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!

Scallywags, Stars and Science
June 20 - 24 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
You‘ll be starry-eyed when you explore the world of astronomy through pirates’ eyes! Make your own pirate ship and telescope and learn how pirates used the stars to navigate on the high seas. Play a navigation game, learn how to read pirate treasure maps, and create your own. Make a spiral galaxy and play the planetary distance game. Learn to use a sundial and make shadow art. Study the phases of the moon and create a moon catcher. Construct a pinhole planetarium and explore the many constellations of the night sky. CLOSED - call for availability

Human Grossology
June 27 – July 1 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Embark on a slimy, mushy, oozy, and stinky adventure as you explore the human body. Discover why the body functions the way it does. Practice using the proper medical terms for some really gross stuff. Learn about germs and why the body makes mucus. Make edible “Boogers on a Stick!” Investigate how the nose works and explore different smells with the “What’s That?” game. Participate in laboratory experiments with a microscope. Explore the impolite science of the human body, from pits to zits, with the new exhibit Human Grossology. Call for availability

Candy, Confections and Sundaes - Call for availability
July 5 – 8 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
(*4 day camp) $130 nonmembers/$120 members
Grab your sweet tooth and prepare for a smorgasbord of confections! Learn how some of your favorite candies are created and how you can protect your teeth from sweet treats! Explore the history of chocolate and how it is made. Make a sundae using liquid nitrogen! Create your own monster marshmallows and play some math candy games. Work in teams to develop and run an old-fashioned candy shop. Design your own candy and wrappers. Create an advertising campaign and “sell” your candy, using your play money skills, in the store you have created.

Whodunit?: Junior Detectives - SOLD OUT!
July 11 – 15 • 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. Whodunit? You decide!

Challenge Your Senses
July 18 -22 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Challenge yourself as you explore the five senses. Make your own instrument and play with sound. Map out your tongue when you discover where your taste buds for sweet and salty are located. Discover the three forms of water when you reach out and touch a cloud. Learn how your eye works, find out why two eyes are better than one, and discover if seeing is really believing when you view some optical illusions. Check out the power of the sun and light when you see the sun. Fine-tune your sense of touch when you work with textures and play some amazing games! Register on-line!

Astronaut Adventure: Junior Rocket Kids!
July 25– 29 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. - SOLD OUT!
Stomp, blow, fizz and explode your own rockets into space! Learn the mysteries of flight and make your best paper airplane to fly. Experience astronaut training when you exercise, eat and work in a simulated space environment. Get a taste of how cold it is in space when you sample Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream. Bring astronauts safely back to Earth when you participate in the Egg Drop Challenge. Take a tour of the moon, Mars and beyond with Space Quest, the Center’s space gallery, and join astronauts as they perform a spacewalk with the IMAX film Hubble 3D!

Scream Machines I - - SOLD OUT!
August 1 – 5 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Tap into your imagination to create crafty construction projects using simple and complex machines. Build a bridge with craft sticks, create a catapult, and participate in an egg drop contest. Learn about force and motion as you design and build an amusement park with your friends! Discover how some of your favorite theme park rides use simple machines and build your own ride. Watch machines make snow cones and cotton candy, and perform a taste test. Explore the science behind the thrills with the IMAX film Thrill Ride: The Science of Fun.

Radical Robots - SOLD OUT!
August 8 -12 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Meet some radical robots that do some extraordinary things! Explore the many uses of robots and the simple machines that make them work. Investigate the mechanics of robots, and then build a robotic hand to perform a task. Try robotic math using a Roamer-bot. Design your own robots that could colonize the moon. Work in teams to create a solar system mural. Using simple materials, build various types of rockets, your own jet pack and future spacecraft. Take a tour of the moon, Mars and beyond with Space Quest, the Center’s space gallery, and join astronauts as they perform a spacewalk with the IMAX film Hubble 3D! Register on-line!

Exploring with NASA I
August 15-19 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
What is NASA? What does NASA do? Discover the past, present and future of NASA, as you explore exhibits at the VASC and construct a model of a space vehicle. Explore extreme environments here on Earth and take a look at Titan one of Saturn's moons for chances it might have life. Compare the VASCs historical carousel to a Disk UFO when you ride it and find out how it works. Explore a variety of career opportunities available at NASA. Talk to NASA engineers and scientists to find out what they do and how they got where they are today. Register on-line!

