Campers ‘Blast Off’ Into Space

By Sarah Scinto

Newtown students explored their “Curiosity” beyond the planet Mars at Hawley School this week, roving the solar system from their classroom through Blast Off, a camp by Mad Science offered through Newtown Parks and Recreation.

“The whole week is space-themed,” said instructor “Krazy” Kristine Johnson on Monday, August 13. “Today they’re learning about the atmospheres of different planets, and by the end of the week they’ll launch their own rockets.”

Before they could “blast off,” students in the program learned about eclipses, astronauts, and each of the planets in the solar system through demonstration and experiments.

“I like being a planet,” said 6-year-old Arian Polozani. The students spent one day of the program as their own planet, learning more about that planet’s atmosphere and what makes each planet unique.

The students also contributed to the camp.

“Earlier today we got to share our ideas, like experiments we had done before and wanted to try again,” 11-year-old Tyler Telesca said.

For the students, understanding astronomy with skills they already have makes the camp interesting and fun.

“I like doing math and learning about the planets of the solar system,” said 11-year-old Miles Martiska as he calculated the amount of carbon in his planet’s atmosphere.

A homemade rocket may not be as fancy (or expensive) as a rover on Mars, but don’t tell that to these students. They will proudly launch their rockets from their headquarters at Hawley School with the knowledge they gain over the course of their week at camp.