Windy Ridge Foundation Astro Camp Sends Middle Schoolers on a Mission Outside the Solar System

While the nation prepares for an upcoming mission to the moon, 28 intrepid middle-schoolers got even more ambitious as they planned their own mission to an extrasolar planet.

Students from across Wyoming and Colorado spent the week of July 12-18 on the University of Wyoming campus in Laramie, getting hands-on with science and engineering at the Windy Ridge Foundation Astro Camp.

The UW Department of Physics and Astronomy has been running a form of Astro Camp since 2003, with the Windy Ridge Foundation generously providing funding for the camp since 2021.

This summer, campers had the opportunity to focus on the science and engineering behind exploring and traveling to a planet in another star system through activities from building and testing their own light spectrometers, automated plant growth units, pneumatic-powered rockets and planetary landers to collecting and testing water and biological samples on a hike in the Snowy Range Mountains of Medicine Bow National Forest.

To accomplish their missions, campers had to first learn fundamentals in math, engineering, biology, physics and electronics, making this a full-featured academic camp that also delivered full-featured fun for campers.

The camp is directed by Daniel Dale, a professor of physics and astronomy at UW, and interim dean of the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences.

Camp counselors included UW alumni Ally LaPlant, of Casper, and Reese Romero, of Cody, as well as UW students Claire Edman, of Rock Springs; Benjamin Elmore, of Laramie; Rayah Nelson of Missoula, Mont.; and Kaitlyn Schultz, of Sheridan.

Many of the Astro Camp team members have been working together for years, and it showed in the camp’s smooth operation and outstanding curriculum.

The three in-service teachers who led the curriculum -- Kimberly Harper, a science teacher at Escuela Americana in El Salvador who was a longtime teacher at Rock Springs High School; Jim Hoffman, a retired math teacher from Riverside High School; and Chad Sharpe, a science teacher at Kelly Walsh High School in Casper -- have been helping to run the camp together for six years, with Hoffman and Sharpe having been with the camp since its founding by Dale in 2003.

“Astro Camp is one of the highlights of my year,” Sharpe says. “Working with middle school students who are hungry for STEM experiences is a joy to be a part of.”

Across the board, counselors and teachers reported being impressed with the eagerness of the campers to learn and apply themselves to challenging technical problems.

“My absolute favorite moment was the planetary lander and seeing all of the kids wipe the floor with us because we totally over-engineered it and lost brutally,” says LaPlant of pitting a counselor-designed planetary lander against those designed by the campers.

To pass the lander challenge, campers had two hours to design a vessel made from a small set of provided supplies, including a plastic shopping bag, three balloons, one box, two combs, a poster and a short length of duct tape, which could safely land a raw-egg “passenger” following a 50-foot drop from the top of the UW Physical Sciences Building.

While campers received a top-notch educational experience, the benefits extend far beyond the intellectual, with teachers and counselors reporting seeing great growth in the campers’ personal and social skills, including confidence, empathy and teamwork.

“My fondest memories for this year include seeing several students who started the week very quiet and reserved,” Hoffman says. “By mid-week, they had blossomed and became more self-assured and outgoing. It is always rewarding to see how attending the camp creates students that are confident and inquisitive. Parents often comment that their child has changed after the experience.”

Not least of the challenges faced by these middle schoolers is that they must surrender their phones at the beginning of camp, so they complete the whole week without the distraction of personal devices. The rewards of doing so far outweigh the drawbacks, as campers connect with their surroundings and each other.

Sharpe adds that “many students asked, ‘Can I come back next year?’ This is a common occurrence with this camp. The experiences speak for themselves, and the students gravitate to our mutual philosophy of approaching STEM with humility, supporting each other on the journey and having a lot of fun along the way.”

To learn more about the Windy Ridge Foundation Astro Camp, go to https://physics.uwyo.edu/~ddale/astrocamp/

Campers who attended the 2026 Windy Ridge Foundation Astro Camp, listed by hometown, are:

Broomfield, Colo. -- Allie Robbins.

Casper -- Charle Elston.

Cheyenne -- Charlotte Forwood.

Dubois -- Emil Dingman.

Fort Collins, Colo. -- Antoine Bazoin, Tobin Kimbell and Octavius Peprah.

Green River -- Finley Sax.

Johnstown, Colo. -- Leia Owen.

Kemmerer -- Beth Calkins and Porter Rowland.

Lander -- Elijah Ruehl.

Laramie -- Remmington Bennett, Piper Kelly, Amelia Lindmier, Abi Lindskog, Adriana Macy, Alicia Myers, Lark Paes-Barreto, Finn Rothfuss, Abrianna Scott and Daphne Shields.  

Newcastle -- Mesa Johnson and Nolan Proffer.

Riverton -- Jacob Hernandez, Douglas Lewis and William Ormond.

Severance, Colo. -- Walker Thompson.