Middle school student gains
hands-on experience at Exxon Mobil Bernard Harris Summer Camp 

July 28, 2009—Incoming sixth-grader Xavier McKinley has what it takes to be a good scientist—an active imagination, natural curiosity and an eagerness to learn.

That’s why it’s not surprising to hear that he participated in the Exxon Mobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) earlier this summer.

He was one of 50 middle school students selected to participate in the free camp out of more than 220 applicants. Acceptance was based on each student’s proven expertise and interest in math and science, as well as student applications and teacher recommendations.

“Science is something I have always had a strong interest in, and using scientific equipment at RPI would be very cool,” McKinley wrote in his application essay. “I like looking in my classroom microscope and my sister’s telescope. Coming to this camp will help me find out more about astrobiology than I would otherwise be able to.”

Astrobiology is the study of space and the possibility of life on other plants, and was the topic at this year’s camp.

“I would like to learn more about these planets,” wrote McKinley. “It is fascinating to think about the archaebacteria (a group of single-celled microorganisms) that can live in geysers and the weird life that evolved deep in the ocean.”

For two weeks, McKinley lived on campus where he learned about astronomy, space exploration, the cosmic calendar, the Drake Equation (an equation devised in an attempt to estimate the number of extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way), satellites and geocaching (an outdoor activity in which participants use navigational techniques to hide and seek containers anywhere in the world) from university faculty and scientists associated with the New York Center for Astrobiology.

He also worked as part of a team to propose a mission to search for life on another planet.

McKinley gained an inside look at engineering and other science careers while conducting experiments and participating in highly interactive projects, demonstrations and weekly field excursions—traveling to the Albany Pine Bush, New York State Museum, Herkimer Diamond Mine and the American Museum of Natural History in New York city.

Students also heard about the upcoming missions to the moon and watched the liftoff of the Atlas-V rocket on NASA-TV.