Registration opens for summer camp at Challenger Space Center

Registration is oepn for the Challenger Space Center's Adventures in Space Summer Camp Extravaganza program.

The weeklong, summer camps run from June 7 through July 30 and offer parents the scheduling flexibility of half- or full-day adventures for their children.

The morning session runs 9 a.m. to noon and the afternoon 1 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday of each week. 

Sessions are available for Astro Tots (kindergarten and 1st grade), Mercury (2nd & 3rd grades), Gemini, (4th & 5th grades) and Apollo (6th through 8th grades). Cost is $110 for each half-day session for AstroTots, Mercury and Gemini, and $250 for each weeklong session for Apollo campers. Each child receives an ID badge, commemorative camp T-shirt and more.

The programs available are:

• Astro Tots (entering K-1st grades) Children must be 5 years old or older, and completely toilet trained.  Morning and afternoon sessions are available. Kindergarten and 1st grade sessions run separately.  Maximum enrollment is 20. Cost is $110 per half-day session per child. Parents can combine sessions for a full-day experience. Full-day campers must bring a sack lunch.

Space Explorers and the Mighty Planets of Eight: Junior astronauts speed through the solar system with projects about our outer space neighbors. The camp incorporates math, literature and creative arts within the space concepts.

• June 7-11 and July 19-23: Kindergarten, 9 a.m. to noon.
• June 28-July 2, Kindergarten, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
• June 14-18 and July 26-30, 1st Grade, 9 a.m. to noon
• July 12-16, 1st Grade, 1 to 4 p.m.

Star Power and the World Above: Young campers explore what stars are made of, why they twinkle and all about the one remarkable star scientists know most about—the sun. Each day is filled with age-appropriate activities and space investigation experiments.

• June 28-July 2, Kindergarten, 9 a.m. to noon
• June 7-11 and July 19-23, Kindergarten, 1 to 4 p.m.
• July 12-16, 1st Grades, 9 a.m. to noon
• June 14-18 and July 26-30, 1st Grade, 1 to 4 p.m.

Mercury (for kids entering 2nd & 3rd grades) and Gemini (for kids entering 4th and 5th grades). Campers can attend either morning or afternoon sessions or combine both for a full-day experience. Each session includes age-appropriate, hands-on activities and fun projects. Full-day campers must bring a sack lunch. Maximum enrollment is 25. Cost is $110 per half-day session per child.

Extreme Space Makeover: Space Structures: Sometime this century, there’s a high probability that explorers from Earth will be living in space giving rise to an entire new breed of engineers needing to design their own space habitats. The structures must be sturdy, yet lightweight, so they can be transported through the Earth’s gravitational field. Campers design, build and test prototype structures for outer space living.

• June 7-11 or July 12-16, Mercury, 9 a.m. to noon
• June 21-25 or July 26-30, Mercury, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
• June 21-25 or July 26-30, Gemini, 9 a.m. to noon
• June 7-11 or July 12-16, Gemini, 1 to 4 p.m.  

Propelling Through Space: For years scientists have experimented with breaking the hold of gravity using rockets, catapults, hot air balloons and other forms of human space travel. Campers investigate and create tools that propel, lift, toss and move items through air and space.

• June 28-July 2 Mercury, 9 a.m. to noon
• June 14-18 or July 19-23,  Mercury, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
• June 14-18 or July 19-23, Gemini, 9 a.m. to noon
• June 28-July 2, Gemini, 1 to 4 p.m.  

So Many Planets, So Much to Learn: As we discover more about the galaxies, we find that our solar system’s huge gas giants aren’t so big in comparison to other galaxy’s planets. If the newly observed ring around Saturn is so huge it would take 1 billion Earth’s to fill, then how big are these other planets? Campers explore the solar system and investigate our planetary neighbors here and beyond.

• June 21-25 or July 26-30, Mercury, 9 a.m. to noon
• June 7-11 or July 12-16, Mercury, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
• June 7-11 or July 12-16, Gemini, 9 a.m. to noon
• June 21-25 or July 26-30, Gemini, 1 to 4 p.m.  

Exploring Light and Energy: Light is a form of energy that we can see even though it travels 186,000 miles per second. It’s nature’s way of transferring energy through space. Through experiments, campers discover how this incredibly fast-moving speed of light transforms what we know about the universe. 

• June 14-18 or July 19-23, Mercury, 9 a.m. to noon
• June 28-July 2, Mercury, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
• June 28-July 2, Gemini, 9 a.m. to noon
• June 14-18 or July 19-23, Gemini, 1 to 4 p.m.  

CSI –Apollo: (for kids entering 6th through 8th grades) Each Cosmic Scientific Investigative camp, or CSI, runs full days for one week only and features hands-on activities that explore new concepts and expands the minds of even the most skeptical young scientist. $250 per week. Maximum enrollment is 25. Campers must bring a sack lunch.

• June 21-25 or July 12-16, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Science behind Sci-Fi Movies: From Orson Welles’ “War of the Worlds” to George Lucas’ “Star Wars,” science fiction movies offer a unique perspective into future scientific realities. Campers explore science concepts and identify qualities of outer space, then analyze how space science is portrayed in Hollywood.

• June 28-July 2 and July 19-23, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Lights! Camera! Action! Space Films: Is there a future George Lucas among us? Using basic camera and film techniques, campers create their own science space films. Science equipment, tools and experiments will be available for the campers to incorporate into their films.

The Challenger Space Center is at 21170 N. 83rd Ave., just off the Loop 101 and Union Hills Drive exit.  

For information, call 623-322-2001 or visit www.azchallenger.org for a complete registration packet.

The Challenger Space Center regular hours are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.