The open house was held on July 19, the last day of this year’s camp. The event was held as a celebration of the students and the learning they experienced over the week.

“We invite families and sponsors to attend with their camper, who shows off their work from the week, rockets, Galileoscopes, spectrograph, and their summary of their researched dark sky object,” Mary Plumb, Director of Technology and STEM at Falconer Central School said. “It is important that the campers feel a sense of pride in what they have learned and accomplished, and the open house gives them a chance to do so.”

She added that it is also a great opportunity for more people to see what the Observatory offers and to showcase the structures in place in the local community that support youth development. Tom Traub, outreach coordinator for Marshal Martz Memorial Astronomical Association, Inc. and Vice-President of the Board of Directors said that the open house gave the students the opportunity to show all of the work they have done throughout the week, adding that it also allows for an appreciation of the people that work in the background of the camp as well.

Both Plumb and Traub reported only good things from the open house.

Camp participants work with their rovers.

“It was a fantastic event,” Traub said. “Because we can’t depend on the weather, we had the Observatory open for families and students at the Space STEM camp all week and had multiple families touring the Observatory and looking through the telescopes.”

Traub said they were able to do this in multiple groups throughout the day and that he had heard no negative reports about the open house.

Plumb said that while the open house wrapped up the week, the students involved in the camp were very busy every day. Monday included welcoming activities and an introduction to the importance of patterns and the electromagnetic spectrum. Campers also prepped for Tuesday’s visit to the Challenger Learning Center in Allegany, where they built a Mars Rover and completed a simulated Mars mission. Wednesday was the day to build their own Galileoscopes, which are telescopes using the techniques of Galileo, and to get a preview tour of the night sky in the planetarium. During the day Wednesday and Thursday, campers worked with and listened to a presentation by Dr. Alexandra Yep, a poet turned astronomer and an Assistant Professor and Observatory Director at Agnes Scott College in Georgia. Yep’s presentation focused on how scientists learn about stars, and is available on the Observatory website.

Thursday included building rockets, learning about Contamination, Microbiology, Nutrition and Physiology in space, along with a conversation with former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, Dr. John Plumb, who spoke about the importance of international cooperation and consideration of national defense in developing policies around the use of space. At the Observatory, students experimented with lasers and mirrors, identified gasses by their spectrometry and programmed the telescope to take photos of the dark sky object they had chosen to research. Friday was spent outside, with a rocket launch, which Plumb said had a 100% successful launch rate, and experimentation with Dr. Nowling’s “Whisper-ma-phone,” which teaches students about the focus and directrix of a parabolic lens. Throughout the week, families also traveled to the Observatory for nighttime observations.

Plumb and Traub are two of the people that are in charge of and help run the camp, with the help of many others. Plumb is the director of the camp and Traub is in charge of the education outreach committee, which has a mission to focus on space education. The camp is put on by a collaboration of many people from the Observatory and others in educational organizations, including Falconer Central School and Jamestown Community College.

Students participating in the Space STEM camp work with the Observatory’s telescope.

Traub said many students have expressed that they would like to return again next year. He said the camp was not filled this year, and added that it is an opportunity for students to learn not only about space science but also different areas of STEM.

“We want to pique students’ interest in these areas because we are looking to go back to the moon, and we are looking to travel to Mars,” Traub said. “There are many different people behind doing that who design the equipment and technology. These students are the future and we want them to be able to explore and be behind new products and designs that enhance humanity.”

Plumb added to that, saying that the camp is an “incredible opportunity” for local youth.

“It combines the best space-focused resources in our region and allows students to really engage in science and astronomy for the week,” she said. “We hope the main interest in Space STEM Camp is curiosity about the amazing things we can learn and understand about all things space. On a more tangible level, the impact and potential of the space industry and space economy is wide-ranging and growing, and presents incredible opportunities for students interested in the STEM fields.”

Both Plumb and Traub thanked those involved with this year’s camp, including the parents who got their kids there. The camp has been opened to a wider range of kids in Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, and Warren counties.

“MKO and Falconer Central Schools intend to continue this camp as long as possible, and doing so requires support from our community in sponsorship, donations and volunteer efforts,” Plumb said. “We are very grateful for the support we have received. Our goal is to provide a high quality, academic and entertaining week that sparks curiosity and interest in Space and the STEM fields, while keeping the cost low to help ensure any student who wants to participate is able to do so.”

The Martz-Kohl Observatory’s Space STEM camp is open for students going into grades seven through nine, held annually during the third week of July. Registration will open for next year in April, and will be available on the Observatory’s website.