An astronomy camp for high school students will be held at the University of Nebraska from July 15 through July 21, 2007.
On the campus of the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Students at past camps have slept and ate their meals in the Neihardt dormitory and it is likely that our camp will be assigned to Neihardt again this year. More information on the Neihardt dormitory can be obtained from the UNL Housing Web Site. Daytime classes and laboratories will be held in the classrooms of Brace and Ferguson Halls.
Dormitory check-in will begin on Sunday, July 15 at 2:00 p.m. The camp will conclude at 12:00 noon on Saturday, July 21.
The camp will focus entirely on developing an understanding of the positions and motions of objects in the sky. This will be accomplished through classroom activities during the day making extensive use of computer simulations and kit building and through making telescopic observations at night. More specific information on the camp schedule will be detailed here as the date of the event approaches. Documents describing a past camp (2004 Letter to Campers, 2004 schedule) will be left here until updated versions are available to give prospective applicants a good idea of what the camp entails.
We will begin considering applications to camp on April 20, 2007 (although we will continue to accept applications through June 1, 2007). Students will be informed by mail whether their application has been accepted, declined, or placed on a waiting list. Accepted students are required to pay an enrollment fee ($85 in-state, $125 out-of-state) to reserve their spot in the camp. This fee is due before June 1, 2007. If the enrollment fee is not received by June 1, this opening will be offered to another applicant. It should be emphasized that this amount does not even cover the cost of room & board for the student while at UNL. The remainder of the room & board costs and all instructional and materials costs are covered by UNL. A maxmimum of 21 campers will be accepted.
The UNL Department of Physics and Astronomy is uniquely suited to offer such a camp.
The camp will be taught by faculty of the UNL Department of Physics and Astronomy. Graduate and undergraduate students majoring in astronomy will assist with laboratory and outside observing activities.
| Camp Director - Dr. Kevin Lee is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and the Coordinator of Behlen Observatory. He regularly teaches Descriptive Astronomy, Elements of Physics, and Optics. His research focuses on astronomy education (developing interactive components for teaching astronomy and assessing their efficacy) and variable star astronomy (multiperiodic pulsating stars). Dr. Lee may be reached by phone at 402-472-3686 or by e-mail at klee6@unl.edu. | |
| Camp Co-Director - Dr. Edward G. Schmidt is a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Director of Behlen Observatory. He regularly teaches Descriptive Astronomy. His research focuses on variable star astronomy (surveying pulsating stars). | |