Turkish Language Scholarship Program

The six-day summer scholarship program is offered to Turkish-speaking students who are not fluent enough in English to participate in the English-language program.  Students, ages 12 – 15, from all regions of Turkey are given the opportunity to participate in a six-day session at Space Camp Turkey.   These students are from families that could not otherwise afford to offer this opportunity to their children.

The purpose of Turkish Language Scholarship Program is to bring successful Turkish students and teachers together at Space Camp Turkey. The benefits of the camp experience include:

• Stimulating interest in science and math through hand-on activities.
• Motivating students to choose careers in science and math.
• Showing students that learning can be fun and has practical applications.
• Motivating younger students to do well in school so that they might be chosen in coming years to attend Space Camp Turkey.
• Giving students an opportunity to meet their peers from many regions of Turkey.
• Giving students from many regions of Turkey an opportunity to see a part of Turkey that is unfamiliar to them.
• Widening students’ horizons and exciting them with opportunities for the future.

While at Space Camp Turkey students and teachers are able to:

• Explore the secrets of the universe and the magic of science.
• Experience the fun of astronaut-training simulators by doing what an astronaut does.
• Make friends from many countries and discover new cultures.
• Practice teamwork and leadership skills.
• Enjoy sports, social and recreational activities in a unique educational environment.
• Improve English-language skills through programs conducted by native English-speaking counselors.

Hands-on, fun-filled science activities

• Pretend you’re an astronaut on a one-hour simulated shuttle mission.
• Try all seven astronaut-training simulators: feel what it’s like reentering Earth’s atmosphere, exercise like astronauts, experience weightlessness, see what it’s like to walk on the moon.
• Wear an astronaut space suit to see how hard it is to do the simplest things.
• Build and launch a model rocket and hot-air balloon.
• Design a Mars colony and present your team’s ideas to other teams.
• Design your own International Space Station in the computer lab.
• Observe the moon, planets stars and the sun through the high-powered telescope in our observatory.
• Learn how to work in a weightless environment.
• Participate in “Space Bowl”, a competition between teams about space facts.
• Crawl into the new inflatable planetarium to study the constellations.
• Use your creativity to help design your team’s own mission patch.
• Enjoy swimming pool activities that simulate weightlessness.

Fun social and cultural events

• Share your culture with others in the Special Events Night with music, dance and performances.
• Enjoy a farewell celebration at the BBQ Party with dancing.
• During free time, play all kinds of indoor games or enjoy sports in the Space Camp Park.

Testimonial
Batuhan Bakircioglu, a student from Izmit, Turkey, won a scholarship to attend a Turkish-Language Six-Day Summer Camp Program in August 2006.  Six students were chosen by the American-Turkish Association of Southern California which had been involved in building a school Izmit, the area of Turkey that received the most damage from Turkey’s 1995 earthquake.  The scholarships were funded by Kaya Tuncer, Chairman of the Board of Global Friendship Through Space Education.

“As one of the best students in my school, attending camp made me happy and opened doors for a new life.  We were nervous in the bus on the way.  When I saw the place, I became much more nervous.

I made many friends.  There were nice simulators, space bowl, a space shuttle mission, a Mars design, a barbeque party and a graduation ceremony.  All of them were wonderful.

I would like to thank Mr. Kaya Tuncer, Mr. Tolga. Yıldırım, Mr. Erturk Dincel and Ms. Vega.

I cried so much on the way back from Izmir.  Participating in such a thing even one time is an unforgettable experience.”

Scholarship Selection Process:

• Schools or organizations can apply for scholarships; individual applications are not considered.
• All schools or organizations’ applications are evaluated according to GFTSE’s criteria.
• Necessary documents including Scholarship Application Form are provided to selected schools.

• School management assigns a Local Coordinator to run the scholarship process in the school, a Chaperone to accompany students during their trip to Space Camp Turkey and a Reservation Contact person to work with Space Camp Turkey’s reservation department to coordinate reservation and transportation details for all participants. The local Coordinator can act as Chaperone and Reservation Contact.

• The Local Coordinator is the primary contact for the GFTSE’s staff.
• Students are usually awarded scholarships in school groups of twelve* out of twenty* candidates.
• School management selects twenty* candidates for scholarships and sends all necessary documents to GFTSE’s Regional Office.
• Students’ Scholarship Application Forms and all other necessary documents are evaluated by GFTSE.
• After the Scholarship Application evaluation process, GFTSE informs the school which students were selected to receive scholarships.

 Reservation Process:

• The GFTSE staff provides information to Space Camp Turkey’s Reservation Department about the Local Coordinator, Chaperone, Reservation Contact and selected students.
• The Reservation Contact person works with Space Camp Turkey’s reservation department to coordinate reservation and transportation details for all participants.
• Space Camp Turkey’s Reservation Department sends all necessary documents to the Reservation Contact in the school to start the registration process for the selected students.
• The Reservation Contact person gathers completed, required documents from the selected students and sends them to Space Camp Turkey’s Reservation Department.

* These numbers can be changed by GFTSE
Scholarships for Chaperones may not be available for every group.  

GFTSE has the right to change the scholarship numbers and process at any time.

Contact with Mr. Tolga Yıldırım tyildirim@gftse.org for more information.

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