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.

Space & Astronomy Summer Camp in Wheaton, IL

Wheaton has a population of about 53,648. The case for space & astronomy summer camp here is not that the area lacks camps — it is that most of them end without the child being able to explain what they made.

Ages 7-14 · For families · Illinois · Midwest

Space & Astronomy Summer Camp — Ellis Abel Learns STEM summer camp materials used in Wheaton, IL

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

Scale: how far is far
Build the rocket, predict the flight
Launch and measure the error
Orbits as ratio problems
Showcase: present the flight data

Wheaton, IL — what applies locally

Wheaton has a population of about 53,648.
State: Illinois · Region: Midwest

Questions we get from Wheaton, IL

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 Wheaton

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Space Camp elsewhere in Illinois

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