Scallywags, Stars and Science
June 20 - 24 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Get star struck when you take an adventure on the high seas! Play some amazing pirate games, construct a sundial, learn to read treasure maps, and participate in a telescope scavenger hunt. Study the parts of a ship and discover how pirates navigated at sea. Make a pirate ship you and your mates can “navigate” by using the stars. Investigate why stars twinkle and study the lifecycle of stars. Learn about the constellations when you make your own stargazer. Create your own constellation and its legendary story. CLOSED - call for availability

Human Grossology
June 27 – July 1 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Embark on a slimy, mushy, oozy, and stinky adventure as you explore the human body. Explore the world of germs, what makes us sick, and what the body does to protect itself. Investigate how a stomach digests food, and how and why the stomach creates gas. Use experiments to determine whether foods are acids or alkalis. Investigate the slimy world of mucus, make your very own mucus to take home, and create edible “Boogers on a Stick.” Explore the circulatory system and make fake blood to learn how it works. Create Robotix Robots to clear a mock-up vein of pesky clots. Participate in laboratory experiments with a microscope. Practice using the proper medical terms for some really gross stuff. Explore the impolite science of the human body, from pits to zits, with the new exhibit Human Grossology. Call for availability.

Wacky Chemist - SOLD OUT!
July 5 – 8* • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
(4-day camp) - $130 non-members/$120 members
Is it magic or is it science? You decide when you become a wacky chemist! Create dew, frost, and snowflakes. Turn pennies into silver or gold. Erupt your own volcano. Experiment with floating magnets and make rice dance. Whip up some chemistry in the kitchen and gather the ingredients to make your own goop! Science has never been this fun!

CSI: Hampton - SOLD OUT!
July 11 – 15 • 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. Examine documents and bank checks to spot forgeries. Use chemistry to analyze and identify mystery powders, read writing on burned documents, and identify ink.

Nature of Sound
July 18 -22 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Discover the secret of sound. Understand how and why sound works and how it changes lives. Find out how elephants and whales communicate over long distances. Listen in on a HAM radio conversation and discover how we communicate with the International Space Station. Put your mind to the test and come up with your own idea for a musical instrument. Register on-line!

Astronaut Adventure: Rocket Kids! - SOLD OUT!
July 25 – 29 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Investigate forces, energy and flight to help you design and launch your own rockets. Experiment with balloons, water, rubber bands, straws and soda and see how they can propel your rockets into the air. Discover the mysteries of the moon and learn about the rockets that may take astronauts back. Get a taste of how cold it is in space when you try liquid nitrogen ice cream. Bring astronauts safely back to Earth when you participate in the egg drop challenge. Take a tour of the moon, Mars and beyond with Space Quest, the Center’s space gallery and join astronauts as they perform a spacewalk with the IMAX film Hubble 3D!

Scream Machines II - SOLD OUT!
August 1 – 5 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Hang onto your hat as you explore the wild world of thrill rides! Build newspaper structures and test them. Investigate various Rube Goldberg machines. Using simple machines, construct a Rube Goldberg project. Explore acceleration, gravity, and the forces that send roller coasters racing around breathtaking turns. Design and build your own daring roller coaster. Create and launch stomp rockets, and compete for distance. Explore the science behind the thrills with the IMAX film Thrill Ride: The Science of Fun.

Astronaut Adventure: Robot Mission
August 8 -12 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Embark on an adventure into the world of robotics! Learn which simple machines make a robot work. Investigate how robots are used to explore space, including upcoming Mars missions. Use end effectors to load a shuttle cargo bay. Build and test a Mars rover. Build your own non-powered robot and play robot soccer. Program and play with working robots. Take a tour of the moon, Mars and beyond with Space Quest, the Center’s space gallery, and join astronauts as they perform a spacewalk with the IMAX film Hubble 3D! Register on-line!

Exploring with NASA II
August 15-19 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
What is NASA? What does NASA do? Discover the past, present and future of NASA, as you explore exhibits at the VASC and construct a model of the International Space Station . Learn about the discovery of water on the moon, and microbes that thrive on arsenic. Follow the history of smash science. Design, build and experiment with your own Smash Probe. Experiment with various impactors as you create craters on a model lunar surface. Explore a variety of career opportunities available at NASA. Talk to NASA engineers and scientists to find out what they do and how they got where they are today. Register on-line!

