Day 9

On Monday the campers spent a lot of time preparing their final presentations on their research projects.  They will present these to family and friends on Tuesday June 26, in the form of a tri-fold poster and a video journal.  Today the campers also explored infrared light, had fun with some hands-on physics experiments and equipment (e.g., hovercraft riding), built and tested penny rafts, and got to safely view the Sun and its beautiful prominences and flares during the daytime.  The night will be capped off with a planetarium show, a laser show, and the movie Wall-E.

Exploring infrared light from the Sun using a prism and thermometers

Building "penny rafts" with aluminum foil and straws

Day 8

After eating breakfast at the campsite and packing up, on Sunday we learned how to spectrally classify stars. This knowledge was used to later classify the stellar spectra they obtained at our big telescope on Jelm Mt. the night before. Such classification tells us about the temperature, mass, and radius of the stars. The night time activity was to design a spaceship that included all the necessary features for interstellar travel.

Breakfast at camp

Day 7

On Saturday we learned how to purify the water samples obtained the previous day in the Snowy Range.  We also learned more about the electromagnetic spectrum and how to combine astronomical images taken at different wavelengths to create a nice multi-color picture (ask the campers to show you theirs).  After lunch we explored a bit of statistical analysis of numerical data, and then did some practice for our camping trip on Mt. Jelm (setting up tents, tying ropes, first aid, etc).  The rest of the day was on the mountain, roasting hot dogs, telling ghost stories, singing campfire songs, doing silly skits and dances, and using our largest telescope to take spectra of their stars.  These spectra will be used later in the computer lab to characterize the physical properties of the stars and to help assess if they could possibly harbor planets that could be habitable.

Learning about light, color, and temperature

Preparing for the camping trip

Purifying water samples

Dinner on Jelm Mt.

Counselors demonstrating the "Wah" game

Our big telescope on Jelm

Camp directors getting their Star Trek Commander badges

Day 6

On Friday we spent most of the day up in the Snowy Range in the nearby Medicine Bow National Forest.  One of our goals was to compare the environments at "low" (9000 ft) and "high" (11000 ft) elevations.  Another goal was to collect soil and water samples, which would be chemically tested and visually inspected later that night for signs of life.  One final activity involved interviewing camp directors, counselors, and teachers to learn about their careers and educational paths.

A little over-exuberance with suntan lotion never hurts

Up in the Snowies

Little Laramie River trails

At 10,900 ft!

Searching for life in the soil and water samples

Day 5

Thursday's highlight was a visit from Dr. Harris himself, the former astronaut who heads the Harris Foundation. Along with a chemical engineer representative from ExxonMobil (she splits her time between Houston and LaBarge, WY), Dr. Harris helped with an activity testing space suits that the campers designed and constructed using a limited budget. Another fun hour was spent dropping the "planetary landers" the campers also designed and built using a limited budget. Most of the landers safely brought their eggs to Earth, but as you'll from the pictures below, not all did. We explored other challenges to spaceflight, including a lesson on how much oxygen is necessary for a long interstellar trip.

Dr. Harris talking about space travel

Planetary lander fun

A successful landing

Not so successful

Parachutes were big this year

Fun between activities

Question wall

Chip with the ExxonMobil Chemical Engineer

Testing spacesuit designs

The micrometeor went through my spacesuit!  :(

Measuring lung volumes

Spaceflight challenges in a vacuum