HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Kenneth Treece of Pineville, KY recently attended Aviation Challenge Mach III at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, home of Space Camp, Space Camp Robotics, Aviation Challenge, U.S. Cyber Camp and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center’s Official Visitor Center.

The weeklong educational program promotes science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), while training students and with hands-on activities and missions based on teamwork, leadership and problem solving.

This program is specifically designed for students who have an interest in military aviation and the mechanics of flight. Students learn principles of aviation and put their knowledge to the test in a variety of flight simulators. Taking the role of fighter pilots, Treece and his team ran control systems and scenario-based missions as well as trained in water and land survival. At the end of the week, Treece and crew returned in time to graduate with honors.

Aviation Challenge opened in 1990 in Huntsville, Ala. and uses fighter pilot training techniques to engage trainees in real-world applications of STEM subjects. Students sleep in quarters designed to resemble military bays.

More than 850,000 trainees have graduated from a Space Camp program since its inception in 1982, including European Space Agency astronaut, Samantha Cristoforetti and NASA astronauts Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, Dr. Kate Rubins, Dr. Serena Auñón-Chancellor and Christina Koch, who is serving onboard the International Space Station.

Children and teachers from all 50 states and almost 150 international locations have attended a Space Camp program. Interested in training like a fighter pilot? Visit www.spacecamp.com/aviation or call 1-800-637-7223.

The U.S. Space & Rocket Center, a Smithsonian Affiliate, is home to Space Camp and Aviation Challenge, the Apollo 16 capsule, the National Historic Landmark Saturn V rocket and world-class traveling exhibits. USSRC is the Official Visitor Center for NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and a showcase for national defense technologies developed at the U.S. Army’s Redstone Arsenal.

To learn more about the exciting programs and activities at the USSRC, go to www.rocketcenter.com.