Scallywag Science
June 20 - 24 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Become a master navigator when you learn how pirates navigated the high seas using the stars. Investigate celestial navigation’s use of the astrolabe and sextant. Learn how pirates determined speed and used charts, and find out what “dead reckoning” means. Learn some pirate facts and myths. Practice using a compass, play navigation games, and read and create treasure maps. Play the planetary distance game and learn about the Earth’s rotation and orbit. Experiment with shadows and participate in a telescope scavenger hunt. Make your own moonscape with craters. Map the stars and learn the myths behind constellations. CLOSED - call for availability

Human Grossology
June 27 – July 1 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Embark on a slimy, mushy, oozy, and stinky adventure as you explore the human body. Investigate the digestive system and make “Edible Barf.” Perform an experiment to understand how and why the stomach creates gas, and participate in a team-burping contest! Explore the slimy world of mucus, germs and sneezing and make your very own mucus to take home. Explore the circulatory system and make fake blood to learn how it works. Create Robotix Robots to clear a mock-up vein of pesky clots. Participate in laboratory experiments with a microscope. Practice using the proper medical terms for some really gross stuff. Play some gross games and understand how wounds heal when you make a fake scar. Explore the impolite science of the human body, from pits to zits, with the new exhibit Human Grossology.Call for availability.

Magic of Chemistry - Call for availability
July 5 – 8 * • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
(4-day camp) $130 non-members/$120 members
Become a mad scientist and learn the magic of chemistry! Discover a substance that can soak up 600 times its weight in water and use your knowledge to perform magic tricks. Find simple items that can serve as invisible ink, and write secret notes to your friends. Experiment with dry ice and liquid nitrogen to discover properties of matter and the effects of super cold temperatures. Learn about the properties of plastics and make your own polymers. Explore chemistry as it affects the human body with the new exhibit Human Grossology.

CSI: Forensics Lab - SOLD OUT!
July 11 – 15 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Become a crime scene investigator when you learn the ins and outs of a Forensics Lab. Process and analyze lip prints, fingerprints, shoeprints, tool and dental impressions, glass fractures, hair, cloth, and paper fibers. Examine documents and bank checks to spot forgeries. Use chemistry to analyze and identify mystery powders, writing on burned documents, and ink and blood left at a crime scene. Learn to identify missing people through their tibia, fibula, and humerus bones and how blood spatter patterns can be used in criminal investigations.

Space Sport Challenge
July 18 -22 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Ever wonder how high you could jump on another planet? What would it be like to play baseball on the moon? Discover what it takes to play sports on other planets and at the bottom of the ocean. Meet the challenge of making your own sports equipment to make it possible to play baseball on Mars. Design a new sport that could be played in a zero gravity environment, and play the Weightlessness Race and Black Hole games. Register on-line!

Astronaut Adventure: Blast Off!
July 25 – 29 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Get ready for an astronaut adventure! Discover what it takes to be an astronaut when you train for a lunar mission. Try a variety of astronaut training exercises to prepare you for a space mission. Create a “cold comet” and make a lunar walker. Work as a team to construct a robotic arm to help you with a simulated space mission and play the “Docking in Space” game. Test launch paper, balloon and bottle rockets. Experiment with the super-cold of space with liquid nitrogen. Compete in a rocketeer contest when you build and launch a solid fuel high-performance rocket. Take a tour of the moon, Mars and beyond with Space Quest, the Center’s space gallery and join astronauts as they perform a spacewalk with the IMAX film Hubble 3D! Register on-line!

Scream Machines III - - SOLD OUT!
August 1 – 5 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Soar into summer when you explore aviation and the science of speed. Experiment with lift, thrust, gravity and drag. Examine the Bernoulli principle, air pressure and air resistance while designing, building, and testing your own airplanes. Build newspaper structures and test them. Using simple machines construct a Rube Goldberg project. Explore the physics and forces that send roller coasters rocketing around twisting turns, then design and build your own daring roller coaster. Create and launch stomp rockets and compete for distance. Explore the science behind the thrills with the IMAX film Thrill Ride: The Science of Fun.

Astronaut Adventure: Robo-Power - SOLD OUT!
August 8 -12 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Are you ready for a radical adventure in the world of robotics? Investigate the history of robotics and how robots are used to explore space, including on-going Mars missions. Experiment with Mars rovers to complete tasks on the Red Planet’s surface. Program robots to perform a variety of tasks and build edible robot arms to compete in team challenges. Use LEGO’s Mindstorms to navigate an obstacle course that you and your team create. Join astronauts as they perform a spacewalk with the IMAX film Hubble 3D!

Exploring with NASA III
August 15-19 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
What is NASA? What does NASA do? Discover the past, present and future of NASA, as you explore exhibits at the VASC and construct your own space suit. Learn about the discovery of water on the moon, and microbes that thrive on arsenic and other extreme environments. Follow the history of smash science. Design, build and experiment with your own Smash Probe. Design your own egg drop vehicle and launch it from our balcony to see if your Eggstanaut survives. Experiment with various impactors as you create craters on a model lunar surface. Explore a variety of career opportunities available at NASA. Talk to NASA engineers and scientists to find out what they do and how they got where they are today. Register on-line!

