Zach Tysor, an eighth-grade student at Elkins Middle School, attended Aviation Summer Camp sponsored by the NASA W.Va. Space Grant Consortium at West Virginia University. Attendees toured WVU engineering labs, visited the Benedum Airport and participated in aerospace and aviation activities including rocketry, flight demonstration and hands-on challenges.
The group traveled to the Challenger Learning Center at Wheeling Jesuit University and participated in a Voyage to Mars simulator space mission, where Tysor was in charge of life support systems.
Tysor met Capt. Jon McBride, former pilot of the Orbiter Challenger and the only NASA astronaut form West Virginia. Students, staff and families attended a presentation by McBride titled “Journey of an Astronaut.” McBride then met with attendees and even participated in the “Harlem Shake” with campers which is posted on YouTube.
Tysor is an honors student and a member of Elkins Middle School band and track and football teams.
He is a Life Scout with Troop 88 and a member of First United Methodist Church. He plans to study aeronautics and become a professional pilot. He is the son of Roger and Debbie Tysor of Elkins.
http://www.theintermountain.com/page/content.detail/id/563150/Honor-student-takes-off-to-aviation-camp.html?nav=5008