Laurel Clark EARTH CAMP: Leadership for a Shared Planet
Earth Camp is a partnership between the University of Arizona College of Science and the Arizona- Sonora Desert Museum.
Conceived to honor the legacy of Columbia space shuttle astronaut Laurel Clark, the goal of Earth Camp is to educate and inspire youth to build leadership skills through experiential learning and conceptual understanding of earth processes. Earth Camp seeks to expand youth awareness of the interdependency of all living things, create a sense of wonder related to the Sonoran Desert and ecosystems worldwide, as well as open their eyes to the "awe-inspiring" universal perspective.
We offer two Earth Camp programs for both middle school and high school students.
Middle School Earth Camp
Middle School Earth Camp is attended by 20 youth entering grades 7, 8 and 9 who have been selected by an application process. This two-week program is a day camp with three overnight campouts. It involves the exploration of water ecology and sustainability issues. Campers interact with live animals, harvest saguaro fruit, camp in the desert, on Mt. Lemmon, and on Kitt Peak, core trees for tree-ring analysis atop Mt. Lemmon, explore behind-the-scenes at ASDM, look for water on Mars, scan the heavens through telescopes, view the earth from space and sketch and write in field journals. Throughout the two weeks, campers interact with over 20 scientists, experts, teachers, and volunteers from the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, the University of Arizona, and the Tucson area. More details...
High School Earth Camp
High School Earth Camp is attended by 20 youth entering grades 9, 10 and 11who have been selectd by an application process. This ten-day field excersion provides hands-on ecological research experience to help youth appreciate how science can be used to help people make better choices in a rapidly changing world. Students spend the ten days exploring the flora and fauna of the Sonroan Desert, from Tucson to the Mount Lemmon sky island to a working sheep ranch in Hermosillo, MX to the coast of the Sea of Cortez in San Carlos, MX. More details...
Supporting institutions and individuals:
- BICAS
- Biology Learning Center, UA College of Science
- Botany Department, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (ASDM)
- Center for Sonoran Desert Studies, ASDM
- City of Tucson, Water Department
- Claire's Café
- College of Science, University of Arizona (UA)
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UA
- Department of Herpetology, Ichthyology & Invertebrate Zoology, ASDM
- Defenders of Wildlife
- Department of Planetary Sciences, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, UA
- Design and Planning, ASDM
- Dunbar/Spring Neighborhood Association
- Environmental Education Exchange
- Facilities Department, ASDM
- Flandrau Science Center
- Ironwood Food Services
- Kitt Peak National Observatory, National Optical Astronomy Observatory
- Laboratory of Tree Ring Research, UA
- Life and Planets Astrobiology Center (LAPLACE)
- Mars Gamma Ray Spectrometer, NASA, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, UA
- Mount Lemmon Ski Valley
- Pima County Regional Flood Control District
- Redington Catering
- Richard and Marjory Brown Family
- Sabaku, Inc.
- Science and Mathematics Education Center, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, UA
- Sky Island Alliance
- Sonoran Sea Aquarium
- United States Geological Survey (USGS)
- Water Resources Research Center, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, UA