Scallywag Science
June 20 – 24• Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Delve into the heart of a pirate when you research how pirates navigated their way around the world. Find out how Jack Sparrow’s compass works. Explore the myths and legends of piracy. Meet Blackbeard’s crew and learn some real, sea-going pirate skills. Investigate the chemistry behind the Fountain of Youth. Spend the night at the Virginia Air & Space Center to explore the night sky just like early sailors and experience Pirates of the Caribbean: on Stranger Tides in digital IMAX. CLOSED - call for availability

Living in Space
June 27 – July 1 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Explore the possibilities and challenges of living in space. Examine what it takes for a planet to sustain life. Explore the history of space food from the first Apollo mission to living on the International Space Station. Research and create new ways that we could grow and manufacture food in space for future missions. Make and use your own NASA Glove Box to practice working in space. Travel to the moon, Mars and beyond with Space Quest, an interactive space gallery. Call for availability.

Spatial Cadets - Call for availability
July 5 – 8 (*4-day camp) • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
$140 non-members/$130 members
Explore the many simulators at the VASC and test your skill at landing a mission on Mars while you a part of a team challenge using the Mars Lunar Lander Simulator. Immerse yourself in the world of technology and learn how Modeling and Simulation (MODSIM) are used in the world of science and engineering. Create your own visualizations and examine Earth as NASA does using Satellite Imagery, GPS units, Google Earth, GIS and other geospatial software.

CSI: Forensic Science
July 11 – 15 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. - SOLD OUT!
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 finger prints, explore splatter patterns and test other clues. soil samples when you make your own Earth, Mars and Moon Regolith slides. Learn what it takes to keep Langley NASA Research Center safe. Design a bomb disposal robot and test it against others in a race.

Aerospace Engineering Challenge
July 18 -22 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Step into the future to find out what space flight technologies are being developed by NASA. Research the physics of flight, both past and present. Take this aerospace engineering challenge as you research and create your own reentry vehicle. Explore the science behind parachutes and inflatable air bags. Use examples of different vehicles at the Virginia Air & Space Center as inspiration for your new creations. Test your reentry vehicle or design when you drop it from the observation deck. Register on-line!

Story Boards to Cartoons - SOLD OUT!
July 25 – 29 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Join us for an exploration of animation. Early man communicated stories and history through cave paintings and pictographs. Make you own aboriginal art as you learn and understand their language. Decipher the cave paintings in France and early rock art from Australia to Ireland. Design your own story board that tells a folk tale. Come up with your own ancient art and animate it when you make a flip book. Explore early cartoons from Steam Boat Willie to film posters and product boxes. Design your own film poster and product art. Learn to tell a story or get a thought across with both moving and static art using a story board. Learn the art of digital animation when you take a trip through NASA animations. Register on-line!

G-Force - SOLD OUT!
August 1 – 5 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Pull some G’s as you experience force and motion in action! Explore the effects of micro-gravity on living and non-living things. Develop an understanding of g-forces as you build a Rube Goldberg device. Discover the physics and physiology of motion as you ride the Max Flight simulator. Learn first-hand from a pilot what g-forces feel like and how they can affect the human body. Follow the progression of rockets from simple satellite payload to heavy lift rockets. Build and launch paper, balloon and bottle rockets. Experiment with g-forces when you construct a roller coaster.

Rover-Power
August 8 -12 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Explore the history of deep space exploration from Voyager to the New Horizons spacecraft, scheduled to reach Pluto in 2015. Celebrate the Year of the Solar System as you track various missions and build models of spacecraft. Learn the difference between a probe, lander and rover, and discover how water, wind and solar energy are used as power sources. Work in a team to design, build and program a moon rover with the VEX and LEGO Mindstorms robots. Discover what’s new in rover science with Curiosity, the newest Mars rover scheduled to launch in fall 2011, and learn the challenges of successfully landing a rover on Mars. Register on-line!

Exploring NASA IV
August 15 – 19 • Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
What is NASA? What does NASA do? Discover the past, present and future of NASA, as you explore exhibits at the Virginia Air & Space Center and construct a model of the International Space Station. Learn about the discovery of water on the moon, and microbes that thrive on arsenic. Examine particles returned from space and make an icy comet. Follow the history of smash science. Design, build and experiment with your own Smash Probe. Experiment with various impactors as you create craters on a model lunar surface. Explore a variety of career opportunities available at NASA. Talk to NASA engineers and scientists to find out what they do and how they got where they are today. Meet Robonaut 2 and discover how he is adjusting to life aboard the ISS. Build your own robotic assistant using the VEX robot. Register on-line!