AstroKids Summer Camp by Dr. Fryer

In this exciting camp, students will build and code their own Mars Outpost inside Minecraft Education! With the help of their robot agent and step-by-step tutorials, campers will learn beginner coding, explore real-world space science, and work together as young engineers and inventors. No Minecraft or coding experience required—just curiosity and creativity! (led by Dr. Wes Fryer - updated 1 July 2025)

In addition to the video links included below, feel free to explore additional videos about space exploration and moon / Mars habitation, as well as videos about robotic farming! Also check out our shared code and saved Minecraft Education worlds.

🗓 Daily Camp Schedule

9:00–9:15 → Morning Greeting & Daily Focus

9:15–10:00 → Skill Building (Demo, Gameplay, Guided Practice)

10:00–10:30 → Break / Snack / Movement

10:30–11:45 → Challenge Build Time (Plan, Create, Enhance)

11:45–12:00 → Group Share

12:00–12:30 → Lunch

12:30–12:45 → Afternoon Video & Focus

12:45–1:45 → Skill Building & Challenge Build
1:45–2:00 → Group Share, Reflection, Clean-Up

Day 1 - Welcome to Mars & Minecraft Basics

Day 1 Wonder Links

72 sec

10.5 min: Watch first half to start the morning, last half to start the afternoon!

Morning Lesson: Minecraft Orientation & Shelter Build

Goals:

✔ Learn how to play Minecraft Education on a PC

✔ Practice basic building skills in Creative Mode

✔ Capture screenshots and save your Minecraft world

Steps:

Log into Minecraft Education
Explore movement, building, and navigation tools
Build a small Mars shelter or treehouse together
Practice using the Screenshot tool
Save your Minecraft world to Google Drive

Turn In:

At least 2 screenshots of your shelter build in your Google Doc Learning Journal

Dr Fryer will save our shared Minecraft world to Google Drive!

Afternoon Lesson: Intro to Minecraft Coding

Goals:

✔ Understand how coding controls your Minecraft robot (agent)

✔ Complete beginner MakeCode tutorials

✔ Save your code to your Learning Journal

Steps:

Open MakeCode in Minecraft
Complete the following tutorials:
1. 🐔 Chicken Rain
2. 🌸 Flower Trail
3. 🐶 Cats vs Dogs
4. 🤖 Agent Moves
Copy your code share links to your Learning Journal

Turn In:

Code share links in your Learning Journal under today's date

Day 2 - Farming on Mars & Robot Helpers

Day 2 Wonder Links

4 min (morning)

6 min (afternoon)

Morning Lesson: Farming By Hand

Goals:

✔ Understand farming challenges on Mars

✔ Build a small farm in Minecraft by hand

✔ Save progress with screenshots

Review:

Open your Learning Journal Google Doc: Share SCREENSHOTS and MakeCode LINKS from yesterday!

Steps:

Open a provided Mars training world in Survival Mode
Locate your resources and water source
Build a small, organized farm with at least 2 crops
Practice irrigation with your bucket
Protect your farm with fences
Build a small shelter nearby

Turn In:

At least 3 screenshots in your Learning Journal:

✔ Your farm layout

✔ Your shelter

✔ A close-up of crops or irrigation

For a longer video, see "Precision Agriculture" (26 min) from PBS

Afternoon Lesson: Robot Farming with Your Agent

Goals:

✔ Learn to code your robot to help with farming

✔ Use local coordinates in your MakeCode

✔ Save your code to your Learning Journal

Steps:

Open MakeCode and create a farming script for your agent
Practice using local coordinates
Program your robot to till soil and plant crops
Test your robot's farming abilities

Turn In:

Code share link in your Learning Journal
Screenshot of your agent working in the farm

More Minecraft Farming and Farming with Code videos!

Day 3 - Mining & Mars Habitat Construction

Day 3 Wonder Links

Morning Lesson: Robot Mining Challenge

Goals:

✔ Code your robot to mine Mars resources

✔ Collect mined materials and return to base

✔ Save your work and document progress

Steps:

Open a Minecraft world for mining
Use MakeCode to program your agent to mine
Collect at least 3 types of resources
Deliver resources to your base

Turn In:

Screenshot of your agent mining
Screenshot of collected resources at your base
Mining code share link in your Learning Journal

Afternoon Lesson: Glass-Dome Habitat Build

Goals:

✔ Use world coordinates in coding

✔ Build a Mars greenhouse or habitat with your robot

✔ Save your progress and document your build

Steps:

Open a new world or shared world area
Use MakeCode to build a glass-dome structure
Add a farm or plants inside
Create an airlock entrance

Turn In:

At least 3 screenshots of your dome and interior
Code share link for your habitat build in your Learning Journal

Day 4 - Mars Outpost Design Challenge

Day 4 Wonder Links

Morning Lesson: Mars Outpost - Farms & Habitats

Goals:

✔ Plan and build a functional Mars Outpost

✔ Combine building and coding

✔ Save progress and share your work

Steps:

Choose an area for your Outpost build
Add a greenhouse, farm, or habitat using code or manual building
Include pathways, signs, or other details
Save your world

Turn In:

Screenshots showing your Outpost and features
Code share link for automated builds in your Learning Journal

"Mars Colony in Minecraft (with dome)" flickr photo by Wesley Fryer https://flickr.com/photos/wfryer/53443188417 shared under a Creative Commons (BY 2.0) license

Afternoon Lesson: Landing Pads & Final Touches

Goals:

✔ Design a Mars landing pad

✔ Add creative extras to your Outpost

✔ Celebrate your learning with group sharing

Steps:

Design and build a landing pad at your Outpost
Add solar panels, wind farms, or other structures
Prepare to share your Outpost with the group

Turn In:

Screenshots of your landing pad and Outpost features
Code share link for your landing pad
Final save of your Minecraft world to Google Drive

More Inspiration

"Mars Colony in Minecraft (AI visualization)" flickr photo by Wesley Fryer https://flickr.com/photos/wfryer/53444527170 shared under a Creative Commons (BY 2.0) license