• Five-day, Monday to Friday program:
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day
• Optional extended care:
8:00 – 9:00 a.m. $40 per week and/or
4:00 – 6:00 p.m. $90 per week
• Optional lunch: N/A
• Apply for our Counselor in Training (CIT) program:
Rising 10th-12th grade students call (315) 773-5673
• Limited to 10 children, rising 5th to 9th grade
• $25 sibling or multi-session discount applies
• Call for your personal referral coupon code and save!
• Child to instructor & assistant ratio is 5:1 or less
• Your instructor: engineer, John Aviste
In 1609 Galileo began improving upon the spyglass, turning it into an astronomical telescope. With a partner, your child follows his challenges—setting up an optical bench, tinkering and experimenting with an assortment of lenses, prisms, mirrors, and beam splitters, then assembling a refractor telescope, creating models to see how the Earth and planets revolve about the Sun, and hand-grinding a double convex lens, much as Galileo did. Team challenges, experimenting with pendulums, and safely viewing the features of the Sun using a professional grade telescope complete this curriculum of astronomical discovery.
“My favorite part was the Sun; using a special filter was amazing.”
– Solomon Rosner, participant
“The Galileo’s Astronomy program was a real eye opener for the kids. I think it was presented in a way that really engaged them, creating a lasting interest in science and engineering.”
– Donald Green, dad
“(I liked) the instructor’s way of teaching my child — easy going approach — fun — no pressure.”
– parent
YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Engineering – University of Toronto
Before Edge on Science was Edge on Science, founder John Aviste was conducting hands-on astronomy workshops at schools. Astronomy has been a life-long passion for him. Thousands of children have looked through his telescope, taking in views of the planets, star clusters, the Sun, the Moon and more. As astronomer, Kay Bros puts it, “John solves the “how-do-you-teach-astronomy-in-the-daytime” problem in some interesting ways.
Join us for a week of renaissance intrigue and discovery! Follow in Galileo’s footsteps of wonder, creativity, tinkering, testing, and experimentation. Your child will experience the wonders of light and optics firsthand, assembling a telescope and working with a professional telescope to safely view the Sun’s features—prominences, filaments, sunspots, and spicules. It’s like viewing our Sun from the portal of your own spaceship! We’ll model the planets and eclipses to see how our solar system looks from space.
It is widely believed that children invented the spyglass, by playing with discarded lenses in the spectacle workshop of Hans Lippershey! We start the week with optical lab activities so that campers begin by fully owning the science underlying a refractor telescope. And tinkering is a key component— your child will freely experiment with a variety of optical elements.
Because we repeat some of Galileo’s own observations, campers develop an understanding of what it takes to make a scientific discovery. They learn the procedures and importance of the scientific method, honing their ability to be objective and to ask questions. Finally, team challenges develop team building and leadership skills, and give your child practice reading and following plans, estimating, and applying models and geometry. The universe beckons!