Day 4:
WE DID IT!!!
What a week......the energy throughout the camp today was incredible from start to finish! Enjoy all the pics and videos below.....and thanks for a wonderful week of science!!!
Thank you to Devyn, Ari and new addition to the camp today, Miss D. These three counselors today we a terrific help and really helped get the last day off to a rip roaring start!
Congrats also to Bella Orrall for winning the iPad drawing. Bella can be seen in the last picture below for day four collecting her prize.
WE DID IT!!!
What a week......the energy throughout the camp today was incredible from start to finish! Enjoy all the pics and videos below.....and thanks for a wonderful week of science!!!
Thank you to Devyn, Ari and new addition to the camp today, Miss D. These three counselors today we a terrific help and really helped get the last day off to a rip roaring start!
Congrats also to Bella Orrall for winning the iPad drawing. Bella can be seen in the last picture below for day four collecting her prize.
Day 3:
Today was a banner day, filled with some set backs but mostly success in the activities we did. The drone plays worked exceedingly well for all but one of the six groups that tested them today. We still have three groups to run with them tomorrow, so fingers are crossed. We really pushed the campers hard all day, but they responded very nicely. The agenda for the day is laid out chronologically in the pictures below. Instead of typing a long recap of it all out, I will let the campers tell you all about the day. Our last day of camp is tomorrow and we have a ton to do....so again try to get a great night sleep and come ready for action!
Today was a banner day, filled with some set backs but mostly success in the activities we did. The drone plays worked exceedingly well for all but one of the six groups that tested them today. We still have three groups to run with them tomorrow, so fingers are crossed. We really pushed the campers hard all day, but they responded very nicely. The agenda for the day is laid out chronologically in the pictures below. Instead of typing a long recap of it all out, I will let the campers tell you all about the day. Our last day of camp is tomorrow and we have a ton to do....so again try to get a great night sleep and come ready for action!
We flew like the wind today and got a ton of great science experiments in. Everything we did is sort of chronologically laid out below. Also, see all the pictures and videos now uploaded on our website under the July 27th 2015 camp tab. http://panthersciencecamp.weebly.com/july-27th-camp-2015.html
We started off the day with a demonstration outside of how the Bluetooth/ smartphone controlled planes will work. Campers were shown a live action plane and how the phone operated in conjunction with the propeller and the rudder on it. The plane worked really well. We were even able to salvage it after a gust of wind came and carried over 30 feet high in the air.
We tackled the lava lamps immediately after that and they were a big hit, as usual. We talked about chemical reactions, density, and states of matter as they all related to this experiment. Some of the pictures and videos really tell the story here.
After a short morning snack, we were able to race two solar cars and impress upon the campers how vital the details were in its design. Gear connections, panel angling, and wheel alignment will be critical aspects to pay attention to when we tweak these designs and race them before the end of the week.
We next proceeded on to our blubber bag demonstration and related it to the evolution clay animals that the campers created and presented in class yesterday. Their presentations by the way were very vivid, artful and animated. You saw some of them in the pictures yesterday. The positive evolutionary features that they included in their “super animals” were far beyond where we thought they would take them. Kids have the best imaginations…which are so essential for good science!
We pressed on and jumped into a fascinating color experiment immediately after completing the blubber bags. Teams were given three Erlenmeyer flask, each with a solution of one of the primary colors in it. They were challenged to create “little beakers” with as many different colors as possible. Much to their surprise some groups were able to produce well over one hundred mixtures with new and original colors. These make for great pics, which are of course uploaded onto our site.
Finally lunch came and we had an enjoyable time of it in the beautiful outdoor weather. We then watched part II of the Fantastic Fox movie to cool off and allow some down time for digestion.
