A Glimpse of Space Camp

Hi, I'm Morgan ( on the left).  And I'm Evan (on the right).  Ever wonder what it's like to go to space camp?  Come with us and take a peek.

Here's where all the magic science happens, Chabot Space & Science Center.  The center is an observatory that also offers hands on exhibits, planetarium shows, and much more.  Galileo Learning runs the space camp here.

This spacesuit is just one of many things you'll see inside the center.  This Spacesuit was used in training for the Mercury Project.  But enough about that, I bet you're curious what we did at camp.

One of the classes I (Evan) took was Lego Robotics.  I learned how to use Mindstorms software and create commands to download into the robots.  Want to see the robots?

Here's what they look like. My favorite part was when we programmed and constructed the robots to battle!  I enjoyed it so much that I actually told my mom about it on the drive home without her asking me.  In fact, I even told my dad about it when he got home.

Another class I took was Rocket Lab.  Here are my instructors getting ready to launch my water bottle rocket.  I wasn't able to launch it myself for safety reasons but I did make the rocket.

3...2...1...Blast Off! I can't believe my mom was able to capture the launch.  Good timing mom.

What am I holding you ask?  Just an awesome motorized Mars Rover I made in Mars Explorers.  Besides making the rover, I also got to fly a simulated space mission in Chabot's Challenger Learning Center.  

You know what's also great about space camp,  getting photobombed by Jean-Luc Picard. Seriously, one of my fellow campers and I shared about gears with the parents on the last day of camp.  Standing to my left is our instructor Zoe Ames who has a B.A. in Physics and Astronomy.  Cool!

In my survivor class I picked up some mad paracord knot skills.  We also went on nature hikes in the surrounding redwood forest and learned how to build survival shelters out of items found in nature. 

All kidding aside, we were really pleased with our first experience at the Chabot Space & Science Camp.  In the past my children have attended Camp Galileo who also runs the space camp for the Chabot center.   The curriculum is different from the other camps but they still incorporate Galileo's Innovation Approach into the classes.  If you're curious about what the Innovation Approach is, you can read about it here.  I also noticed this camp is a little more serious in nature compared to the other Galileo camps.  

To learn more about Chabot Space & Science Camp, click here.

Disclaimer:  My children received one free paid week of camp as compensation for this post series.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.