Get ready to blast off with
Summer Science Camps!

From outer space to the wild blue yonder, super summer science camps
at the Virginia Air & Space Center means stellar summer fun! These educational science camps inspire young minds to pursue careers in the sciences and
offer them hands-on experiences and lots of new friends!

Fantastical Fairy Tales I
June 18 - 22• Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Explore fairy tales from Hampton to around the world as different storytellers share fairy tales. Build a castle, explore dragon DNA, and brew a potion with some witches. Follow the “bread crumb” trail on an adventure throughout the museum. Discover the ways real plants and animals are used in fairy tales and magic. Enjoy a ride on our historic carousel. CALL FOR AVAILABILITY


Flight Training I
June 25 - 29• Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Do you have what it takes to be a pilot? Earn your pilot’s wings as you explore the world of flight. Compare kites, balloons, helicopters, and more as you discover the different ways people reach for the clouds. Discover what we can learn from our flying animal friends. What goes up most come down! Explore the forces that try to keep our feet on the ground. CALL FOR AVAILABILITY

Pyrotechnics 101
July 2– 6• Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
(*4 day camp) $130 nonmembers/$120 members
Explore the wonders of nature’s own light show when you learn all about the Northern Lights. Make your own Northern Light art to light up your wall. Take a good look at the Sun, the largest firework in our galaxy. Design your own Sun and then take a step back in time to discover the origins of Fireworks. CLOSED

A Powder Monkey's Primer
July 9– 13 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Discover life on board a pirate ship for the youngest members of the crew. Learn the secrets of navigating the narrow ways inside a ship by designing and navigating through your own Powder Monkey obstacle course. Make your own Snap Sack to hold your booty. Design your own pirate boat and sail it in our pool. Meet a navigator and learn to navigate the high seas. Spend time with Blackbeard’s crew as they teach you about the tools of the trade, how to tie knots and make Baggie Wrinkle, and play games from the past. Register on-line!

Power Up
July 16 -20• Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
What makes a hero? What about a superhero? Explore the world of superheroes and find out if you have what it takes to be a hero. Create a superhero and a world your hero can call their own. Find the superhero most like you. Use your own heroic powers to solve a mystery. Register on-line!

Puppet Masters I
July 23– 27 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Learn about some famous puppets and puppeteers. Make your own finger puppets, shadow puppets, sock puppets and more. Design and build your own puppet theater. Work in teams to put on a puppet show. Register on-line!

Mission to Mars I
July 30 - August 3 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Prepare for the Mars landing by discovering the mysteries of Mars. From rocket launch to landing, explore the work NASA scientists must do to prepare for their goal to get to Mars. What would people need to survive on Mars? Create your own Mars environment to explore. Imagine the ways in which life on Mars would be different. Create your own Mars Rover and explore how the Rover moves. CLOSED

Speed Racer I
August 6 -10 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
How fast can you go? Explore the world of speed. How do the fastest animals maintain their speed? Design a car and see how fast it can travel. Launch your own rocket and observe the propulsion needed to travel up into space. Compare racecars, rockets, and airplanes to one another. What makes these vehicles move so quickly? How can we make them move faster safely? Call for availability

Crime Scene Investigator I
August 13 -17 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Put your nose to the ground and earn your Junior Detective certificate after solving a number of mysteries, including the Case of the Missing Mars Rover. Working with your team of detectives, photograph mock crime scenes, gather evidence, and assemble a list of suspects. Learn techniques to collect, process, and analyze fingerprints, shoe prints, and trace evidence. Register on-line!

Fantastical Fairy Tales II
June 18 - 22• Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Explore fairy tales from Hampton and around the world as different storytellers share fairy tales. Create a castle, explore dragon DNA, and brew a potion worthy of witches. Follow the “bread crumb” trail on an adventure throughout the museum while avoiding the magical villains. Discover the ways real plants and animals are used in fairy tales and magic. Travel through the world of mythical beasts and discuss what it would take for them to be alive. Decide if a mystery substance could keep them alive. CALL FOR AVAILABILITY

Flight Training II
June 25 - 29 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Do you have what it takes to be a pilot? Earn your pilot’s wings as you explore the world of flight. Compare kites, balloons, helicopters, and more as we discover the ways people reach for the clouds. Discover the four principles of flight and apply them to your creations. Practice controlling roll, pitch, and yaw. Explore the world of flying animals. CALL FOR AVAILABILITY

