It’s not too late to find a great summer camp!

I know. Your über-organized friends have had their kids’ summers mapped out since February, while you’ve been focused on a jillion other things. Now school’s almost out and you’re coming up for air, wondering if you’ve waited too long to get your kids into any decent summer programs.

It’s going to be okay. Better than okay, in fact! I’m here to reassure you that there are still spots open at many of Austin’s best-run, most creative and fun-filled camps. The Alt Ed Austin summer camp directory is a hand-picked list of smaller (and often more affordable) programs run by some of the best educators and kid wranglers around. It has something for everyone: from preschoolers to older teens, from the bookish to outdoorsy, from technophiles to free-spirited artists to eco-activists.

 
 

Here’s a sampling of the activities your kids could delve into with fellow campers this summer:

• astronomy
• building, woodworking, and tinkering
• claymation
• creative writing
• creek and aquifer exploration
• farming
• fashion and sewing
• green technologies
• language immersion
• music journalism
• parkour and playground games
• permaculture
• puzzles and brainteasers
• songwriting
• visual and performing arts of all kinds
• wilderness survival skills

So head on over to our alternative camp directory and snap up some of those open spots for your kids. Then breathe. And breathe some more. It’s going to be a good summer.

Teri

Austin Mini Maker Faire 2013!

Today’s guest post comes from one of Austin’s most beloved educators: Kami Wilt, director of the Austin Tinkering School. She is currently reprising her role as producer of the Austin Mini Maker Faire, and here she shares the latest news about my favorite event of the year. Read to the end to find out how you can enter to win a family pack of tickets!

We’re super excited to be putting on our second annual Austin Mini Maker Faire on May 5, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the Palmer Events Center. 

Last year our first Austin Mini Maker Faire had over 2,000 attendees, more than twice as many as expected. It was a DIY extravaganza of hands-on projects, robots, electric vehicles, glassblowing, and so much more. This year we have over 100 Makers signed up, and we expect 5,000 attendees. (Not so mini, you might say!)

The Faire will feature:

• A Robot Petting Zoo
• Steampunk Village
• Mega Swap-o-rama of clothes-hacking and fabric arts
• FIRST robotics stage with robot battles and more
• Tinkering: Open Shop
• Eco makers of all sorts in our Sustainable Village
• Young Makers and Education area
• 2 stages, each with a full schedule of performers and speakers with a Maker element
• A 30' x 30' inflatable Planetarium
• Austin Bike Zoo, premiering their Interactive Carnival and Bike Wonderland
• 3-D printers, weaving, soldering workshops, homemade telescopes, and much much more!

 

In the years to come, we look forward to the cross-pollination and inspiration that will happen as our Faire grows and as schools and the community learn to utilize the event as a learning tool. Already, educators have begun to gear projects of all kinds toward the opportunities our Faire provides to “show and tell” in extraordinary ways. 

Can’t wait to see you all at the Faire!

Kami Wilt

Enter our drawing to win a family pack of tickets to the Austin Mini Maker Faire! Just leave a comment below telling us which area of the Faire most interests you or another member of your family. For another chance to win, share this post on your Facebook timeline before noon on Thursday, April 18, 2013. The winner will be randomly selected and will receive 2 adult and 2 child passes, a $34 value.

Update on Thursday, April 18, 2013 by Teri

We have a winner: Lolly Walter, who shared this post on Facebook, has won four Faire passes for her family. Thanks to everyone who left comments and shared with friends. You can still save on tickets by buying them in advance through the Austin Mini Maker Faire site. Hope to see you all there!

Amy Jackson reaches for the stars

Starry Sky Austin’s Amy Jackson always has a lot to say about space and astronomy. What she shares in this guest post (adapted from a recent one on her own blog), however, is more personal—and highly adventurous! Read on and watch Amy’s short, sweet video to learn how you can help one of our favorite alternative educators launch her latest mission.

Why does space exploration matter? Why should we put our hard-earned money into something that seems so intangible when there are so many other issues that need our attention here on Earth?

I get this question a lot as I work at educating the public about space. To answer, it helps to remember what got me excited about space and astronomy and why I eventually decided to study physics in college. It all points back to an experience I had on a field trip to NASA when I was in the third grade. As I followed my fellow classmates around rooms filled with mock-ups of Apollo mission spacecrafts, old astronaut suits kept behind glass, and small artifacts from past missions, I stumbled across a book filled with signatures of people who wanted to be astronauts. I will never forget adding my own signature to that book.

In eighth grade I went to Space Camp. I chose to study physics and astronomy in college. Two years ago I applied to the educator astronaut program at NASA, and now I teach children and the public about space and astronomy. Today I am working hard to get as many votes as possible so I can win a trip to space and fulfill my lifelong dream.

Space is the final frontier. It holds the biggest questions that have yet to be answered. How did the universe begin? How will it end? What makes up the majority of the mass of the universe? Space represents hope and inspires us to dream. It prompts us to ask questions and inspires us to want to find the answers. What do we have left if we don’t allow ourselves to dream?

Last September, on the official first day of fall, I walked my first grader to school. As she was putting away her bicycle, I heard kids shouting. I thought someone had fallen off a bicycle or there was a car accident. Lo and behold, everyone was pointing up to the sky in excitement. It was the space shuttle on top of a NASA airplane flying over the school! Parents and kids stopped and watched in awe. The fact that the adventure of going to space inspires young and old alike is proof enough for me that looking up to the sky—and dreaming of what can be—allows for great things to take place down here on Earth.

Amy Jackson

If you’d like to help inspire future generations of space explorers, scientists, and educators, click here to vote for Austin’s own Amy Jackson to win a chance to travel into space in the AXE Apollo Space Academy Competition.