My Adventures at Astrocamp

Photo by Ms. Harper

A few days ago, I went to Astrocamp, a camp located in the gorgeous green forests of Idyllwild. Those three days were probably the best ones I've had during camp.  We did so much like rock climbing, experimenting with gasses, swimming, making and launching rockets, and hanging out with friends. It was great to have some of my teachers, Mrs Bostrom and Mrs Duncan, as chaperons for the trip. They did a wonderful job organizing and making sure we had a great experience.

It was a long and gruesome drive that took 3 and half hours to get there. Luckily we were on a comfortable bus meant for traveling longer distances.

My cabin mates and I

When we arrived to camp, we had two afternoon classes that including rock climbing and swimming.  Rock climbing was a lot of fun, and even though some places on the rock wall were complicated to get by, I was able to make it to the top of the medium wall. In the pool, we were experiencing micro gravity.  This is how astronauts are trained before they go into space.  We couldn't touch the ground in the pool, but we had to build a cube while floating.  It was difficult to communicate with classmates as their was a no talking rule in the pool to simulate the environment in space.  Instead, we developed signs and signals for communication.  That night, I saw a beautiful deer family.  Their were two fawns and 4 adult, skinny, long legged deer.  After seeing a lot of people, they raced off into the dark, cold night.

The next morning, we experimented with gasses.  We put  a gas into two balloons and then lit them on fire.  We got a beautiful ring of fire, but unfortunately, it was so fast that I didn't get a chance to take a picture.

My Rocket, Speedy, also known as miniature Sputnik
Photo by Ms. Dickinson

We also made and launched rockets which was the  highlight of the trip. My rocket Speedy, was made out of a skinny Russian bottle that held a a drink called Kvass and weighted 175gm. The rocket had a nose made out of clay and three cardboard fins. Launching was definitely amazing because it went so high that I lost track of it in the air. It was one of the highest rockets launched.

Launch Site

I really enjoyed Astrocamp, and I hope I go back again some day.  Here is a video of a fellow student's rocket. I couldn't video my rocket because I was busy launching it.

Do you have a fun camp experience to share?