STAR Camp: Our Mission

At the Douglas Space and Science Foundation, our mission is to create an environment that promotes educational achievement, encourages goal setting, teaches teamwork skills, and builds self-esteem in individuals of all ages. We provide unique, hands-on, authentic learning experiences and positive role models.

One way that we do this is by holding summer camps each year (and sometimes over spring break!  Stay tuned for upcoming info about this year's spring break camps.)  Camps are designed for children from age 5 to age 15.  Each camp has a slightly different focus, but all of our camps are fun, inclusive, and celebrate STEM in a big way!

Cadet Camp (for ages 9-12) is great for campers who are new to the overnight camp experience.  It is designed for younger kids, but maintains high quality STEM instruction and emphasis on character development and team building.

Astronaut Training Camp (for ages 10-15) focuses on the physical aspects of space travel.  Campers work on teams throughout the week as they learn about life in space and participate in simulated missions to the moon.

Odyssey Camp (for ages 10-15) is all about planetary exploration.  Along with simulated missions to the moon, campers work on teams throughout the week to research, design, and build a prototype for a lunar base.

Engineering Camp (for ages 10-15) immerses campers in the engineering process.  Together with their team, campers research, design, build, and test a superpowered device.  Campers participate in engineering themed classes and simulated missions to the moon.

Junior Astronauts Day Camp (for ages 5-8) is for young, curious minds.  Campers spend two days immersed in hands-on STEM learning.  This camp is designed to ignite a passion for learning.

Academy Camp (for ages 12-15 who have attended a previous 4-day STAR Camp) is the STAR Camp program's leadership camp.  Academy camp is built around a military theme, with an added emphasis on individual achievement within a team.  This is a camp for students determined to design their own futures.

You can register for all of the camps here.  Thanks to generous donations from our sponsors, scholarships are available for all 2026 camps!