Science Extravaganza

A climbing spider!

We've finished our last week of camp here at Camp Explorations!  It's been bittersweet, but we had a great time!  On Monday, our topic was zoology.  Campers learned about the differences between insects and arachnids, played an insect drawing game, and made their own climbing spiders!  We learned more about some amazing animal feats.  Ask your camper about some special animal skills!

Who will finish their insect first?

Learning about the parts of a volcano

On Tuesday we learned about geology and had a special presentation by CoreKids from Western Michigan University.  They taught us all about volcanoes and campers got to experiment with different types of volcanoes.  To finish off the day, we made "mineral" mosaics to bring home.

Waiting for it to erupt!

Wednesday was all about astronomy.  Campers learned all about our solar system and how rotation and revolution affects what constellations we see in the night sky.  They made their own astronaut helmets to help them read secret messages (see if you can try to see what they say!).  Finally, we blasted off into space and through a wormhole in a planetarium show!

Decoding the secret messages

Our astronauts

On Thursday, we took a walk to Nichols Arboretum where we played a Camp Explorations favorite, Oh Deer!  Campers learned how the population of deer changes when resources are plentiful or scarce and the effects of predators. We also pulled out the parachute to play a quick windstorm game!

Playing Oh Deer!

One, two, three...

Mushroom!

Testing out Spinosaurus teeth!

On the final day of camp for the year, we learned all about dinosaurs.  Campers made their own sponge fossils (make sure to take them out to dry!), learned about different types of dinosaur teeth, and sorted through some famous excavation puzzles.  To finish the week off, they learned a bit about different animals from the Mesozoic era and made their own timelines.  

Making a Mesozoic era timeline

We've had such a great summer and loved meeting all of the campers!  We hope to see you are the Museum soon!