UAlbany Summer: Physics Major Teaching STEM at Space Camp
ALBANY, N.Y. (July 9, 2024) — For UAlbany rising junior Abby Greco, trying to explain Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity to a group of 9-year-olds was not at the top of her summer plans this year. But getting the opportunity to teach children how to build rockets amid a Saturn V or showing off the Apollo 16 space capsule is another story entirely.
Greco is spending her UAlbany summer working as a counselor at Space Camp, where she is teaching children about the history of the U.S. space program, including the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions, as well as the space shuttle program, Artemis and commercial space flight missions.
And yes, Greco is also tasked with teaching her 9-to-14 year-olds how to build rockets that they later launch.
“While I’m not necessarily learning equations and doing research, I am learning a lot of soft skills while working here,” said Greco, a physics major from Pawling, N.Y. “Time to travel between activities fluctuates, so time management is crucial. Then there’s also the obvious one, which is being able to properly convey the concepts. The 9 year olds take a little longer to wrap their heads around the vastness of space and rocket propulsion than the 14 year olds do. But they are kids at camp too, so we have to make sure they're having fun while learning.”
Situated on the grounds of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Space Camp has served as the summer home for nearly 1 million children since it first opened in 1982.
“The Redstone Arsenal, where a lot of the early rockets were developed, is right in our backyard, and Marshall Space Flight Center is about 3.5 miles away,” said Greco, pointing to the ongoing work underway to develop the rockets for NASA’s Artemis program.
Not that they’re aren’t drawbacks to spending a summer in the southern United States.
“The weather is HOT compared to New York. The Rocket Center's security has it's own process when it comes to sending out weather alerts to the staff, and we get notifications whenever the heat index is above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, which has been pretty much daily," said Greco. “Fortunately, the summer camp is education based, so we don't do a lot outside. All the mission simulations, astronaut simulations, history lessons, rocket construction sessions, etc., are all indoors.”
Of course, when it comes to launching their model rockets, the students will be headed outdoors.
For Greco, working at Space Camp was an opportunity to gain career skills while also checking off a box for both her and her mother. It started when she picked up stargazing as a hobby at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with her rural hometown of Pawling providing plenty of clear night skies. After enjoying a “Star Wars” marathon with her dad and two brothers around the same time, Greco really became interested in a career that involved the study of space. This is what first led her to consider UAlbany (her father’s alma mater) for her collegiate studies.
“I attended the natural science student panel where a physics student discussed a dark matter experiment he was working on. He was using particles to trigger phase changes in supercooled and superheated liquids. I found that absolutely fascinating and wanted to be a part of it,” Greco said. She went on to join the UAlbany Dark Matter group in fall of 2023 with associate professors Cecilia Levy and Matthew Szydagis, who ended up visiting Abby in Huntsville while coincidentally at a conference there.
“It was great to see Abby gaining experience helpful for her future,” said Szydagis.
"In addition to doing research in my group, I had Abby in my modern physics class last year and introduced her to Einstein’s special relativity," said Levy. "The fact that she is already using this knowledge and sharing it with the next generation is simply wonderful. Knowing Abby and her never failing enthusiasm, I am sure she is already positively influencing some of these young minds to become future physicists."
As Greco began reviewing her options for continuing her studies this summer, it was her mom’s suggestion to explore an out-of-this-world way to advance her education while getting paid to do so.
“My mom had always talked about Space Camp and how she could never go. I was just going to go home and work as a counselor at the local summer camp anyway, so I figured I’d find a camp that was related to what I want to do. If I do want to become a teacher or conduct research, Space Camp would be the perfect opportunity to advance those skills,” said Greco. “I applied, got an interview, and got hired on the spot.”
Greco credits both of her parents, but her mom in particular, with encouraging her to take risks on pursuing her life goals. “She is incredible and almost everything that I have learned about advocating for myself has been from her,” said Greco.
As for what comes next, Greco hasn’t completely decided. But her fascination with space has her leaning toward a PhD program in close proximity to one of the Event Horizon Telescopes situated around the globe. These observatories collaborated in 2019 to produce the first images of light trapped around supermassive black holes.
“The soft skills that I’m learning now take experience in order to keep building them,” said Greco. “Eventually I’m going to have to communicate the science I’m doing, and I need to be able to do it well.”
Between what she is learning at Space Camp and her studies at UAlbany, including her recent election as president of the UAlbany physics club, she is well on her way to mastering the skills she needs to succeed in a scientific career.