Day 10

Tuesday 23 June 2015

Here is the camp video (without sound) we showed during closing ceremonies:
AstroCamp 2015 video

Here is a summary video of all the campers' research projects:
Camper research

Here is the video the counselors put together:
We're Goin' To Space!

Day 9

Monday 22 June 2015

On Monday the campers are spending a good deal of time working on their research projects.  They are doing video journals to document their research on selecting another star system and how to travel there.  They will show snippets of these video journals during closing ceremonies tomorrow.  Later in the day, time permitting, we will look at the Sun safely through a special telescope, learn how to launch a spaceship using the Kerbal program, and watch a movie after dinner (Wall-E).

Day 8

Sunday 21 June 2015

A 7:20 am Didgeridoo wake-up call brought the campers to breakfast Sunday morning on Jelm Mountain (oatmeal, bagels w/cream cheese, fruit, granola bars).  After a morning of rest we went back to the classroom to classify our chosen stars using the spectral data we took at the observatory.  Such classification tells us about the temperature, mass, and radius of the stars.  We also computed how long it would take to travel to our chosen stars.  The first evening activity was skyping with another ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp in Colorado Springs.  We also built electrical circuits and learned how light intensity depends on distance from the light.

Day 7

Saturday 20 June 2015

On Saturday the campers learned how to identify microorganisms in their water samples as well as how to purify their water.  They also learned how to utilize the observed colors of astronomical objects to infer their temperatures.  We constructed some solar cookers, which we used to bake cookies using sunlight.  The final activities before heading to the campsite were learning the concept of "Leave No Trace" when in the wild; knot tying; and proper camp set up.  The rest of the day and evening was spent on Jelm Mountain.  Campers ate hot dogs, beans, watermelon, and of course s'mores.  In addition to jokes and spooky stories around the campfire, they also had the opportunity to use our 2.3 meter (92 inch) telescope on the mountaintop to obtain data on their star systems.

Day 6

Friday 19 June 2015

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.  For those familiar with the Laramie area, the low elevation hike was on the Little Laramie River trail system, whereas the high elevation walk was near the observation tower at Libby Flats.  Another goal for these hikes was to collect soil and water samples, which would be chemically tested and visually inspected later that night for signs of life.  One additional Friday activity involved interviewing camp directors, counselors, and teachers to learn about college life and potential career paths.

Day 5

Thursday 18 June 2015

[ Sorry for the delay -- just got back from an awesome all-day trip to the Snowies with the campers ]

 

On Thursday we started out with our second round of paper rocket design followed by the actual launches and the subsequent data analysis (distance as a function of rocket mass, etc.).  The (graphed) results were consistent with a rocket mass of ~20-30 grams providing the maximum distance traveled.  After that we experienced 10 different ways astronauts might train for a space mission.  After lunch the campers did some more spacecraft designing on the computer, and even printed out their designs on a 3D printer.  They later tried their hand at climbing on our gym's new 3-story climbing wall.  We also prepared for our adventure to the nearby Snowy Range on Friday, a day where we will explore different environments and take soil and water samples to be later tested for signs of life.