How To Help By Sponsoring Students

We believe that awarding gifted, underprivileged students with scholarships to attend Space Camp Turkey’s six-day, summer sessions will help open their horizons, motivate them in the fields of math and science, and give them the opportunity to make friends with young people from other countries and cultures.

Since 2002, Global Friendship Through Space Education has given scholarships to over 2500 students, ages 12-15, from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, China, Germany, Greece, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, North Cyprus, the Palestine Authority, Russia, South Cyprus, Turkey, the U.S.A., and Uzbekistan.  For many of these students, the program at Space Camp Turkey became a life-changing experience.

During the 6-day International program students;

• Explore the secrets of the universe and the magic of science.
• Experience the fun of astronaut-training simulators by doing what an astronaut does.
• Pretend as an astronaut on a one-hour simulated shuttle mission.
• Build and launch a model rocket and hot-air balloon.
• Learn how to work in a weightless environment.
• Crawl into the new inflatable planetarium to study the constellations.
• 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.
• Share their culture with others in the Special Events Night with music, dance and performances.
• Enjoy a farewell celebration at the BBQ Party with dancing.

We are looking for socially responsible companies or organizations that support the idea of developing friendships between nations through science and space education.

Sponsoring students from countries outside of Turkey will help gain friends of Turkey in those countries.  These students may become future leaders in their countries and will have a favorable impression of Turkey.

Sponsoring Turkish students can open up the world to them and help them gain an appreciation for other countries and cultures.

The letter below is from a former student at TEV Inanç Turkes in Izmit, a boarding school for talented students.  It shows the tremendous impact the Space Camp Turkey experience can have on motivated young people.

Hello Mr. Tolga,

I am from TEV Inanç Turkes Lisesi. I went to Space Camp in 2003 as a scholarship student and again as an intern in 2005. Space Camp was my first academic activity out of school.

I joined an astronomy program called Summer Science Program (www.ssp.org) which was founded by two very well known technical schools, Caltech and New Mexico Tech, in the summer of 2004. I made an astrophysics project with a professor from Sabanci University after attending these two camps. As I mentioned above Space Camp Turkey was my first experience in a world outside of school. Before going I had goals just related to my school, but after going to Space Camp Turkey in the summer of 2003 I had much bigger goals.

Thinking about it now, if I hadn’t gone to Space Camp Turkey I wouldn’t have been encouraged to engage in new activities and projects. These projects and activities were the most important references on my college applications and without them I probably wouldn’t be able to go to school in a different country. 

Thank you,
July 2006

Yunus Sasmaz
MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts, U.S.A.

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