Hiller Aviation Museum

Air and Space Camp

Explore the final frontier in a hands-on adventure in astronomy and space travel!

Air and Space Camp Details

Air & Space campers investigate Newton’s Third Law of motion with a variety of hands-on experiments in rocketry, then construct a model rocket capable of reaching speeds over 60 miles per hour and altitudes of 250′ or more!

Friday features a field trip to John D. Morgan Park in Campbell, where each child launches their rocket safely under the supervision of Hiller Aviation Museum launch staff.

Throughout the week, campers investigate some of the amazing destinations in space that may be explored through rocket propulsion and space travel. Build a model of our solar system, observe the surface of the Sun, use a refractor telescope, identify constellations in the museum’s Starlab planetarium, command a space shuttle training aircraft in the flight simulators, examine real meteorites, and much more in a thrilling exploration of the universe!

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Camp Details

Grade Level

Additional Details

K to 5th

Friday includes a field trip to the rocket launch site

Air & Space Sessions

June 8-12, 2026
June 22-26, 2026
July 6-10, 2026
July 20-24, 2026
August 3-7, 2026

See Camp Calendar for availability.

Field Trip Launch Site Information

On Friday of the camp week, Air & Space and Spaceflight Tech campers will head to the John D. Morgan Park in Campbell to launch their model rockets.

Campers should check in by the regular 9 AM start time at the Hiller Aviation Museum on Friday morning. They will depart the Hiller Aviation Museum via bus promptly at 9:30 AM and return to the Hiller Aviation Museum by 2 PM on Friday afternoon.

Camp activities will continue at the museum until the usual 4 PM pick-up time.

Parents are welcome to attend the rocket launch event! See field trip information letter for more details.

Rocket Launch Field Trip Information Letter

EXAMPLE OF AIR & SPACE CURRICULUM

The following curriculum grid provides an overview based on curricula from past years and may not fully reflect the upcoming summer’s complete curriculum. While the core curriculum within each topic remains largely consistent year to year, specific activities may change due to lesson refinement, material availability, or other factors. The purpose of this grid is to provide a general sense of the content offered in our camps.

LESSON	DESCRIPTION
Drone Plex	Flew a simulated quadcopter in the Drone Plex.
Field Trip	Friday – Took a field trip to launch their model rockets.
Glider – Rocket	Learned about glider flight and launched a glider rocket.
Meteorites	Studied rocks to observe the difference between tektites and meteorites.
Moon Phases	Learned about the different phases of the moon and observed the phases in action.
Rocket 1	Model Rocket Construction – Rotation 1 of 4
Rocket 2	Model Rocket Construction – Rotation 2 of 4
Rocket 3	Model Rocket Construction – Rotation 3 of 4
Rocket 4	Model Rocket Construction – Rotation 4 of 4
Simulators: Intro	Completed introductory flight simulations learning how to fly straight and level, land, and take-off.
Simulators: Shuttle	Flew a space shuttle training aircraft in the flight simulators.
Solar Rovers	Powered a vehicle using solar energy.
Solar System	Created a solar system model with all 8 planets.
Space Shuttles	Built and flew space shuttle models.
Starlab	Observed constellations in the Bay Area night sky in a mobile Starlab planetarium.
Stomp Rockets	Observed Newton’s Laws of Motion with puff rockets and observed how pressure can do work on objects.
Sun and Ultraviolet Light	Learned about light and the ultraviolet spectrum.
Telescopes	Saw how convex and concave lenses can be combined to magnify far-away objects.