Boyce-Astro Experience in Astronomical Research (BEAR)
The BEAR program provides hours of advanced instruction, telescope time, and post observation in support of your authoring a scientific paper.
Join Boyce-Astro for an Experience in Astronomical Research (BEAR) at the historic Mount Wilson Observatory, the home of the world’s largest telescopes from 1908 to 1949.
The program includes over 20 hours of classroom instruction, about 15 hours of shared telescope time at MWO and with the Boyce-Astro observatories, food and lodging at Mount Wilson, and an extensive guided tour of the various research facilities during the day at MWO. The program is project-based and includes the training and support needed to publish your research in a scientific journal.
BEAR is tailored for college STEM students and is available to well qualified high school students with parental participation or permission. In addition to two days and one night at MWO, students participate over the summer recess with online classes, use of Boyce-Astro robotic telescopes, and assistance in authoring their scientific paper from their observations.
BEAR can fit into summer plans easily. Many summer science programs require one, two, or more weeks on site and away from home. Often those do not fit schedules and other summer plans. BEAR solves this problem by requiring only two days away from home plus online time during the summer.
Fees vary by year and include MWO lodging, meals, and use of an MWO research grade telescope for one night. Typically, BEAR begins with weekly online classes starting around June 1 each year. The two MWO days and night typically follow the Society for Astronomical Sciences (SAS) Annual Symposium in mid-June each year. Then in July, students conclude their research analysis and finish drafting their paper.