why this was my personal favourite part of the trip.' - Alex M

Day Two - Orlando Space Centre

'On Tuesday morning we visited the Orlando Science Centre which had exhibits on topics such as dinosaurs and natural disasters. There were various machines that we could interact with: a paper airplane range, a tornado simulator and also a series of mathematical puzzles on each level of the building. 

We then participated in an activity of trying to keep a balloon stationary in mid-air without touching the floor or ceiling for as long as possible. This was to help model weather balloons in the atmosphere. The main strategy was to attach a small paper object to the end of the balloon and cutting it down so the force of its weight matched the force of the balloon. I believe that the team with the highest time used thin, paper tissues while the most popular method was the paper cup. 

The last thing we did was enter the centre’s massive, dome like cinema to watch a film on the Great Barrier Reef. The film focused on a diver who lived on one of the islands for her whole life and what she could do to help spread awareness of the reef and wildlife. 

Alligators: one of God’s most perfect creations, with Florida being blessed to host 1.25 million of them. On Wednesday morning, we went to Wild Florida, which had a zoo and air boats for touring the local Cypress Lake. The airboat ride took us across the lake, where we saw many alligators, which were mostly male and tend to live on their own. Female alligators tend to stay in one place for the rest of their lives, looking after the hatchlings - we saw one with one of her babies on the trip. There were several different types of birds around the lake, and we were lucky enough to see a bald eagle nest and a bird that’s endangered due to it only eating a specific type of snail, with only 700 of them remaining. We also saw a surprisingly large number of cows in the water, as it turns out they can safely graze in the swamp as they are too large for an alligator to consider it worth it to hunt them.' - Zain F

'On Wednesday afternoon, we arrived at an overhanging neon-lit facade on the sleepy side of Orlando, the iFLY indoor skydiving centre. This facility may have looked ordinary enough, but we were here to perform some secret, cutting edge research to determine the terminal velocity of a human being. We didn't know if we would make it out alive. After entering, we changed into red jumpsuits, and after a rigorous safety talk we were in. I remember waiting on the seats outside the wind tunnel, somewhat excited, but somewhat dreading going in. Accompanied by my hilarious instructor, I dived in, and the >100mph gusts generated by their fans held me up. It was completely ethereal; an experience I will not forget for a long time. Everyone very much enjoyed watching Mr East and Mr Nollett have a go. At the end, they showed us an amazing demonstration - pouring water in the wind tunnel. If you haven't seen it already, look it up! The droplets held their place, whilst the deep Floridian sun tumbled over the horizon behind us.' - Chris C

 

On the second day of Universal we were at the Universal’s Islands of Adventure Park. Here we once again had a workshop in the morning, and this was focused on how they manage to keep people’s attention in the ride. They sync the movement of the rides with the surrounding screens to make sure that the screens stay in the focus of everyone in the ride wherever you are sitting. Then as a group we went onto the Kong ride which utilises these features to create a fun and thrilling experience where you are right in the middle of the battle.' - Paddy J and Bragnae N-W