Aerospace Museum Summer Camp helps students learn through building and design

This summer, rising fourth through sixth graders from San Juan Unified School District discovered just how far their imagination could take them at the Aerospace Museum of California’s “Dream it… Build it: Design, Build and Engineer” summer camp.

The camp, which is offered annually, is available to students from select San Juan Unified schools, including Starr King K-8, Grand Oaks Elementary School, Kingswood K-8, Dyer-Kelly Elementary School, Greer Elementary School and Carmichael Elementary School.

This summer marks the second year that the district has also teamed up with the California Teaching Fellows Foundation to bring in nearly 20 fellows to support students throughout their time at the summer camp.

“Everything at the Aerospace Camp has some kind of hands-on element linked to education, so it’s a truly engaging partnership where the [California Teaching Fellows] are one-on-one with the students, helping them and answering their questions,” said Natalia Aguirre-Mazzi, San Juan Unified’s family engagement coordinator.

“I think this week is one of my personal favorites out of camp because you really get to see them get engaged and get really excited about building things that you would never expect they could build with,” said Cassidy Williams, lead for the Aerospace Museum’s summer camp program. “You really get to see their work come to life this week.”

Williams added that she loves seeing students come out of their shells in their short time there. 

“A lot of the kids are really shy and quiet when they come in on Monday morning, and by the end of the day Monday, you see how excited they are to be here. They’re so excited to come back and work on their next project,” she said. 

For students like Maximiliano, an incoming fourth-grader, the creativity is part of the fun.

“My favorite thing was the rocket straw paper,” he shared. “I thought, ‘Why don’t I make a straw rocket?’ It’s fun because there’s a lot of arts and crafts and activities in the area.”

Sophia, also entering fourth grade, added, “I love summer camp. I learned a lot about airplanes and colors. My favorite part is the team leaders because they’re nice. It’s really fun.”

According to Aguirre-Mazzi, the positive impact of the experience often extends beyond the camp itself. 

“We’ve had families reach out the week after camp ends, asking how to sign up for next year,” said Aguirre-Mazzi. “Their kids come home excited about engineering or math, when maybe that wasn’t their experience before. They really are learning here while also having fun.”