SCIVIS Space Camp: Empowering Visually Impaired Students Through Accessible STEM

Susan Wise: Hi, and welcome to Stars Launch Pod: Space Technology and Research Sciences, brought to you by StarSciences.org, where we connect, collaborate, and accelerate. I’m your host, Susan Wise. Joining us this time is Dan Oates, coordinator of Space Camp for interested visually impaired students, also known as SCIVIS.

Is that right, Dan?

Dan Oates: That is correct, Susan. Good pronunciation.

Susan Wise: All right then. So this is an interesting part of Space Camp. Tell us more about this program and what you do there.

Dan Oates: Well, our program is the same as any other Space Camp program. It is a STEM activity, but the only difference is that we are all blind and visually impaired that week, and we take over the whole facility. So we implement all the adaptations—Braille, large print, technology—and bring in the expertise of blind and visually impaired professionals who assist us that week.

Susan Wise: Wow, that’s interesting, and I love that you’re doing that. It just opens the doors to so many more people.

Dan Oates: It certainly does. We’ve had probably about 4,500 participants over our 35 years of running the program.

Susan Wise: You’ve been doing it 35 years?

Dan Oates: I’m the only one left standing from the first year.

Susan Wise: Oh my goodness.

Dan Oates: Yeah.

Susan Wise: Over the years, you’ve probably had some “aha” moments—times when you thought, wow, yes, we did it. Is there something that stands out in your mind?

Dan Oates: To sum it up with one “aha” moment is difficult after 35 years, but I think one of the coolest things happened when I was walking into the dining area one day. A little boy stopped me—I didn’t really have any past history with him—and he said, “Are you the man who runs this?” And I said, “Yes, I am.”

He said, “I want to thank you for creating Planet Blind.” That caught me off guard. I asked, “What do you mean by that?” He said, “When I come here—I’ve come year after year—I don’t have to worry about kids making fun of me because of my eyes. I don’t have to worry about questions about my sunglasses or my cane or how I do things. When we’re here, it’s like our own little planet, because everybody here is the same.”

And I thought, wow—that’s heavy. That’s good stuff.

Susan Wise: From the mouths of babes. Such honesty. Oh my goodness—it makes me teary. I love that you’re doing this. This is amazing. How can people reach out if they want to get their children involved?

Dan Oates: Mostly it’s word of mouth. We have our SCIVIS.org website, but a lot of referrals come from teachers of the blind and visually impaired who work with these kids regularly. We try to get the word out to them.

I just spoke at a conference in Virginia last week. After 35 years, it’s really about spreading the word. Many residential schools know about the program and send teams of kids. It’s one of those things that grows through buzz.

Missouri, where you’re from, is fantastic. The St. Louis Lighthouse for the Blind gives me $50,000 every year to send kids internationally because they felt many children—especially in East St. Louis—might not have the opportunity to travel abroad. So they said, “Here’s $50,000—we want you to bring the world to our kids.”

I use that funding to bring in students from around the world—Israel, Romania, Costa Rica, South America, Australia, New Zealand. We can cover airfare and scholarships. They also fund any child in Missouri who wants to attend Space Camp or SCIVIS, free of charge.

Susan Wise: I love that.

Dan Oates: Yeah.

Susan Wise: Earlier, you and I were talking about challenges, and you said you didn’t really have many. But is fundraising ever a challenge, or does it just kind of happen?

Dan Oates: I don’t handle much of that myself. I work with the U.S. Space & Rocket Center Education Foundation. They write grants to organizations like Delta Gamma, an international sorority that funds us every year. The Northrop Grumman Foundation also contributes, and the Tubert Charitable Trust in Huntington, West Virginia, has supported us since 1990. That funding specifically helps children from West Virginia attend.

So they take care of most of that for me.

Susan Wise: I have a question about the program. I’ve heard recently that there’s a section of Space Camp for adults, and I’m raising my hand saying, “I want to do it!” What age group is your program for?

Dan Oates: Our program, like most others, is for students in grades 4 through 12.

