Space Trek helps girls reach for the stars

Students who participate in Space Trek will have the chance to
work in teams to create cricketsats, which can be launched into
space to measure atmospheric conditions.  

High school girls who are interested in learning more about space science will be able to take their learning to new heights this summer thanks to a camp offered at MSU.

Space Trek is a one-week camp for incoming sophomore, junior and senior high school girls with an interest in science and engineering. The camp is held at MSU’s Space Science Center, and participants will have the opportunity to study all facets of the design, construction, launch and tracking of satellites and spacecrafts.

Campers will learn to calibrate equipment, collect and interpret data, and will work in mission teams to build small satellites, called cricketsats.  They will also set up a ground station for tracking satellites and will create a flight mission and report the mission results to the Space Trek leaders team. Campers will have the opportunity to learn from MSU’s Space Science faculty members, aerospace engineers and scientists.

Jasarae McKinney attended Space Trek in 2014. A sophomore at Rowan County Senior High School, McKinney said her science teacher told her about Space Trek and she found the camp intriguing, so she decided to go. McKinney said she learned a lot at the camp, but the most interesting thing was how the cricketsats work in the atmosphere and how to solder on the different components.

“My favorite things about the camp would have to be meeting all the wonderful girls and performing the mission with them and being with people I could relate to, and the deeper education I got in the space science field,” she said. McKinney added that attending Space Trek has made her consider new possibilities for when she goes to college. “I was dead-set on the medical field until I went to Space Trek and met Ms. (Jennifer) Carter. After meeting her and going to Space Trek, I’m now considering going into a space science degree.”

The deadline to apply for this year’s Space Trek camp is March 1, 2015, and the camp will be held July 11-18. All applicants must be entering their sophomore, junior or senior year of high school and must have a recommendation form completed by a principal, teacher or guidance counselor. The cost of attending the camp is $250, and scholarships are available for those with financial need.

Space Trek is sponsored by Morehead State University and the MSU Center for Regional Engagement, the American Association of University Women (Kentucky) and NASA Kentucky.

For more information about Space Trek and to apply to attend, visit http://www.spacetrekky.org/. 

For more information about MSU's Department of Earth and Space Sciences, visit www.moreheadstate.edu/ess.