Once our batteries were re-charged we were ready to take on the bridge design challenge using the smart devices at our disposal and the “simlephysics” app. (thank you parents for helping us in getting some of these apps up and running ahead of time) This was amazing. The campers really took the design challenges quite seriously. Original designs that supported the trains’ transport were well over 220,000 dollars, but by the end of the allowed time frame, bridges were being produced at a cost well under 90,000 dollars. INCREDIBLE!!! Winning bridges were broadcasted over the smartboard screen in the room so that designs could be shared and everyone could benefit from a cooperative effort. From this, we dovetailed onto a bomb-shack challenge, which was very similar in terms of designing a worthy structure at a competitive price.
To wrap up the day we had a great discussion where we compared and contrasted animals and plants and jumped into a tree ring counting and labeling experiment which called upon the observation and counting skills of each and every camper.
After singing happy birthday to Caitlin, we closed shop for the day and hoped for as lively a day tomorrow as was today.
Thanks for such a great group of kids. They are a real pleasure to work with. Thanks also to Ari and Devyn who are doing a great job working with the campers and guiding them along every step of the way.
We started off the day with a demonstration outside of how the Bluetooth/ smartphone controlled planes will work. Campers were shown a live action plane and how the phone operated in conjunction with the propeller and the rudder on it. The plane worked really well. We were even able to salvage it after a gust of wind came and carried over 30 feet high in the air.
We tackled the lava lamps immediately after that and they were a big hit, as usual. We talked about chemical reactions, density, and states of matter as they all related to this experiment. Some of the pictures and videos really tell the story here.
After a short morning snack, we were able to race two solar cars and impress upon the campers how vital the details were in its design. Gear connections, panel angling, and wheel alignment will be critical aspects to pay attention to when we tweak these designs and race them before the end of the week.
We next proceeded on to our blubber bag demonstration and related it to the evolution clay animals that the campers created and presented in class yesterday. Their presentations by the way were very vivid, artful and animated. You saw some of them in the pictures yesterday. The positive evolutionary features that they included in their “super animals” were far beyond where we thought they would take them. Kids have the best imaginations…which are so essential for good science!
We pressed on and jumped into a fascinating color experiment immediately after completing the blubber bags. Teams were given three Erlenmeyer flask, each with a solution of one of the primary colors in it. They were challenged to create “little beakers” with as many different colors as possible. Much to their surprise some groups were able to produce well over one hundred mixtures with new and original colors. These make for great pics, which are of course uploaded onto our site.
Finally lunch came and we had an enjoyable time of it in the beautiful outdoor weather. We then watched part II of the Fantastic Fox movie to cool off and allow some down time for digestion.
Once our batteries were re-charged we were ready to take on the bridge design challenge using the smart devices at our disposal and the “simlephysics” app. (thank you parents for helping us in getting some of these apps up and running ahead of time) This was amazing. The campers really took the design challenges quite seriously. Original designs that supported the trains’ transport were well over 220,000 dollars, but by the end of the allowed time frame, bridges were being produced at a cost well under 90,000 dollars. INCREDIBLE!!! Winning bridges were broadcasted over the smartboard screen in the room so that designs could be shared and everyone could benefit from a cooperative effort. From this, we dovetailed onto a bomb-shack challenge, which was very similar in terms of designing a worthy structure at a competitive price.
To wrap up the day we had a great discussion where we compared and contrasted animals and plants and jumped into a tree ring counting and labeling experiment which called upon the observation and counting skills of each and every camper.
After singing happy birthday to Caitlin, we closed shop for the day and hoped for as lively a day tomorrow as was today.
Thanks for such a great group of kids. They are a real pleasure to work with. Thanks also to Ari and Devyn who are doing a great job working with the campers and guiding them along every step of the way.
Day 1:
Camp was awesome and we have a great group this week. Below take a look at many of the things we did. We did not get to a ton of stuff so we are playing a little catch-up tomorrow. It is going to be a wild day, so get lots of sleep tonight.
See you in the morning!
Camp was awesome and we have a great group this week. Below take a look at many of the things we did. We did not get to a ton of stuff so we are playing a little catch-up tomorrow. It is going to be a wild day, so get lots of sleep tonight.
See you in the morning!