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Find Your Adventure at the Space and Aviation(航空) Center

    If you're looking for a unique adventure, the Space and Aviation Center (SAC) is the place to be. The Center offers programs designed to challenge and inspire with hands-on tasks and lots of fun.

    More than 750,000 have graduated from SAC, with many seeking employment in engineering, aviation, education, medicine and a wide variety of other professions. They come to camp, wanting to know what it is like to be an astronaut or a pilot, and they leave with real-world applications for what they're studying in the classroom.

    For the trainees, the programs also offer a great way to earn merit badges(荣誉徽章). At Space Camp, trainees can earn their Space Exploration badge as they build and fire model rockets, learn about space tasks and try simulated(模拟) flying to space with the crew from all over the world. The Aviation Challenge program gives trainees the chance to earn their Aviation badge. They learn the principles of flight and test their operating skills in the cockpit(驾驶舱) of a variety of flight simulators. Trainees also get a good start on their Wilderness Survival badge as they learn about water- and land-survival through designed tasks and their search and rescue of ＂downed＂ pilot.

    With all the programs, teamwork is key as trainees learn the importance of leadership and being part of a bigger task.

    All this fun is available for ages 9 to 18. Families can enjoy the experience together, too, with Family Camp programs for families with children as young as 7.

    Stay an hour or stay a week — there is something here for everyone!

    For more details, please visit us online at www.oursac.com.

    You know the feeling that you have left your phone at home and feel anxious, as if you have lost your connection to the world. “Nomophobia” (无手机恐惧症) affects teenagers and adults alike. You can even do an online test to see if you have it. Last week, researchers from Hong Kong warned that nomophobia is infecting everyone. Their study found that people who use their phones to store, share and access personal memories suffer most. When users were asked to describe how they felt about their phones, words such as “hurt” (neck pain was often reported) and “alone” predicted higher levels of nomophobia.

    “The findings of our study suggest that users regard smartphones as their extended selves and get attached to the devices,” said Dr. Kim Ki Joon. “People experience feelings of anxiety and unpleasantness when separated from their phones.” Meanwhile, an American study shows that smartphone separation can lead to an increase in heart rate and blood pressure.

    So can being without your phone really give you separation anxiety? Professor Mark Griffiths, psychologist and director of the International Gaming Research Unit at Nottingham Trent University, says it is what is on the phone that counts-the social networking that creates Fomo (fear of missing out).

    “We are talking about an internet-connected device that allows people to deal with lots of aspects of their lives,” says Griffiths. “You would have to surgically remove a phone from a teenager because their whole life is rooted in this device.”

Griffiths thinks attachment theory, where we develop emotional dependency on the phone because it holds details of our lives, is a small part of nomophobia. For “screenagers”, it is Fomo that creates the most separation anxiety. If they can't see what's happening on Snapchat or Instagram, they become panic-stricken about not knowing what's going on socially. “But they adapt very quickly if you take them on holiday and there's no internet,” says Griffiths.

    At the age of seven, while his friends were spending their allowances on things like candy and toys, Jose Adolfo Quisocola was busy saving money for basic purchases. To try to get his peers（同龄人） to do the same, the boy from Peru came up with the idea of an eco-bank, the Bartselana

    Student Bank, which allows kids of all ages to become financially independent while also helping the environment.

    Set up in 2012, the bank is the world's first bank for kids. To become a member, a kid has to bring in at least 5 kilograms of solid waste and set a savings goal. Once accepted, all bank “partners” are required to deposit at least one additional kilogram of recyclables on a monthly basis and observe other requirements, such as attending financial education and environmental management workshops.

    The waste accumulated is sold to local recycling companies, who, thanks to Jose's efforts, pay a higher-than-market rate for everything brought in by the bank members. The money received is placed in the personal account where they collect until the savings goal is reached. The account holder can then withdraw the money, or choose to leave it and continue to grow for a bigger target. “At the beginning, my teachers thought I was crazy or that a child could not undertake this type of project,” Jose recalls, “They did not understand that we are not the future of the country but its present. Luckily, I had the support of the school headmaster and an assistant in my class.”

