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Ellis Abel Learns.

Space & Astronomy Summer Camp in Grand Rapids, MI

Parents in Grand Rapids, MI book summer in February and regret it in July. The Grand Rapids–Wyoming–Kentwood, MI metro area has about 1,183,645 residents, ranking 49th in the country. What separates a week worth repeating is whether the child was ever genuinely stuck and then unstuck.

Ages 7-14 · For families · Michigan · Midwest

Space & Astronomy Summer Camp — Ellis Abel Learns STEM summer camp materials used in Grand Rapids, MI
Space & Astronomy Summer Camp — Ellis Abel Learns STEM summer camp materials used in Grand Rapids, MI

What the week actually is

Space is the best bait in STEM and the easiest to waste. This week uses it properly: orbital mechanics as ratio problems, rocket stability as a physics argument, distance to Mars as an exercise in numbers too big to feel.

Day by day

  1. Scale: how far is far
  2. Build the rocket, predict the flight
  3. Launch and measure the error
  4. Orbits as ratio problems
  5. Showcase: present the flight data

Grand Rapids, MI — what applies locally

  • The Grand Rapids–Wyoming–Kentwood, MI metro area has about 1,183,645 residents, ranking 49th in the country.
  • Metro area: Grand Rapids–Wyoming–Kentwood, MI
  • State: Michigan · Region: Midwest

Questions we get from Grand Rapids, MI

Do they launch anything?
Model rockets, yes, with the flight predicted on paper before it leaves the pad.
Is there a telescope night?
Where the camp site allows it. Otherwise the observation work is done with real archived imagery.
What ages get the most out of it?
Nine and up, though seven-year-olds do fine with the building half.

Other camp themes in Grand Rapids

Space Camp elsewhere in Michigan

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