Our Stories

Join the Mission Crew: Register for Milton Space Camp

April 21, 2021 by Ronit Greenstein (Faculty and Staff)

Give your child an out-of-this-world summer adventure with Milton’s FAA-approved Space Camp! For one extraordinary week, campers will immerse in an exciting, and unforgettable STEM-based program with access to industry experts, behind-the-scenes virtual tours, and hands-on learning opportunities to build rockets, conduct space-related experiments, collaborate on design challenges, enjoy a drones workshop, design NASA-style mission patches, and much more!

The camp will run June 21-25 from 8:30am to 2:30pm at the North Campus. The program is open to rising second through sixth graders, and campers will be grouped by age in cohorts of 10-11. Cohorts a/k/a mission teams will be together all week and work with a dedicated faculty leader. There will also be a nurse on site. Activities will take place indoors and outdoors at this in-person summer camp. Cost for participation is $375 this year, and includes all the STEM-based activities and experiments.

Deadline to register is May 7. Space is limited and registration will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis. Don’t miss this out of this world opportunity!

Payment Information

Cost for Space Camp is $375. If you are a Milton family, after your registration is complete, the Space Camp fee will be added to your Smart Tuition account for the month of June. If you do not have children enrolled at Milton, please send a check payable to Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School to:

Attn: Adam Broms
Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School
6045 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20011

About our Stellar Space Camp Leaders

Hover or click on the photos to read the bios of our camp educators.

Space Camp Director Melinda Viteri
Space Camp Director Melinda Viteri

Melinda Viteri is a space education leader who regularly presents at NASA conferences and programs for teachers and curriculum developers. She serves as the Education Chair for the Royal Aeronautical Society and sits on several aerospace boards. In 2018, she qualified as a NASA-certified educator. Melinda is also an FAA-licensed pilot. Melinda established her own aviation nonprofit – Aviation Youth Mentorship Program – in 2015 in the US. As a Milton educator, she has created unique space-related learning opportunities for the second grade curriculum and the middle school immersive learning week programs, in addition to offering unique summer experiences at Milton for the past few years.

Space Camp Educator Chaya Shinensky
Space Camp Educator Chaya Shinensky
Milton educator Chaya Shinensky has extensive experience as a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) educator. She completed the NASA Endeavor STEM teacher certification program in conjunction with Columbia University Teachers College, earning a Masters in Curriculum Development. She is the creator of two blogs that provide home-based STEAM challenges and coding lessons to students. Prior to joining Milton’s faculty in 2020, Chaya was an art teacher, general studies teacher, STEAM teacher and science curriculum coordinator.
Space Camp Educator Shaughn Dugan
Space Camp Educator Shaughn Dugan

Milton educator Shaughn Dugan is a recent and strong addition to the Milton team. A graduate of the College of William & Mary, he comes to us with a great background in the natural sciences and experience in outdoor education. He loves kale, kayaking, and kindness. His favorite constellation is Orion.

Space Camp News:

Hen Manor Joins the Space Camp Crew

We are excited to share that Milton educator Hen Manor will come on board as a Space Camp Leader. Hen Manor was born and raised in Israel. She earned her BA in Psychology and Sociology, and then received her teaching diploma in Hebrew Literature at the high school level. She has been living in MD for the past three years. Prior to joining Milton’s faculty as a Hebrew and Judaic Studies teacher for Grade 2, she taught Hebrew and Judaica at SSLC for Pre-K.

Learn More

Infusing Hebrew Language and Israel Connection into our Program

We are excited to announce that this summer:

  • Some Space Camp classes will be taught in both English and Hebrew.
  • We are going to have a special presentation LIVE from the Israeli Space Agency in Tel Aviv!
Learn More

Fourth Cohort Added

We are adding one more cohort to accommodate the number of students who wanted to attend Space Camp.
The first 3 cohorts are full. There are only 7 spots left in the final cohort.
If you are interested in having your child attend our in-person, FAA-approved Space Camp, please sign up as soon as possible. The camp is open to rising second to sixth graders. Participants do not need to be enrolled at MILTON to attend Space Camp.

Learn More