The first federal government shutdown in 17 years has some college interns at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View scrambling for shelter.

Students staying at the NASA Exchange Lodge were told to pack their things and leave by midnight Monday, said Katy Levinson, director of development at the nearby Hacker Dojo.

Located in Building 19 within the NASA Research Park, the lodge offers on-site housing for visitors and interns.

Hacker Dojo, a community center on Fairchild Drive, received requests for help Monday, Levinson said. So far, members and volunteers have agreed to house three interns. Twelve others have managed to find temporary housing, she said.

It’s not clear how many interns have been affected by the shutdown. NASA Exchange Lodge manager Sylvia Murray could not be immediately reached by phone or email Tuesday. The space agency’s website was also unavailable because of the lapse in funding.

Levinson said she stayed at the facility when she was an intern working on a lunar rover prototype from 2007 to 2009. The number of interns in the fall usually numbers less than 100 and mainly consists of students in either foreign exchange or co-op programs, she added.

“Where else are they going to go?” Levinson said during a phone interview. “These kids are a long way from home and they’re broke.”

Levinson said she spoke with Murray by phone Tuesday but the manager declined to provide details about the number of interns who have been displaced. That’s not stopping Hacker Dojo from trying to help.

“We’re playing the weirdest game of Pokemon,” said Levinson, referring to a popular role-playing game in which the goal is to collect as many monsters as possible. “We’ve got to catch all the NASA nerds.”

Email Jason Green at jgreen@dailynewsgroup.com; follow him at twitter.com/jgreendailynews.