Space Exploration, in Miniature

When I was a boy, I was something of a “hobbyist,” you could say. I enjoyed model-making, though I always struggled with the more intricate details, like applying the glue in a way that didn’t drip on the model itself, or applying decals. Painting was a challenge. Sometimes Miki, my nextdoor neighbor and BFF, would get the same models I had, and the comparison was embarrassing. He had a steady hand; no surprise that he ended up a research scientist; as I picture it, he is carefully injecting samples into test tubes, before placing them in a centrifuge. (Okay, I have no idea what I’m talking about, but I watch a lot of CSI, so I figure that counts for something.) If you look at the things I’ve super-glued around my home – a drawer front in the kitchen, or the handle of a plastic cup measure, you’ll see I haven’t changed much – they’re a little off-line, and you can see where the glue dripped and then dried.

But hey, the drawer works, and the cup measure has a handle, so leave me alone about the drips, okay?

One of my favorite hobbies is one I hadn’t thought of in years and years, until the other day, when Diego came home from camp. It has been a wonderful camp – both fun and educational. They have performed dances and skits, and also done a good deal of science, in a fun, hands-on program called “Mad Science.” In his hand, Diego had a cardboard rocket. I immediately flashed back to my days as a collector of Estes rockets. Miki and I were in it together, and we would go with my father or his to the Westchester Community College campus, where we would set up our launch pads. The thrill was short lived, as the little “engines” were ignited, the rockets flew up, the parachutes deployed, and they came floating back down.

The king of all Estes rockets was the Saturn V. (Miki and I weren’t aware of Roman numerals back then, so we called it the Saturn “Vee.”) Miki was the first to have one, and I remember when it went up it was a big moment for us.

I told Diego about Estes, and now, of course, he wants to get one. I think it’s a great idea, and I’m looking forward to getting into hobbies with my boys. It will be interesting to see how Diego and Jackson experience rocketry. For Miki and me it was very real; we can both remember watching rocket and shuttle launches on TV, so we were mimicking what was really happening in the world.

We’re now in a post-exploration phase, with the shuttle program closing down earlier this month. I’m sure there will come a time when we get excited about the exploration of space again, but for now it’s an abstraction. Still, I see the way Diego’s eyes light up with scientific curiosity, and I plan on stoking that fire. Who knows? Maybe he’ll be the first man to set foot on Mars.