    The boy's efforts paid off, and by 2013, the bank had over 200 members, who brought in one ton of recyclable waste. Today, the eco-bank, which now has the support of several local institutions, boasts ten educational centers. They are designed to teach the over 3,000 students, aged 10 to 18, to become financially independent, use their money wisely, and help the environment.

    Not surprisingly, Jose's efforts have earned him several national and international awards. On November 20, 2018, Jose won Children's Climate Prize, which comes with a medal and $5,500 in prize money and is given to a child or youth who has accomplished an extraordinary achievement for the climate or environment.

    Luke has always been my closest and constant companion these past five years. In fact, he is very friendly to me especially when I take care of other furry friends in our shelter.

    There have been a lot of forest fires during the summer season. Not far from our shelter, a forest caught fire during this hot summer. Luke rushed towards the forest where flames send out a terrible heat. There's no longer any hope at the moment to wait for Luke to come back to the shelter. In fact, I was waiting for the firemen to announce me his death in the forest. Suddenly, a fireman burst into my office and informed me that my dog Luke succeeded in saving four cats which were trapped by the flames. Luke seized the kittens, one by one moving them to a safe place.

    I immediately accompanied the fireman to the forest to pick up the rescued kittens, but Luke was not there. Then we heard the sound of a dog came from the forest barking furiously. The firemen followed the tracks of the dog until they found him barking loudly by the side of an injured fireman who was lying on the ground.

    That day, I was very proud of Luke for his two heroic actions. I paid a visit to the fireman accompanied with my adorable Luke. What a memorable scene when the fireman hugged Luke tightly to his chest! “One thousand thanks, Luke, for saving my life,” the fireman said.

    This true story of love shows us that pets are kind, loving, and caring. We should love and protect them. Don't belittle them. Little animals can make enormous things for humans.

    After I mastered my first concerto (协奏曲) at the age of 14, my parents decided to get me a nice violin. I tried out dozens of instruments before I found my match: a German violin. It was beautiful, but what I liked best about it was its voice. Confident and strong, it was everything I longed to be.

    I'm not sure how much that violin cost, but my parents made me promise never to let it out of my sight. They didn't understand that pulling a large violin case ran counter to my daily middle school task of not being noticed. I was a strange, absent-minded kid. When I spoke up in class, my comments brought confused silence from teachers and wild laughter from students. Like a deer in a wolf pack, I tried to be quiet and still.

    However, my new violin was almost shockingly loud. Together, we were much louder than the rest of my middle school orchestra—which was encouraged, since the other kids made sounds like cats' crying. For one wonderful hour every day, I was showered with attention. Everyone wanted to hear what I had to say.

    Between classes, I bent under the combined weight of my violin case and a backpack filled with books. My body suffered, but my confidence grew. With my violin by my side, I found my voice. More and more, I contributed to class discussions and even made a couple of friends.

    Today, I'm just an excellent violinist with a regular day job. As I sit in my community orchestra, sometimes I feel jealous (嫉妒的) of my fellow musicians' instruments with their elegant voices. I may not be the best violinist around, but at least I'm still the loudest.

The last time you got angry, did you stop and listen to what your mind was telling you?

Ryan Martin, psychology professor at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay, has spent his career doing just that. It turns out, the thoughts that we have in response to the first flare (爆发) of anger are what can send us over the edge—or help us control the emotion for good, Martin says.

Despite the trouble that it can cause, anger is not actually bad for us. From an evolutionary perspective, it plays an important role in our survival, Martin says: "It helps alert us to the fact that we've been wronged." When your heart starts to pound and your face gets hot, that's anger increasing your blood flow in preparation for a showdown (决战). "It's our fight or flight response, used to energize us to deal with injustice," he explains.  

Anger only becomes a problem when we can't manage it. Managing your anger, it turns out, is all about managing your thoughts. While anger may inform us of a threat—even if it's just to our reputation—it's the thoughts that determine how we respond. That's why strategies like cognitive behavioral therapy, which teach people healthier thought patterns, can be so successful.

Rather than ignore our anger, Martin wants us to see what our anger is telling us. If anger alerts us to possible injustice, for example, it's not helpful to simply dismiss it. "What I really want is for people to have accurate thoughts, thoughts that accurately reflect what's going on in the world around them," Martin says.