Letters from Summer STEM Camp Brought to You by the Navy League STEM Institute and the Sacramento Council

The Navy League STEM Institute provided matching grant funding to the Navy League Sacramento Council to support scholarships for six Navy League Cadets from U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps Sacramento Division to attend the Aerospace Museum of California’s (AMC) Summer STEM Camp. AMC is committed to inspire students to explore, dream, and discover STEM through hands on learning. One way they do this is through a series of week-long summer camps where students can choose to focus on space, aviation, or engineering. The Summer STEM Camps served over 500 students over the 10-week run at its 4.5-acre air park.

“The Navy League Sacramento Council is proud to partner with the Navy League STEM Institute, AMC, and the Sacramento Division to provide this incredible opportunity to local Navy League Cadets. We are so thankful to be able to leverage national and local funding for this worthwhile cause,” said Sacramento Council President John Meyers.

“They thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity and appreciate the generosity of the Navy League STEM Institute and Navy League Sacramento Council. When I visited, they were on task and proudly wearing their Sea Cadet uniforms. We hope to recruit some new Cadets through this program. Summer training opportunities are somewhat limited for Navy League Cadets, especially those who join the Navy League Cadets right before summer. The AMC Camp was perfect,” said U.S. Navy League Cadet Corps Training Ship California Executive Officer Lieutenant Junior Grade Cortney Kelleher, USNSCC.

The resounding success of this effort is testament to the benefit of strong partnerships. Why Navy League members do what we do and the reach of the Navy League STEM Grant is best summed up in letters of gratitude penned by the Cadets themselves:

- It was very a very rewarding experience for me and I enjoyed it very much. I learned about the engineering process and did several projects throughout the week related to engineering. I also learned about making electricity with wind turbines, and about kinetic and potential energy. – Cadet Recruit Vincent Woo

- I learned a lot about the engineering process. We listened to presentations about the Makani wind kite, the James Webb Space Telescope, and the four forces of flight. Overall the camp was amazing and I appreciate the Navy League STEM Institute and Navy League Sacramento Council for letting me experience these hands-on activities. – Cadet Recruit Anabelle Woo

- The camp was amazing and the staff were great! I really liked learning how to build paper rockets and finding the center of mass on rockets. Thank you to the Navy League STEM Institute and Navy League Sacramento Council for the opportunity. – Cadet Petty Officer 3rd Class David Nguye

- Thank you to the Navy League STEM Institute and Navy League Sacramento for giving us the opportunity to join the AMC Summer STEM Camp. They let us touch the jets and planes. I also liked they brought a NASA astronaut in to teach us about the planets and about the stars. Thank you. – Able Cadet Thinh Le

- Thank you to the Navy League STEM Institute and Navy League Sacramento Council for the opportunity to attend the AMC Summer STEM Camp. I had such a good time. I learned that Neptune’s blue color comes from methane gas in its atmosphere, the Sun is 109 times bigger than the earth, and Venus has volcanoes and deformed mountains. Thank you! - Cadet Petty Officer 3rd Class Justin Nguyen