TECHNIQUES:

Like a naval vessel, our tour operates as a self-contained city in a hostile environment. Everyone has responsibilities to make the group viable.

All duties are shared on a rotating schedule. Time will be allotted for food preparation, maintenance, hygiene, observations and academics.



Our plan gets the students to a place where we can immerse them in a learning environment that becomes part of their existence.

They will be in school “24 / 7.” The program, though intense, will have many periods of quiet, contemplative time. The young people will constantly have to adapt to weather changes. They learn that nature requires flexibility.

An appreciation of simple, healthy foods will erase many bad dietary habits. True friendships spring up from the Oasis Experience.



EQUIPMENT:
Primary transportation will be a 15-passenger van or bus, which pulls a special classroom trailer. The trailer hauls equipment as well as being used for some food preparation and storage. We also carry a minibike for mechanical training and rider instruction. A 6-inch reflector telescope is used for astronomy.
Still and digital cameras are used to produce trip photos. Prints will be made daily and put into the kids’ journals

The natural surroundings of the Black Rock desert are surreal. We camp on a dry lake bed millions of years old. This “playa” or beach is 30 miles long and 15 miles wide and is surrounded by 8000 foot mountain ranges. At night there are astounding views of the heavens, the Milky Way and shooting stars. A nearby warm spring, visited twice a day, is said to have recuperative powers. When kids first arrive they all say “it’s so quiet”. The desert is a place of inspiration and peace. It gives all who go there a chance to grow spiritually.

Sleeping is out-of-doors unless it rains and gear is provided.
Two shelters are used as classrooms. Each class constructs an advanced rocket to study propulsion and recovery techniques.
A laptop computer records events and is used to acquire Internet data like email and weather updates.
“3D” maps of the area teach local geography.
On one day of the trip all students will receive an hour of flight instruction in a Piper 4 - seat aircraft.