Want to be a rocket scientist? Or just know what they do? New Mexico Rocketeer AcademySM has something for the young astronaut in each of us, whether it’s week-long summer camps or education programs held here at the museum or in your class.
Space is a powerful way to enhance and amplify what you do in school. Youngsters of all ages are naturally drawn to space exploration. At the same time, anything we do in space is rooted in STEM-H (science, technology, engineering, math, and health) here on Earth, often in the simplest ways. For example, the butterflies you felt in your stomach as a kid on a swing are related to what happens to astronauts in space, and to International Space Station research that may improve automobile engines, which we can show in a falling tea candle.
Activities can touch on any of the sciences and New Mexico’s rich history in the space program, and encourage kids to pursue education and careers in STEM-H fields, and can help parents understand opportunities for their children.
Rocketeer Academy℠ programs support teachers in meeting goals and objectives established in the National Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).
Can’t come here? Rocketeer Academy℠ classes and camps launch to anywhere in the state and surrounding areas. No matter what your needs we can bring the excitement of space directly to your school or community. Avoid high transportation costs and let us come to you.
Classes can be customized to fit all grade levels or special needs.
Classes are tailored for groups of 30 students. Larger classes are split into groups of 30 and charged as multiple classes. Most classes last 1 hour.
Planetary explorers encounter life on another planet. Student teams will be given materials to create the planet’s creatures and then pass them to their peers who must determine just what makes up the aliens’ biology.
Cost (per class): $125
Time: 1 hour
Spend the night sleeping among the space-history artifacts! Your package includes a film, a Star Show of night sky mythology, an Education class of your choice, plus an after-dark museum tour.
Cost: $50 per child,
$20 per chaperone,
Ten-person minimum.
Arrive at 5 p.m. and depart
following the eggstronaut
flight adventure.
Your egg-astronauts are returning to Earth and the capsule you design must ensure their survival. Book now for eggcellent time! You’ll be eggstatic when your eggs survive and if not? Well … eggsasperated.
Uh-oh, you’ve crash-landed on the Moon. Your team will be given details on surface and atmospheric conditions, along with materials that might – or might not – help you to survive. Your choices could mean life … or death.
Bring the Museum summer camp experience to your community! Our remote camp programs provide the educators and materials; just add your kids and a venue and you’re ready to go. We have a wide range of full day, half day, and week-long camps.
Some of the greatest 20th century engineers who built the first rockets for space travel started out with model rockets. Now, you’ll build one. How high will yours go and will you touch down gently … or will gravity cause you to plummet spectacularly. This is a build-and-launch class.
Ozobots teach robotics and teamwork. You’ll learn how to program your small Ozobot by assigning tasks and designing an obstacle course for the Battle of the Ozobots.
Cost (per class): $100
Time: 1 hour
Newton’s Three Laws of Motion govern rocket travel. We simulate the third law with an exciting rocket-fuel demonstration using liquid nitrogen. Then you create an air-powered rocket with paper and scissors.
Cost (per class): $125
Time: 1 hour
Tours, big-screen movies, planetarium programs, Star Show talks, and engaging classes are all available at affordable group prices. Museum admission and movie or planetarium shows start at $5/student and $6/adult. Tour guides will make space history come alive and are available for a flat fee of $25 for 25 students.
A crime has been committed aboard your spacecraft. The gravity of the situation is quite serious. Will old-fashioned, Earth-Bound detective work reveal the perpetrator? You’ll do hands-on, off-world evidence collection using real-world forensic techniques to analyze clues at this mock-space crime scene.
Cost (per class): $125
Time: 1 hour
Hydroponics: Space Farming Lab Astronauts traveling aboard the ISS can’t Door-Dash their next meal. That means growing a space-based garden. Students will build and break down hydroponic towers, explore soil-free farming, and practice plant grafting and cloning to understand how plants thrive in microgravity.
Space Bacteriology: Explore the hidden world of microbes in space! Students will learn how bacteria grow differently in microgravity, safely culture simulated “space germs,” and practice plating techniques to understand how astronauts monitor and control bacteria.
Microscopy in Space: See space science up close! Students will use microscopes to examine preserved insect specimens, identify different entomology species, and create scientific graphs – just as researchers do when studying samples in space-based laboratories. Cost (per class): $125, two classes for $200 Time: 1 hour each
Take a trip and never leave your school! Explore the heavens with our portable digital planetarium and see the night skies from today to the past. Our educators will bring the wonders of the universe to you.
Grades K-12
Time: Programs can be customized for time and lessons.
Cost: $100 per hour, 3 hour minimum
Voice: (575) 437-2840
Toll-Free: 1-877-333-6589
Fax: (575) 434-2245
Mail:
P.O. Box 5430
Alamogordo, NM 88311-5430
Delivery/Visiting:
3198 State Route 2001
Alamogordo, NM 88310