By: Lydia Crawley
The Parsons Advocate
The National Youth Science Academy has outlined future plans to expand its grounds to include camp facilities for groups. The presentation was part of a presentation given August 21st to commemorate the placing of a new system of signs for the Camp 70 trail system. Associate Director of Programming and Development for the National Youth Science Academy Nathan Sams was on hand to present the plans. “This is a massive plan that has recently been updated,” Sams said.
Sams said the Academy administers an annual National STEM Camp based on a Senate model. The Camp is currently located in Pocohantas County, according to Sams, but the Academy are seeking to relocate it to the Academy land in Tucker County. “We recently rebranded to the National Youth Science Academy,” Sams said. “We were the National Science Foundation since 1983. 20 years before that, a group started the National Science Camp. That was originally run by the West Virginia State Legislature. They stopped running our camp in ’83, so the Foundation was born. So we had been running a camp in Pocahontas County for over 60 years. Its modeled after the Senate. We bring in two campers or delegates from every state to West Virginia for three or four weeks and our organization is a large part of that. Its a STEM Camp.”
Sams said that while the Academy owns the land, they do not own the building currently housed on it, but do have an agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for the building and its use. “We don’t totally own this property. We do the property, but not the building. We have an agreement with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, but we would like to bring our camp here.”
According to Sams, the Academy also administers several day camps across the state that they are looking to consolidate into one location. “So besides the National Science Camp, which obviously is overnight for several weeks, we also administer day camps throughout the State. That stretches us a little thin to have those in other locations.”
Sams said that the Academy thinks the area has unique tourism opportunities that will work well with a camp. “We would really like to become the National Science Academy so that more than just one national camp can be here, what with such interesting tourism areas and regionally – you know D.C., Pittsburgh, Baltimore – the folks that like to come here from all over to bring their kids for STEM camps.
According to Sams, the site is being designed to host groups up to 150. Sams also said that the Academy also sought to bring in groups from outside the STEM and scientific communities to use the facilities, as well as offer it for use to the general public. “We would like to bring many other camps here,” Sams said. “We’re going to need cabins. We’re going to need a dining hall.”
Sams said the build would likely come in several phases due to the high cost of the project and fund raising needed. “The first phase is really building those cabins and the dining hall,” Sams said. “We have one Yurt platform we’ve started. So, we have primitive campsites as well. We hope to have more Yurts in the future.”
Included in other phases of the project, Sams outlined a community garden and soccer field. “I think the soccer field is a big dream,” Sams said. “That’s more like Phase Three and a huge amount of money.”
Sams said that building on the developed side of the river made more sense then older plans that included building on the other side of the river. Sams cited existing infrastructure, level ground and access to utilities as just some of the reasons for the site choice. According to Sams, the project is estimated at $5 million and will be fully ADA accessible when complete. There was no word on when work was expected to begin or how close the Academy was to funding the project, though Sams said grant funding had been applied for.
