| Abstract |
Do you remember childhood dreams of being an astronomer, or the ravenous
desire for ever larger glass and better equipment as an amateur
astronomer? What if your child or the person down the street could live
that dream for a weekend or a week? The University of Arizona Astronomy
Camp continues to substantiate those dreams after more than two decades
in existence. Astronomy Camp is an immersion hands-on field experience
in astronomy, ranging from two to eight nights, occurring a few times
per year. Participants span an age range from elementary students to
octogenarians. The three basic offerings include adult camps, a
beginning Camp for teenagers, and an advanced teen Camp. Several
variants of the basic Camp model have evolved, including an ongoing
decade long series of specialized Camps for Girl Scout leaders from
across the country, funded by the NIRCam instrument development program
for the James Webb Space Telescope. The advanced teen Camp is a
microcosm of the entire research arc: the participants propose projects,
spend the week collecting and analyzing data using research grade CCDs,
infrared arrays, and radio/sub-millimeter telescopes, and finish with a
presentation of the results. This past summer the Camps moved to Kitt
Peak National Observatory for the first time, providing access to a vast
and diverse collection of research instruments, including the 0.9-meter
WIYN and 2.3-meter Bok telescopes, the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope,
and the 12-meter ARO radio telescope.
Education research into the Camp's impact indicates that reasons for its
appeal to youth include a learner-centered and personal approach with a
fun attitude toward learning, authentic scientific inquiry led by
mentors who are real scientists, a peer group with common interests in
science and engineering, and the emotional appeal of spending time on a
dark "sky island" devoted to the exploration of nature. |