PARI Summer STEM and Space Exploration Camps

When you look up at night and see a field of twinkling lights or the bright crescent of the Moon, what is it you think of?  Maybe you wonder what makes the stars burn and how they came to be, or what planets might orbit them and the worlds they hold.  Perhaps you see patterns that tell a story or point the way to a place beyond the horizon.  Or, do they instill in you a sense of adventure and desire to explore? 
 
Space is a frontier that sparks imagination and curiosity to discover and understand.  It invokes the same spirit that drove ancient peoples to sail into the unknown and pioneers to set out across continents.  To reach into space requires tenacity and grit, bringing together people from diverse backgrounds who’ve studied, experimented, and pushed humanity’s abilities forward again and again.   
 
The summer of 2023 will begin PARI’s twenty-second summer camp season.  It brings camp programs where campers explore the ways that researchers delve the depths of our universe to make new discoveries, and the challenges that humans face when leaving the Earth to explore the Moon, Mars, and beyond.   
 
It is also the second summer of our new partnership with Clemson University.  This collaboration expands our ability to inspire with new topics and resources and will reach even more campers who will become the next generation of scientists and explorers.  

Exoplanet Exploration
This immersive journey amidst our historic campus, simulates the processes that NASA and aerospace companies use to go to outer space.Campers will prioritize mission goals, design space craft and instruments, choose a capable and diverse crew, and navigate funding and ethical challenges in this scenario to choose their planet and launch their Exoplanet Exploration.
Dates: 6/11/2023  - 6/22/2023
Ages: Grades 8th - 12th

 Secrets of a Spy Station
Campers will explore the origins of codes and ciphers and how they have evolved from written messages to complex digital encryption methods in use today. They will learn how to recreate these techniques themselves and crack the messages sent by their fellow cryptographers, all while reinforcing skills in math, language, and pattern recognition.From messages based on playing with words and numbers, to hiding information in plain sight in images and everyday objects, you’d never suspect all the ways cryptography is used all around us. Campers will leave with an understanding of the principles that drive the world and keep our data safe.
Dates: 6/25/2023  - 6/30/2023
Ages: Grades 6th - 8th

 Above & Beyond
Above and Beyond is PARI’s signature camping experience designed to immerse high school students in the world of space science and research while building confidence and critical thinking skills.
Originally developed in partnership with Duke University and refined for nearly two decades, this space camp explores the universe through astronomy, physics, and astrobiology, while also providing time for adventure and fun.
The process followed by scientists and researchers who’ve made space science their career is modeled to show how new discoveries are made about the universe. Campers are provided the tools and guided through the process by professionals who have made space their life’s work.
From determining the expansion speed of a super-nova remnant, to characterizing an exo-planet or finding evidence of dark matter; your data will reveal and your conclusions will add to humanity’s knowledge of the universe!
Dates: 7/02/2023 - 7/13/2023 
Ages: Grades 9th - 12th                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Milky Way Trailblazers is a two week research experience for high school aged campers.
Campers will learn to use a radio telescope to find the composition of a region of the Milky Way and measure the speed it is rotating and moving. They will combine the observations and conclusions made by their team with other teams to form a larger understanding of the galaxy we call home.
Using a radio telescope to measure regions of space doesn’t create pictures like we see with an optical telescope. The methods to turn the data collected into a map that can guide our way require creativity and hard work. Will the results look the same, or different, than what we see through an optical telescope?
Radio isn’t just used for observing space either. Communicating with satellites is a big role that large dishes like the ones at PARI play in human space exploration. Campers will investigate and report on the methods, both historical and contemporary, that are used to accomplish this, and the people who figured out how to do it.
Dates: 7/16/2023  - 7/27/2023 

Camp Focus

All Activities

Exoplanet Exploration
June 11th - June 22nd 
 
 Secrets of a Spy Station 
June 25th - June 30th  
 
 Above & Beyond:
July 2nd - July 13th 
 
Milky Way Trailblazers:
July 16th - July 27th  

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