Excite Camp

Kulia Murray peers through a PVC telescope she made. The middle school student was one of 20 who visited the Air Force Research Laboratory’s telescope facilities atop Haleakala, a 10,000-foot-high volcanic mountain on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Their visit was part of a three-day event held earlier this month to expose under-represented groups such as native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders to careers in science, technology and math. (Air Force photo)

Excite Camp attendees visit AFRL's Hawaiian facilities

Published Dec. 19, 2006
By J. Rich Garcia
AFRL Directed Energy Directorate

MAUI, Hawaii -- Twenty middle school girls from across the island visited the Department of Defense's largest telescope this month as part of a three-day event designed to expose students to careers in science, technology and math.

Aimed primarily at under-represented groups such as native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, this 6th annual Excite Camp was a collaboration between the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Maui Economic Development Board's Women in Technology Project.

The 3.6-meter telescope they visited atop Maui's 10,000-foot-high volcanic mountain, Haleakala, features a primary mirror nearly 12 feet across. It is one of several telescopes operated by AFRL's Directed Energy Directorate, which conducts optical and laser research.

The group spent three days participating in hands-on science, technology and engineering projects that included creating their own telescopes out of PVC pipes and disassembling and reassembling a computer. They also visited AFRL's Maui High Performance Computing Center, Maui Community College, University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy, Monsanto, the Pacific Disaster Center, Akimeka's Digital Bus, and Oceanit Laboratories Inc. (the Hawaii-based company that provided the PVC telescope kits).