Day 4

On Wednesday we revisited our rocket designs, and then launched them next to the Classroom Building.  Some campers launched at 30 degrees, some at 45, and some at 60 degrees.  We analyzed the distances traveled as a function of launch angle as well as rocket mass.  This involved data analysis, graphing, etc.  Another mathematically-intensive activity on Wednesday involved computing the height of the Physical Sciences Building by timing how long it takes a ball (and watermelon!) to fall when released from the top of the building.

In preparation for astronaut Bernard Harris' visit on Thursday, the campers strategized which supplies, for a limited budget, could best be used to construct a space suit (more on this in tomorrow's blog!).  Another activity focused on healthy choices in the Dining Hall, followed by an activity where campers chose a nearby star to possibly colonize.  The extremely packed day was topped off by going to Red Buttes Observatory south of town to use the 26" telescope to take images of their selected stars.   Glow sticks and liquid Nitrogen ice cream added to the fun!

Water balloon toss / stopping force fun!

Rocketry redux

Analyzing Rocket Launch Data

Healthy plates

Working on their video journals

Choosing their stars

Red Buttes Observatory

Prepping for tomorrow's planetary lander activity

Day 3

On Tuesday we spent most of the morning on an "Alien Landscape Hike" which involved searching for life-sustaining habitat at the popular Vedauwoo location in the Medicine Bow National Forest.  This was followed by calculating the time required to travel to other star systems, and then learning how to design and build (paper) rockets.  In the evening we learned about how earth and the universe have changed over cosmic times, and how stars evolve during their long lifetimes.

Lives of stars

Cosmic timelines

Rocketry

Alien Landscape Hike

Camp Directors

Day 2

On Monday we started out with fun skits created by campers that suggested why we would leave Earth to colonize another planet, setting the stage for the camp theme "Journey to the Stars".  Our next activity focused on learning about the atoms and molecules that permeate space, and how to identify them. We learned how to measure distances using just a ruler, your arm, your fist, and your pinky.  Astronomers use "parallax", or the apparent change in the position of an object when the observer moves, to measure distances to the nearest stars.   Before lunch we discussed healthy eating habits, both on campus and during a long interstellar voyage.  We learned about optics and used that information to build hand-held telescopes that can be taken home.  We explored the different sizes in the Solar System and then re-created our own during a walk from one end of campus to the other.  The day was capped off with a tour of the night sky inside the UW planetarium and outside with 8" telescopes and binoculars.

Camper skit

Camper skit

Learning about parallax

Measuring distances using parallax

Spectrum lab

Identifying elements using hand-built spectroscopes

Measuring the focal length of lenses

UW Planetarium

The awesome night sky