Susan Wise: Okay.

Dan Oates: The adult program has been around for many years.

Susan Wise: I didn’t know—count me in!

Dan Oates: Yeah, all you have to do is go to spacecamp.com and sign up.

Susan Wise: Tell me—walk me through the camp. Is it a week long?

Dan Oates: Our camp starts on Sunday. Some kids arrive Friday or Saturday, especially international students adjusting to jet lag. We graduate Thursday night, and everyone leaves Friday to return home.

At Space Camp, you can choose between astronaut training or the Aviation Challenge, which is like a Top Gun-style fighter pilot program. These programs run simultaneously throughout the week. If you choose astronaut training, you go through Space Camp, Space Academy, and Advanced Space Academy. For Aviation Challenge, you progress through Mach 1, Mach 2, and Mach 3.

They also offer robotics and computer camps, though we haven’t fully tapped into those yet. Participation depends on having enough students to form teams.

We have no accessibility restrictions. We welcome students in wheelchairs, those with medical needs, and even deafblind students—as long as they have their own interveners for communication.

Susan Wise: You’re inspiring so many young minds. And it’s such an exciting time with everything happening in space right now, like Artemis. What’s one piece of advice you’d like to share?

Dan Oates: I think sometimes parents hesitate about programs specifically for blind or visually impaired children, especially if their child attends public school. And I understand that—most students do.

But there’s tremendous value in being around peers with shared experiences. That’s where kids open up. When educators attend conferences, they come back energized and inspired. Why shouldn’t children have that same opportunity?

At camp, kids meet others with similar conditions. A child with a degenerative eye condition can talk to someone who has already gone through that transition. That kind of connection is powerful.

Susan Wise: So SCIVIS camps aren’t year-round?

Dan Oates: No, not at all. Our camp is the last week of September.

Susan Wise: Okay.

Dan Oates: During the summer, Space Camp hosts 800–900 kids per week. It would be overwhelming for our group. Instead, we take over the entire facility that week and adapt everything—mission control, capsules, orbiters—for accessibility.

Susan Wise: Tailored exactly to their needs.

Dan Oates: Exactly.

Susan Wise: Do you have a passion project outside of Space Camp?

Dan Oates: Back in 2000, I was working at the West Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind. I went to Space Camp for Educators for continuing education, and they invited me to teach instead. I ended up teaching there for 12 summers, working with educators from around the world.

That helped expand SCIVIS internationally. After I retired in 2012, I became the summer education program manager for seven years. That role allowed me to speak to hundreds of teachers each year about inclusive programming.

Susan Wise: That’s incredible. With the camp coming up in late September, when do parents need to enroll their children?

Dan Oates: Registration isn’t open yet. Applications for scholarships are due April 15. We hope to open general registration by mid-May, and it usually stays open until around September 1.

Susan Wise: How many children do you accept?

Dan Oates: There are limits per program. Advanced Space Academy is the most popular—we have 64 slots. That’s where most international students go. It’s an incredible mix of cultures working together.

Overall, we typically have between 140 and 160 students, though we’ve had over 200 in the past.

Susan Wise: What’s your goal for students when they leave camp?

Dan Oates: Self-confidence—that’s the main thing. If they learn about the space shuttle or Artemis, that’s a bonus. I want them to leave believing in what they can accomplish—and with friendships that last a lifetime.

Susan Wise: That must make you proud.

Dan Oates: It really does. That’s what fills my cup.

Susan Wise: We so appreciate you coming on and sharing your story and the journey of SCIVIS. We’d love to check back in—and maybe even talk with some of your students.

Dan Oates: We’d love that. You’re welcome anytime. We’re also working on a potential 90-minute SCIVIS documentary, so that’s exciting.

Susan Wise: That’s wonderful. Dan, thank you so much for joining us.

Dan Oates: Thank you for having me.

Susan Wise: Make sure you join us where we connect, collaborate, and accelerate. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and subscribe. Until next time—keep looking up.