Summer Exploration Camps

Check back frequently for more information on the Summer Exploration Camps that I will be leading this summer.

Astronaut Adventure: June 16-20 (9:00 am - 3:00 pm) and July 7-11 (9:00 am - 3:00 pm)

Here is your chance to train like an astronaut! Spend a week with us and experience your own Astronaut Adventure. Each participant will receive a camp shirt, space journal (with checklist), rocket kit, SCUBA introduction, hands-on experiences and mission day experience in the Orion Capsule Simulator.

Day One: Investigate Space

Astronauts will learn about and explore the solar system through a series of briefings and hands-on activities. We will discover NASA's current plans for manned and robotic exploration and maybe make a few of our own. Prepare to talk with NASA educators (if their schedule allows) and find out what the "Right Stuff" is really all about.

Highlights - Design, build and test a Mars Lander, first round of astronaut testing, Skype with a NASA professional, learn about the planets and manned exploration.

Day Two: Launch to Space (Rocketry)

Astronauts will learn about rocketry from the science behind the ignition to the engineering of advanced payloads. Each astronaut will build their own rocket to launch and be a part of two group rockets that will push their innovation to the edge.


Highlights - Rocketry Design Challenge, Rocket Demos by Howie G, Rocket Launch

Day Three: Touch Space

We will "Launch" right at 9:00 am for the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, KS and spend the day truly experiencing the history of spaceflight. Astronauts will walk the Hall of Space Museum in a special guided tour of the museum. We will see, hear and feel what the early astronauts experienced in the very first launches and get a unique view of what the space race was really all about. This experience will change each trip as special opportunities abound at the Cosmosphere.

Highlights - Justice Planetarium, Gift Shop (spending money not included in registration fees), Hall of Space Museum

Day 4: Experience Space (EVA Training and Mission Prep)

Learn to spacewalk in an underwater simulation very similar to how NASA's astronauts train in the NBL. Astronauts will spend the morning in the pool learning about SCUBA before tackling the challenge of building a section of the space station. Teams must work independently and in together using non verbal communication and exact prior planning.
After a much deserved lunch, teams will begin training specifically for their mission to the Moon aboard the Orion Capsule. Crews will be instructed by experienced educators who have spent years working with middle school aged students in space simulations.


Highlights - SCUBA and simulation training

Day 5: Explore Space (Mission Day)

The crew of OFT-4 preparing for their mission!

Fly your own mission to the Moon in our very own motion-based Orion Capsule Simulator. Experience the mission as an astronaut, member of Mission Control and as a member of the support crew. This is a different mission than the current Fifth Grade students fly in our Mission to Mars (Watch the mission on the news) so a new adventure awaits! This is one summer camp that you do not want to pass up!

Highlights - Mission to the Moon, Graduation Ceremony

REGISTER ONLINE

Tuition: $325.00 (Includes all activities, experiences, travel and lunch on Friday. Does not include money for gift store at the Cosmosphere) 

E-mail Joel Walker for questions or more information.