Winter Break 2020 Camps
Winter Break 2020 Camps
Due to COVID-19 our Camps for the Winter have been cancelled, we will be offering them in the Spring and Summer.
Space
Night Sky -- Stars -- Planets -- Galaxies -- Universe as a full sequence where each day naturally builds from the last. Introduction to the scientific study of the universe!
Astrophysics classes:
Seeing the Universe: NASA’s Great Observatories
Between 1990 and 2003, NASA launched four great telescopes into space to observe the Universe in different but complementary ways. The Hubble Space Telescope receives visible and ultraviolet light from both “nearby” and very distant stars and galaxies. The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory detected highly energetic radiation from exotic and violent astrophysical processes. The Chandra Observatory measures X-rays coming from hot gas in space. And the Spitzer Space Telescope imaged infrared radiation (heat) from dusty regions of galaxies where visible light is blocked. Separately, from 2009–2018, NASA’s Kepler satellite searched for planets around half a million stars in our Milky Way Galaxy. Come to learn about the history of these missions, how they work, and some of the discoveries they have made in a “golden age” of astronomy.
The X-Ray Universe
X-rays are a very high-energy variety of light, which is given off by electrons that get accelerated. In space, this happens wherever there is gas that has been heated to temperatures of millions, even hundreds of millions of degrees. The earth’s atmosphere blocks any X-radiation from reaching the ground, which is good for humans’ health (and explains why we are blind to the rays!) but limits our scientific knowledge and understanding. In 1970, a satellite was put into Earth orbit for the first time specifically to intercept astronomical X-rays before they reach the atmosphere. Many more and bigger X-ray satellites have followed, at a rate of nearly one per year ever since. This talk will describe what we have learned about some of the places where X-ray gas is commonplace: around incredibly dense neutron stars and star-sized black holes; at the centers of galaxies being shaped and cleared by the activity of black holes with the weight of a hundred million Suns; and everywhere throughout clusters of galaxies that can weigh as much as a quadrillion Suns.
Einstein’s Universe
In the early twentieth century, Albert Einstein’s vision of Nature revolutionized how we understand every aspect of the world around us — from light, to the behavior of the smallest sub-atomic particles, to the history and future of the entire Universe, to the meaning of time. One of his towering contributions came in 1915, when he produced a wholly original theory of gravity. In the 100+ years since, generations of scientists and engineers have applied and extended Einstein’s ideas with lasting impacts on our daily lives and our intellectual culture. This work continues still. In the past ten years alone, the Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded four times to people who stood on Einstein’s shoulders — to develop a detailed theory of the evolution of the Universe after its birth in a Big Bang; to prove that the Universe is expanding at an accelerating rate; to prove the existence of black holes; and to detect gravitational waves, which stretch space itself and travel at the speed of light. This session will explore these fascinating achievements.
The Dark Universe
Astronomers and physicists have a clear idea today of how the Universe is put together: its age; its “size” and how fast it grows; how much “stuff” is in it; how that “stuff” developed into galaxies and larger structures from the tiniest of seeds; and where everything might ultimately be heading. But we are still very far away from being able to answer the question of just what the “stuff” of the Universe is. In the generally accepted modern cosmology, only about 5% of the Universe is the normal kind of matter that we know from everyday life — molecules, atoms, nuclei, and other particles. Another 25% of it is so-called dark matter — a thing that has never been identified, let alone seen, weighed, or otherwise measured, but which we “need” to exist to stop galaxies from flying apart. And fully 70% of the Universe is referred to as dark energy — an even more foreign essence that is “needed” to make the Universe accelerate as it expands. Hear more in this session about the arguments for dark matter and dark energy, and about how truly resolving the problems they represent requires joint attacks from both astrophysics (the science of the enormously large) and particle physics (the science of the vanishingly small).
Current Offerings
Makerspace
Our maker classes allow you to build outside of the box ideas. In these classes, we use all sorts of different building and constructing materials. This is a great class as there is options for collaboration as well as independent work. Students can be more artistic and creative both hands on as well as technologically. In this class we also use 3D Printing, green screens, and circuits.
Some of the fun things to enjoy in our Makerspace themed STEM classes:
- 3D Printing and Design
- Stop Motion Animation
- Creativity Workshop, design, build and decorate
- Maker Electronics (Makey Makey)
- Cardboard Creation
- Raspberry Pi (Setup, Code & Create)
Current Offerings
Lego Robotics
This class introduces your child to the basics of mechanics – they will learn about gears, belts, motors, and computers. They will not only build robots but also learn how to bring them to life through simple application and programming. Projects will be designed and completed. We also work on a battle bot portion of the class where students design their own bots in groups and see whose “bot” can accomplish all the tasks at hand.
Some of the fun things to enjoy in our Robotic's themed STEM classes:
- Build Lego EV3 robots
- Program your robot to accomplish tasks, whether that's swinging a Lego hammer to disable your opponents robot or solve a complex real world task the choice is yours
- Battle in our Lego arena to determine whose bot is the champion using Blocky and / or JavaScript programming
Current Offerings
Building with Minecraft
Learning becomes more fun with Minecraft®! In the Exploring Minecraft® class students will learn about the game design process by creating custom maps, buildings, custom resource packs, etc. The Mastering Minecraft® class students will learn about Minecraft® server setup (on PC), building and designing a private server, game design and custom resource pack creation.
As Minecraft® allows players to create unique worlds, their creative side will flourish using software design tools such as MCEdit. From playtesting adventure maps and completing resource packs to building a world and complex circuits using JavaScript, your child will be an Artist, Designer, Architect, Engineer, and Programmer.
Some of the fun things to enjoy in our Minecraft themed STEM classes:
- Build famous landmarks
- Design functional roller coasters
- Build working mechanisms from an elevators to flood control and more
- Design your own skin pack
- Learn about mods
- Work on coding with Minecraft Education Edition
Current Offerings
Kids Coding
This half day camp is $250.
Introduction to programming, introducing basic concepts, syntax, functions, debugging, planning and delivery.
Utilizing free software that kids & young adults (and parents) can download at home and continue to learn (and play) long after the Code Camp ends!
Coding classes:
- Roblox Studio, one of the fastest growing platforms. You'll learn the basics to get your first platformer game up and running!
- Unity, learn real-time 3D development. You'll build your first fully 3D game and learn Unity basics.
- Visual Studio Code, learn how to navigate the Visual Studio Code IDE, install languages (C#, Python, and JavaScript in this course), compile and debug your code!
- Blender, learn the basics of navigation within Blender and create simple meshes (3D objects) which you can use in your games!
Current Offerings
Questions About Our Services?
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