MondayFirst day of camp! After getting to know one another in a few different games, we practiced using our five senses (except actual taste) to make observations and complete a scavenger hunt competition outside. The focus for the week is the process of science and we introduced and learned about the purpose of science: asking questions and making observations to answer those questions. To practice, campers asked what areas of the school had the most bacteria. Campers designed a procedure to collect bacteria and then actually collected bacteria all over campus (the bathroom, floor, door handles, shoes, tables, etc). After placing their collections on an agar petri dish (and sealing), we will observe the bacteria growth throughout the week to answer our experiment question.
The afternoon was spent focused on engineering miniature golf holes in Holey Moley fashion. Although a few redesigns were necessary, there was much creativity and excitement. The course will be played on Tuesday so parents are welcome to play their camper's hole in the morning if they would like. It has been fun to see lots of returning students and even more new faces! TuesdayTuesday. began with observations of our bacteria plates. Although most had not yet started to show any. growth, we suspect. the bacteria is just lurking in. small numbers below the surface. As part of our day starter, we also prepared a demonstration of adhesion and cohesion by putting color water into a cup connecting it to another by using a twisted paper towel; we will observe how and if the water moves over the next few days.
Yesterday our engineering challenge was building miniature golf holes and, after completing building, we rotated through the course. There are some good golfers in the group! The main experiment of the day focused on temperature changes. As the day was expected to be a scorcher, campers selected an outside location to measure the temperature throughout the day by measuring using a temperature gun. Not surprisingly we found that the temperature went up over our three readings (10:00, 12:30, and 2:00), and metal play structures and the brick building retained the most heat. Our final day's experiment was a set up for analysis tomorrow: gummy bears in different liquids (various types of soda, vinegar, orange juice, or water). We will let the gummy bears sit submerged until tomorrow to see how they change in the liquids. Our day ended with some outdoor water games and otter pops. Great second day of camp! WednesdayOne of our favorite camp activities is the "Build It Challenge." Wednesday started with its return in which students attempt to perfectly replicate a built structure using a collection or provided supplies. The catch: only one person can observe the original structure and they are unable to touch any of the supplies. The activity becomes part race and part observation/communication skills. It is always a hit and gets very competitive. During the morning we also observed our gummy bears from yesterday (most had grown in size or completely dissolved). We had special scientists guests in the morning: Kyle and Rhys who demonstrated the effect of water evaporation and condensation on blowing up a balloon. They did a great job detailing the science principles!
Our main experiment focused on making observations using earth worms and determining which type of selected environment they prefer (dry vs wet, warm vs cold, legos vs cookies, etc). We also set up an experiment to test how well different types of cleaning detergents work on breaking down food (jello); plates of jello will sit until tomorrow. Our afternoon ended with a focus on friction, specifically roller coasters! Students engineered marble coasters and will display their work tomorrow morning. Parents and guardians are welcome to see the coasters Thursday morning. |
ThursdayCampers returned on Thursday and were quick to get back to building their rollercoasters. After a bit of redesigning and engineering, groups showed off their designs to other groups. We had lots of loops, turns, and excitement! Not surprisingly, the bacteria had really started to grow and has become very visible. We will let the plates sit for one more day before disposing. Our other morning observations included gummy bears (and consumption if desired) as well as the detergent jello plates. Based on the first day results, it appears Arm & Hammer seems to work the best at breaking down jello.
Our afternoon was spent engineering towers to support jumbo marshmallows using spaghetti, tape and string. We learned that having a strong base is essential and triangles seem to be very helpful. Our second engineering challenge was a student request: water powered rockets! We ran out of time to launch today but will do so first thing on Friday. As a reminder, a pizza party lunch will be provided tomorrow. Students should still bring a snack and whatever they would like to drink at lunch. Looking forward to a fun last day! FridayToday we wrapped our awesome week of camp with some last observations, experiments, and games. The day began with final observations of our bacteria plates; it was amazing how much bacteria grew in just few days! After our warm up we had the initial test of our rockets. Some flew really well and even better making modifications after recess. Before the lunch pizza party we played one of our camp's new favorite games: science review using Blooket. Students were very engaged and can continue to practice their science (and a wide variety of other topics) on their own at home. We took advantage of the nice weather with some water games, activities and ice cream sandwiches to wrap up the day and week.
Mr. King & Mr. Rott had an awesome week getting to know and working with all of the campers and look forward to lots more fun next summer with Einstein STEM Camp! |