Pyrotechnics 102
July 2 – 6* • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
(*4 day camp) $130 nonmembers/$120 members
Discover how we got to the moon and the role fireworks have played in the history of space travel. Start back in the 800’s with the Chinese when you learn about bamboo and how to make a popper out of it. Take a look at rockets and make your own balloon rockets. Transport Starburst payloads across the center. Make your own water rocket to launch at Carousel Park. Explore the history of gun powder and discover, with a pirate, how early weapons and cannons were used. CLOSED

Navigator's Mate
July 9 – 13 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Discover how the 1800’s mariners navigated the sea. Compare the differences and similarities between navigating the seas and navigating the stars. Learn how to safely look at the Sun and how it is used for navigation. Build your own navigation supplies, and make a Mariner’s bag to store them. Spend time with members of Blackbeard's crew when you explore the world of 1800 tactics, games, seamanship and more. Register on-line!

Amazing Adventures of Superheroes
July 16 - 20 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
What makes a hero? Explore the world of superheroes and the stories that inspired them. No hero acts alone. Discover some of the sidekicks and helpers superheroes need to defeat the villains. Create a heroic duo to save the day and solve a mystery. Find the superhero most like you while discovering if you have what it takes to be a hero. Match superheroes to their alter egos, and decide what items you can use to hide your heroic identity. Register on-line!

Puppet Masters II
July 23 – 27 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Investigate some famous puppets and puppeteers. Learn the history and origins of puppetry. Make your own finger puppets and hand puppets, and create stories for them. Learn how to make hand shadows from a 150 year old book. Build a theater for your puppets and put on your own puppet show. Register on-line!

Mission to Mars II
July 30 - August 3 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Prepare for the Mars landing by discovering the mysteries of Mars. From rocket launch to landing, explore the work NASA scientists must do to prepare for their goal to get to Mars. What would people need to survive on Mars? Create a biosphere to discover what life requires and design a colony on Mars. Create your own Mars Rover and explore how the Rover moves. Compare Earth and Mars as we discover the role of magnets and atmosphere on Earth, and how weather would differ on another planet. Call for Availability

Speed Racer II
August 6 -10 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
How fast can you go? Explore the world of speed. What animals travel the fastest, and how do they do it? Design a car and test its speed. Launch your own rocket and observe the propulsion needed to travel up into space. Discover some of the ways NASA science has changed life outside the realm of space travel. Racecars, rockets, and airplanes…what makes these vehicles move so quickly? How can we make them move faster safely? CLOSED

Crime Scene Investigator II
August 13 -17 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes in a CSI laboratory? Become a crime scene investigator when you solve several mock crimes and catch crooks. Investigate what is left at the scene of a crime when you process and analyze lip prints, fingerprints, shoeprints, voice prints, tool and dental impressions, glass fractures, hair specimens, and fibers. Use chemistry to analyze and identify mystery powders and ink. Register on-line!

Girls DO Science **
August 20 -24 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Become part of a NASA project when you participate in the S'COOL program. Discover the process of fossilization, and perform a fossil hunt with dirt that is millions of years old. Learn the differences between physical and chemical changes, and make liquid nitrogen ice-cream. Discover outer space, and learn what it takes to live on the moon. Learn how robots are used to make our lives easier and program your robot to perform a simple task. Register on-line!

Castle Contraptions
June 18 - 22 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Design and build your own castle, then defend it against the evil villains of fantasy. Create and build your own physical defenses such as the catapult. Explore the magical defenses of Merlin and Gandalf. Investigate the science behind castle design, medieval weaponry, and potions.
CALL FOR AVAILABILITY

Aviation Exploration I
June 25 – 29 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Take to the skies as you discover the principles of flight. Take part in experiments to determine what makes planes fly, balloons float, and rockets soar. Build and launch an air-powered rocket. Use what you have learned to design and test your own flying machine with techniques used by NASA engineers.CALL FOR AVAILABILITY

Pyrotechnics 201
July 2– 6• Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
(*4 day camp) $130 nonmembers/$120 members
Step into the world of friction and fire. Discover how the atmosphere turns to heated plasma and how we protect our space vehicles from it. Take a look at the different ways we send vehicles to space from NASA, Virgin Galactic, and Space X. Discover what plasma is here on Earth, how we use it, and what produces it in nature. Find out the source of gunpowder and how gunpowder has changed the history of man from exploration and protection to celebration. CLOSED

Bosen's Mate
July 9– 13 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Learn the difference between line and rope on a ship. Make your own line, learn to spice line and tie different knots. Make your own Monkey's Fist and play a game. Find out what Baggie Wrinkle is and what it is used for when you help to make Baggie Wrinkle for the pirate ship Luna. Then make your own Baggie Wrinkle bag. Spend time with Blackbeard's crew and learn from the pirates as to why rope is important. Register on-line!

