Submitted file photo Pictured are students participating in last year’s Space STEM Camp put on through a partnership between the Martz-Kohl Observatory and Falconer Central School. Registration for this year’s camp is open now, with only a few slots left.

FREWSBURG — The Martz-Kohl Observatory, in partnership with Falconer Central School, is looking towards the summer with its upcoming third year of the Space STEM Camp set to offer some new activities this year, with part of it also at a new location.

Registration for the camp opened in March, with the camp set to take place from July 14 to 18, serving rising seventh through ninth grade students in the area. This year part of the camp will be hosted on Jamestown Community College’s campus, due to construction at Falconer’s Middle/High School.

Mary Plumb with Falconer Central School said this year participating students can expect a lot of the same things as the past, but with a few new things as well.

“We are continuing to partner with the observatory and students will learn about their telescopes and how to use them,” Plumb said. “We are continuing our exciting rocket launch experience, and this year we will be collecting data on that as well. In the past we have launched eggs with our rockets and then looked to see if they remained intact, but this year we are launching them with cameras and altimeters too.”

Other parts of the camp from years before such as the learning about and making of Galileo-type telescopes will be included, along with working with Rovers. Plumb said they are looking to work more with the Rovers this year and make the lesson a more central part of the camp than years past.

She said parents should be interested in sending their students to the Space STEM camp as it is something that is locally available, affordable and offers a “highly academic experience” for students in the specific areas of astronomy, space and physics. Even if a student is not interested in any of that, Plumb said they can still come and will find something they enjoy from the experience.

“We want to spark interest in both students and their parents and open their eyes to the resources we have available here and at the Observatory,” Plumb said. “Kids love it. We had one student last year at the end of the week on Friday say that they wished it was Monday again. It is fast-paced and really capitalizes on some of the best parts of being a kid.”

This camp is important to both the Observatory and Falconer CSD, Plumb said, because it allows for more people to learn about the Observatory and what it offers as a local resource, and specifically for students it may set someone on a life course. While Plumb said not everyone who participates in the camp will go on to be an astronomer, someone might and use what they learn in the camp throughout the rest of their lives.

She added that for Falconer, the camp started when a few years ago a student went to a similar camp in Alabama and they realized that was something they could offer locally at a lower cost to allow for more students to have similar experiences.

While registration for this year’s camp opened in March, only a few slots remain. Anyone interested can register at the Observatory’s website, martzobservatory.org, for $50. Students and their families will meet at JCC for pickup and drop off, and Plumb said the camp will be filled with staff from the Observatory, Falconer CSD and JCC to help students learn, and they are also equipped to work with students with special needs.

Plumb thanked everyone who makes it so this camp can happen every year.

“This whole opportunity is possible through our generous sponsors in the community and our volunteers who donate countless hours to make this camp possible,” Plumb said. “I just want to express my gratitude to the community who makes this camp possible year after year.”