Back in 1996 I was part of the first class as the, now closed, Mountain View Space Camp. I was 11. When time came for the shuttle simulations, I volunteered to be pilot. After a quick 10 minute tutorial over what every button did in the deck we were off.
We were able to get out into orbit with the help of Mission Control, but on the way back it was just us in the deck.
If anyone is interested, the X-Plane flight simulator has several space shuttle situations, such as full re-entry. X-Plane strives to be very realistic, and re-entry is very challenging.
I also went to the Mountain View Space Camp in 1996 or 1997. It was the most amazing experience for a young space enthusiast. I was able to convince my dad to shell out the money for a flight suit, which I wore every single day while I was there. :)
The absolute highlight of the trip was being pilot on the simulated Space Shuttle mission. For anyone who hasn't seen it, their replica of the front end of the Space Shuttle was 1:1 or nearly 1:1. It felt like I imagined it would feel like being in the real thing. Being 12 never felt so good.
I still have my flight suit, patches, and the big book you got at the end.
Edit: Some other fun things I remember about Space Camp: "Buzz" Aldrin spoke at our graduation ceremony (though Wikipedia doesn't seem to know this). We got to try an MMU (manned maneuvering unit). We learned about hydroponics and growing plants out of soil. There were even rumors spreading around camp that some boys were sneaking into the girls' dorms at night. It was truly a nerdy 12-year-old boy's dream come true.
We were able to get out into orbit with the help of Mission Control, but on the way back it was just us in the deck.
We burned up on re-entry.