Movie Magic
July 16 - 20 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Ever wondered how special effects worked in movies? Explore the magic of movie make-up and set design while investigating the science behind special effects. Go behind the scenes at the NASA Digital Learning Network film studio. Create designs and effects for your own movie skit. CLOSED

Grimm's Gizmos
June 18 – 22 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Travel the world of Brothers Grimm and explore the science behind the fairytales. Create your own fairytale complete with a Hero and a Villain. Learn the technology of the magician when you give your characters special abilities and powers. Use technology and science to bring them to life. Use a story board to plot out your own story. Bring your characters to life when you experiment with different ways to make them fly, jump, climb, and disappear.
CALL FOR AVAILABILITY

Aviation Exploration II
June 25 - 29 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Learn the history of aviation…it started long before the Wright brothers. Build models and experiment with the four forces of flight. Learn the anatomy of an airplane. Learn about Bernoulli and his principles when you explore floating ping pong balls, rising trash bags and wing designs. Figure out how a jet engine works. Find out what the newest designs are for a space plane and curling plane wings. CALL FOR AVAILABILITY

Pyrotechnics 202
July 2– 6• Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
(*4 day camp) $140 nonmembers/$130 members
Discover how we use fire, from myths to theories and facts. Learn all about the Ancient Greeks who discovered fire, the Egyptians who used fire to light their deepest and darkest hall ways, to the first lamps. Make a story board timeline of fire. Create a clay and oil lamp. Discover how ancient mariners used fire to light their way and to communicate. Figure out how signal fires work, and why, sometimes, fire is a good thing. Find out the secret to fireworks and cannons. CLOSED

Honest Seaman
July 9 – 13 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Learn how honest seamen become pirates when you learn all about the history of piracy. Spend time with a navigator, a seaman, a Bosen, the Constable, and others from Blackbeard’s crew. As you learn to become a pirate, earn your letter of Mark. Make a Seaman's box, and start to fill it with knot work, Baggie Wrinkle, navigation tools, and more. Register on-line!

FX 2
July 16 - 20 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Explore the science behind the special effects in movies. Design your own special effects while investigating movie make-up and set design. Go behind the scenes at the NASA Digital Learning Network film studio. Direct and film your own short skit with your own special effects. CLOSED

Spatial Cadets
July 23 – 27 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Examine Earth and Mars through the 'Eyes' of NASA satellites by using real-time data, satellite imagery, GPS units, Google Earth/Mars, and other geospatial software. Test your skills at landing a mission on Mars using the Mars/Lunar Lander Simulator. Discover hazardous weather lurking on Mars and see how it compares to conditions we experience on Earth. Get your hands dirty as you dig into investigations similar to the ones Curiosity will be doing on the Red Planet. Explore the Earth and Mars as rovers do, in anticipation of the landing of NASA's newest rover, Curiosity. Register on-line

Exploration Mars: Where's the Water?
July 30 - August 3 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Take a step on to Mars. Discover why and how Mars is losing its atmosphere. Explore Mars’ magnetic field, and relate it to the importance of water on Mars. Experiment with water as an element, and find out its different states of matter. Learn how important water is to the spread of civilization on Earth, and to the stars. Look in to space and compare Mars to other planets in other systems. Call for availability

Speed Racer IV
August 6 -10 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Take a step into the world of jet cars and compare car engines to rocket engines. Examine the first rocket and find out the secrets of the Redstone rocket. Experiment with different propulsion systems from air to water when you make and test your own rockets. Discover how NASA is helping race cars with technology from rockets, and experiment with different systems to maximize speed and cut down on friction. Design your own race car, from the drawing board to the test track. Register on-line!

Forensic Science
August 13– 17 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Become a crime scene investigator when you attempt to solve a mock-murder at the Virginia Air & Space Center. Examine evidence and learn forensic techniques when you take fingerprints, explore splatter patterns, and test other clues. Collect soil samples when you make your own Earth, Mars, and Moon Regolith slides. Learn what it takes to keep NASA Langley Research Center safe. Design a bomb disposal robot and test it against others in a race.
Call for Availability