High-Schoolers from Across the Nation ‘Journey to Mars’ at UW’s Teton STEM Academy

The “red planet” has long captured human fascination from afar, but exploring it in person will require advanced planning and specialized skills in science and engineering. For the 23 high school students who attended the University of Wyoming Teton STEM Academy, that goal is now closer than ever before.

During the action-packed week of July 12-19, Teton STEM Academy students, who came from as far away as Puerto Rico, had the opportunity to get their hands on just about every aspect of conducting a mission to Mars during their stay on the UW campus and visits to area attractions.

Activities throughout the week included designing a Martian colony; choosing landing sites on the planet; learning about digital communication; exploring solar and hydrogen energy sources; taking a field excursion in the Snowy Range Mountains to gather soil samples and then testing them for signs of life; and seeing UW’s 2.3-meter Wyoming Infrared Observatory on Jelm Mountain in operation.

“Our generous donors, Harry and Mary Ann Lawrowski, wanted young people to experience exciting, challenging, hands-on science and engineering activities, learning in a community with peers. That’s our goal,” says Chip Kobulnicky, a professor in the UW Department of Physics and Astronomy and director of the Teton STEM Academy.

Students worked in small groups on projects as varied as programming aerial drones to successfully complete a landing trajectory; navigating by the stars; designing microbial radiation shields; and constructing heat shields with limited available supplies to protect “egg passengers” from the searing heat of blowtorches, which simulated entry into an atmosphere.

“Students get a unique opportunity to do hands-on lessons about advanced topics they touch on only briefly in school, if at all,” says Nikhil Patten, an academy staff member and a UW physics and astronomy graduate student from Howell, N.J. “The camp is a great space for motivated students to play and experiment with a broad range of scientific topics and sophisticated equipment. Students are free to dive deep into topics they’re interested in and even unlock new passions.”

The campers agree.

“I think I found my new passion!” one camper was heard to say by Rachel Trimbell, an academy staff member and UW alumna in environmental system sciences and secondary Earth science education from Walton, N.Y. Trimbell is now a middle school teacher in Greybull.

“One of my most memorable moments of camp this year was when a camper, who had an older sibling who attended camp the year prior, said ‘This camp is even better than I was told,’” Trimbell says.

The lessons of camp extend well beyond solving pressing problems in extraterrestrial exploration, however. Campers reported that some of their favorite aspects of camp were making new friends; seeing the Milky Way for the first time; and the friendly rivalry of camp soccer matches that ran concurrently with the FIFA World Cup.

“I think the biggest thing students take away from this camp is a vision of what their future could look like. For the entire week, they are living in college dorms, eating at the dining hall, going into classrooms and interacting with counselors and staff who have the jobs and degrees that they hope to have some day,” says Claire Lane, a staff member and UW alumna from Lander. “Seeing themselves in the role of a college student is incredibly empowering and leaves many students looking forward to the day when they come to college for real.”

To learn more about the Teton STEM Academy, go to  www.wyomingspacegrant.org/k12programs/stemcamp/ or www.physics.uwyo.edu/~chip/STEMcamp/.

Students who attended this year’s camp, listed by hometown, are:

Casper -- Dexter Kost.

Cheyenne -- Harper Lenhart and Clara MacKay.

Cody -- Felicity Jo Bell.

Excelsior Springs, Mo. -- Henry Ruggles.

Fort Collins, Colo. -- Zachary Paul Havener, Kosei Kanno and Ethan McCurdy.

Highlands Ranch, Colo. -- Soren Bay and Joshua Hassell.

Jackson -- Katherine Levenson.

Kemmerer -- Chad A. Hooks.

Lander -- Tripp Bulkle.

Laramie -- Henry Aldridge, Eleanor Andersen and Sonya Patzer.

Los Altos, Calif. -- Rohan Boutelle.

Mountain View -- Ayden Burton Cooley.

Parker, Colo. – Evan Merrick.

Caguas, Puerto Rico -- Carlos J. Fuentes Rivera.

Gurabo, Puerto Rico -- Sebastian Santos.

Humacao, Puerto Rico -- Reynel Morales.

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Cora Sefcik.