Night sky enthusiast Lou Sandock, whose experiences at YMCA Camp Eberhart have ranged from a curious camper to the innovator of unique astronomy programs, weighs in on the value of AstroCamp. Lou writes...
Camp Eberhart on Corey Lake, Three Rivers, Michigan, offers what I believe to be the BEST summer-camp Astronomy learning program IN THE WORLD for boys and girls ages 9 to 13!
I am not exaggerating, in my opinion.
Where else can kids that love astronomy and telescopes and stargazing spend an entire week under dark night skies with highly skilled astronomers who are eager to share their knowledge with the kids, using a wide array of telescopes -- targeting, viewing and imaging planets, stars, clusters, nebulae and distant galaxies at AstroCamp.
Each afternoon Astrocampers receives several hours of personal instruction on telescope use, plenty of FUN hands-on Astro projects, constellation identification in the Starlab planetarium, and viewing the Sun "real-time" through hydrogen-alpha filtered telescopes. Its a dream-come-true for any kid with stars in their eyes!
Add to this, a magnificent Camp Eberhart selection of other programs that Astrocampers can choose from, like swimming, sailing, canoeing, fishing, archery, horseback riding, water skiing, nature, crafts, theater, photo, music, and more.
Camp Eberhart has a one-hundred-year-plus tradition of excellence going back to 1909, boasting 200 acres of woodlands and meadows and over a mile of lakeshore on beautiful Corey Lake! Its Yarger Observatory & Astronomy Learning Center caters to the minds and imaginations of its Astro-campers, developing field skills in telescope use and star and constellation identification and the use of cameras and computers for astro-imaging.
If your child has an interest in any of these things, I strongly suggest you consider sending them to AstroCamp next summer at Camp Eberhart for an experience of a lifetime.
About Lou Sandock:
Camp Eberhart camper, 1958 and 1959, where he first saw the constellations
Astronomy program head at Camp Eberhart, summers of 1967 and 1968
AstroCamp director 2001 through 2013 at Camp Eberhart
Astronomy program mentor at Camp Eberhart, 2001 through 2013