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Halloween is not just a day of make believe for my daughter. She starts thinking about her costume on November 1st. Last year, she decided in February that she wanted to be the SR-71 Blackbird. Yes… as in “the fastest plane” SR71. The year before, it was Astronaut Sunita Williams. Whether it’s the fastest plane on record, or an astronaut, she has turned it into an opportunity to sport her excitement for STEM.
When she wanted to be Astronaut Suni, I didn’t realize that she’d be wearing the costume repeatedly. She wore it to meet Astronaut Mark Kelly at a book signing for his adorable series, Mousetronaut. She wore it to school when they started their space curriculum. She wore it to the Intrepid Air and Space Museum, standing with a crew of women who are working on Orion, and she even posed for a photo with Astronaut Buzz Aldrin later that day. This summer, when the suit looked more like capris, we finally retired the costume after her 8th Birthday Party at the Challenger Center of Ramapo. Who would’ve guessed that one Halloween costume would have seen such an incredible journey? But it did, and it helped fuel her fascination and passion for something truly inspiring.
This year’s decision came in loud and clear somewhere on the road in between Santa Fe and the Grand Canyon. From the backseat of our rental car, she shouted, “I know what I want to be for Halloween this year! ORION!!!” When I asked her which Orion she was talking about (the constellation or Orion the spacecraft) she said, “Both!” I couldn’t pass up the challenge of creating yet another out of the box costume for her. So why did she choose Orion this year?
This summer, my daughter and I spent the first few days of our 2.5 week long road trip in Houston, Texas. We were there for one reason: to visit Space Center Houston. As luck would have it, our incredibly kind and generous friend, Herb Baker, caught wind of our trip and offered to show us around Johnson Space Center.
Umm… yes, please!!!!
I have about a million things to say about our experience of touring around, but for now, I’ll give you the shortened version: It was AMAZING. Herb, who has worked for NASA since the very beginning of the Shuttle program, took us to the ISS Mission Control, Apollo Mission Control, the Neutral Buoyancy Lab, Building 9/Mockup Facility and several other places. I could go. And on. And ON about how surreal it was to stand in the places where so much HISTORY had been made. And I could go on about the lump in my throat that crept up when we were given a firsthand glimpse of what’s being worked on for the future… but I’ll save that for some other time.
My daughter, however, took it all in, photographing somewhere in the ballpark of 1,000 photos. She didn’t say much, trying to absorb as much as possible, getting really close to the edge of being completely overwhelmed. On our trip afterwards, she would pull out her phone and show everyone her photos, chatting in detail about each one that she snapped along our tour. She has enjoyed watching Orion’s progress for a while now, but to see the actual mockup of Orion, the one that is currently being trained on and tested by astronauts that will be using it in the future- well, that was a moment that planted itself FIRMLY into my daughter’s heart.
About a week later, when she spotted me going out to watch the sunrise on the balcony of our hotel room in Santa Fe, she tagged along. Both of us surprised and delighted to catch sight of the constellationOrion in early morning sky. The two experiences fresh in her mind, must have stirred the inspiration because it was then that she decided to be Orion for Halloween. Both of them.
With a bit of glittery fabric paint, face paint, some “galaxy” duct tape and battery operated lights to wrap her bow with, I went to work on her costume. The final results are something that I think turned rather fun, but even more importantly, my daughter beamed with excitement to show it off at school this past weekend for their annual Halloween event.
And when we spotted the article about Suni at the NBL, testing out Orion’s Exit Strategy, well, she remembered the smell of the chlorine and standing in the viewing area of that very pool where the future is tested out and practiced.
Credits: NASA
So… when I read NASA’s Orion’s Tweet, I figured that I may as well share the story of our growing collection of Halloween Costumes that inspire my daughter on more days than just October 31st.
When was the last time you dressed up as an astronaut? Happy #SciFiSunday! https://t.co/ebxWBajLWZpic.twitter.com/IAyLXjbj8X
— Orion Spacecraft (@NASA_Orion) October 25, 2015
Saw your tweet to NASA Orion. You should be so proud to be raising such a creative and intelligent daughter!
Thank you so much, Kate! Yes, I am indeed one very proud mom!