About

Astronomy Camp is a week-long residential program for teenagers hosted at the University of Arizona's mountain observatories outside Tucson. Operated under the direction of UA Steward Observatory astronomer Don McCarthy, the program offers two tracks: a Beginning Camp for students ages 12.5–15 and an Advanced Camp for students ages 14–19 who have completed Algebra II or Geometry. Both tracks are structured as academic immersions, not general enrichment, with the program's own materials describing them explicitly as "academic adventures." Students live and work at the observatory alongside the full camp team, keeping the nocturnal schedule of working scientists.

The Beginning Camp runs six nights and emphasizes hands-on observing projects using instruments ranging from binoculars and smaller telescopes up to the 24-inch and 32-inch telescopes on Mt. Lemmon, with one night on the historic 61-inch Kuiper telescope at Mt. Bigelow. The Advanced Camp runs seven nights and requires students to design, conduct, and present original observing projects using techniques including digital imaging, spectroscopy, photometry, and astrophotography. Advanced Camp participants typically visit Mt. Graham Observatory, where they operate the 10-meter Submillimeter Telescope and tour the 22.8-meter Large Binocular Telescope. Applications for both tracks are submitted by mail and judged on essay quality and ability to follow directions; the Advanced Camp additionally evaluates research proposal strength. Both tracks are currently waitlisted for 2026.

Astronomy Camp gives students direct access to the research infrastructure that has earned Tucson its reputation as one of the world's premier astronomy hubs. Participants use the same telescopes and instruments employed in active university research, work alongside UA graduate students, professional astronomers, and guest lecturers from NASA facilities and partner institutions, and benefit from the oversight of a camp director with decades of continuous program leadership. The Mt. Graham overnight trip, available to Advanced Campers, provides rare hands-on access to facilities not typically open to pre-college visitors.

Advanced Camp participants produce complete observing projects — light curves of variable stars and exoplanets, spectral analyses, asteroid tracking, and related work — which they present at a capstone session on the final evening. Some alumni have gone on to present results at national astronomy meetings, and the program has a documented record of participants contributing to peer-reviewed publications and succeeding in regional and national science fairs. The program explicitly positions alumni as part of an ongoing scientific community, with some returning as staff members. No college credit is offered, but the Advanced Camp's research depth and access to serious instrumentation distinguish it from most pre-college astronomy offerings.
For students with a genuine interest in observational astronomy, Astronomy Camp offers unusual access to research-grade facilities and a working scientific environment.