This Halloween, Dan Schley, a local father and Senior Network Architect at UC Santa Barbara, brought a classic touch to the season by building a homemade space shuttle costume for his son, Oliver.
Combining creativity, technology, and a passion for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), Schley crafted a unique, hands-on costume experience that he hopes will inspire Oliver and other local kids to engage in building and exploration.
“When I was a kid, homemade costumes were how we celebrated Halloween. They gave us a chance to be creative and involved in building something ourselves,” said Schley. “This year, I wanted Oliver and other kids in the community to experience the excitement of building something from scratch and see the possibilities in STEM fields.”
NASA rocket creation for 2024 Halloween by Dan Schley and his son Oliver (courtesy)
The space shuttle costume, crafted with the help of a fog machine and various recycled materials, blends imaginative play with basic engineering.
Schley hopes his work will inspire children and their parents to see that Halloween can be more than just candy – it can be an opportunity to create, learn, and explore.
For a look at Oliver’s space shuttle and other DIY creations, visit the family’s Instagram page at @tinyheroesdesigns, where Schley shares projects aimed at inspiring the next generation of thinkers, makers, and innovators.
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This is the coolest thing I’ve seen. Well done Dad!
Very nice and well done. But what does the Space Shuttle have to do with Halloween? I notice that these days Halloween has just become a costume party for many that ignores the traditional costumes of ghosts, witches, skeletons, etc. which is what Halloween was originally about.
ANON – “these days” nothing. When I was a kid almost 50 years ago we dressed up like knights, cowboys, etc sometimes too. It’s always been about dressing however you want. Is this another “darn kids these days” rant?
sac, Definitely not a “darn kids” rant. A serious question about what happened to the old tradition of witches, ghosts, goblins on Halloween.
Is this a serious comment “anon?” Have you ventured out to see Halloween costumes in the past 40 years?
Have I ventured out? All the time. And that’s my point. Why has the old tradition of witches, ghosts, and goblins given way to all sorts of costumes that have nothing to do with what Halloween was about?
Some folks have reactionary attitudes about everything!