Blast off to summer fun!
With the fascinating backdrop of space, could summer camp get any cooler?
The Aldrin Family Foundation’s Rockets & Rovers Summer Camp™ is a multi-week camp for middle school students in your community. During the camp, students grades 6 through 8 engage in project-based learning to strengthen their STEAM content knowledge and career readiness skills.
Rockets & Rovers Summer Camp™ provides students opportunities to engineer and launch their own rockets, code and operate a model robotic spacecraft, build a simple satellite, and explore what life would be like living on the Moon.
Rockets & Rovers Summer Camp supports students’ academic and career development in STEM
83%
of students believe they learned about future job or career ideas during Rockets & Rovers Summer Camp
75%
of students feel more confident in STEM after participating in Rockets & Rovers Summer Camp
100%
fun and engaging summer camp experience through the joy and excitement of space!
Our Summer Camp Units
Select from our fun, hands-on, and engaging STEM units for your summer camp: ROCKETS, ROVERS, SATELLITE, and ON THE MOON.
Our turn-key summer camp includes all materials, curriculum, and professional development for streamlined implementation in your community or school district. To inquire, please contact info@aldrinfoundation.org.
Rockets
Students engage in the engineering design process to design, build, and launch water rockets. Launch procedures model real rocket launch mission control to develop students’ teamwork and collaboration skills. Students will collect and analyze launch data to practice mathematical skills. Each rocket build culminates with a challenge design and launch competition.
Time required: 2 hours per day, 4 days per week
Key skills: Engineering, mathematics, problem-solving, communication and collaboration, kinesthetic
Rovers
Students build, code, and operate a robotic model spacecraft. In this unit, students will learn how to build and operate a LEGO® Education Spike™ Prime robot through a series of challenges that model how space experts explore our solar system. Each rover build follows a storyline from future lunar missions using AFF’s signature Giant Moon Map™.
Time required: 2 hours per day, 4 days per week
Key Skills: Coding, space science, problem-solving, communication and collaboration, kinesthetic
Satellite
Students learn the basic science and electronics of a small satellite. The thrill of space exploration provides an immersive backdrop as students learn how to solder and test real hardware, compete in engineering competitions, and launch a real mini-satellite on a helium balloon. We are proud to partner with Twiggs Space Lab, founded by CubeSat co-inventor Bob Twiggs, for this summer camp unit.
Time required: 3 hours per day, 4 days per week for 3 weeks
Key Skills: Laboratory safety, space science, physical science, engineering, data analysis, collaboration, kinesthetic
On the Moon
Students explore what it would take to live and work on the Moon. In this unit, student teams will design and build a model of an outpost on the Moon while considering the constraints of the lunar environment, space settlement philosophy, and long-term sustainability. At the end of the unit, teams will present their proposed lunar outpost plans and models and engage in scientific argumentation to decide which team’s project represents the best ideation.
Time required: 1 hour per day, 4 days per week
Key Skills: Critical and creative thinking, space science, life science, nature of science, scientific argumentation, art and design, teamwork, presentation, kinesthetic
FAQ
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Most schools elect to run the camp for three to four weeks, with four days per week and 6-8 hours per day.
We have successfully provided camps as short as two weeks and even one week, and will work with your school district to help determine which length of time works best for you and your students.
Please note that the Satellite unit requires 36 hours to complete (typically three hours per day, four days per week, for three weeks).
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All components of our camp are turn-key and ready to use in the classroom. We provide all of the materials and curriculum — you just need to provide the instructors and facilities, and recruit the students!
Our team is available throughout the camp to support the instructors with whatever they need, and we also include a professional development day for the teachers prior to the camp.
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School districts are welcome to inquire about Rockets & Rovers Summer Camp™ throughout the year.
Because our camp includes an outdoor component, we recommend to plan for a June camp because of cooler temperatures (compared to July or August).
Major discussions planning typically begin around January or February and teacher professional development typically occurs in May.
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We have designed our camps to be affordable and easy-to-implement for schools and school districts. Pricing depends on the length of the camp, the units selected, and number of students.
Many public school districts use state funds to cover the cost of camp, but some schools may elect to ask for a tuition fee from registered students.
As a non-profit organization, all revenue from our camps goes right back into supporting our incredible education programs. Please contact us with your vision for camp and will be happy to provide a pricing breakdown for you.
