James Clendenin feels like he's been to the moon and back - and it only took a week.

The George Washington Middle School teacher recently returned from the Honeywell Space Academy at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala.

"I never thought I would be able to do something like this," said Clendenin, who received a scholarship for the trip.

The program gives educators astronaut-style training and is designed to inspire them to teach math and science in innovative ways.

Over the next decade, jobs in science, technology, engineering and math will grow five times faster than jobs in other sectors, according to Honeywell's Web site. At the same time, the number of American students pursuing those fields continues to decline.

"I got so many ideas from it," said Clendenin, a Dunbar resident who teaches special education. "Learning's not just out of the book. Learning is from everything...When it's hands on, [kids] don't realize they're learning."

Almost 300 teachers from 45 states and 18 countries attended the academy. Clendenin was the only West Virginia teacher there this year, he said.

At the camp, Clendenin spent 12 hours a day in classes, labs and field activities. He learned how rockets and space capsules are made. He got strapped in to contraptions that simulate walking on the moon and weightlessness.

"It didn't make me feel dizzy," he said. "A buddy of mine, he did get sick. He didn't throw up, but he wasn't feeling well for about two hours."

He met West Virginia author Homer Hickam Jr., who wrote the memoir "Rocket Boys," the basis for the movie "October Sky."

He also heard a presentation by Dan Oates, educational outreach specialist at the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind in Romney.

James Clendenin feels like he's been to the moon and back - and it only took a week.

The George Washington Middle School teacher recently returned from the Honeywell Space Academy at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala.

"I never thought I would be able to do something like this," said Clendenin, who received a scholarship for the trip.

The program gives educators astronaut-style training and is designed to inspire them to teach math and science in innovative ways.

Over the next decade, jobs in science, technology, engineering and math will grow five times faster than jobs in other sectors, according to Honeywell's Web site. At the same time, the number of American students pursuing those fields continues to decline.

"I got so many ideas from it," said Clendenin, a Dunbar resident who teaches special education. "Learning's not just out of the book. Learning is from everything...When it's hands on, [kids] don't realize they're learning."

Almost 300 teachers from 45 states and 18 countries attended the academy. Clendenin was the only West Virginia teacher there this year, he said.

At the camp, Clendenin spent 12 hours a day in classes, labs and field activities. He learned how rockets and space capsules are made. He got strapped in to contraptions that simulate walking on the moon and weightlessness.

"It didn't make me feel dizzy," he said. "A buddy of mine, he did get sick. He didn't throw up, but he wasn't feeling well for about two hours."

He met West Virginia author Homer Hickam Jr., who wrote the memoir "Rocket Boys," the basis for the movie "October Sky."

He also heard a presentation by Dan Oates, educational outreach specialist at the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind in Romney.

Oates, who calls himself a lifelong "space geek," coordinates the Space Camp for Interested Visually Impaired Students, which started in Huntsville in 1990.

Activities are adapted to ensure safety and accessibility for blind and visually impaired individuals. Materials and equipment used during missions, for example, are available in Braille and large print.

Clendenin was so inspired by Oates he now wants to raise about $1,000 to send a blind or visually impaired Putnam County student to SCIVIS next year.

About 600 school-aged blind and visually impaired students live in West Virginia, Oates said. Each year, 20 West Virginia students attend SCIVIS through a grant from the Teubert Charitable Trust.

For many, space camp is the first time they can socialize with peers who share their disability, Oates said.

"There's this bond that gets created," he said. "The socialization that they get down there is amazing. That's truly the best part."

Inspiring all children to learn about outer space is essential to future exploration, Oates said, adding, "The first person who steps foot on Mars is sitting in a classroom today."

Besides raising funds for a student, Clendenin hopes to return to the teachers camp again next year to do more advanced training.

"I've always wondered what's out there," he said. "It's just human nature to see what's beyond, what people say we can't do."

Reach Alison Knezevich at alis...@wvgazette.com or 348-1240.