School CalendarMrs. Smith's Science Camp 2013 at Maimonides
I am looking forward to another year of science camp!
BASIC INFO
Who can attend?
Camp is open to students in current grades 2-7.
What are the days and times for Science Camp?
Each week-long session of camp runs from Monday through Friday, 8:30am - 3:30pm
**Note that this is a longer day than in the past.
PROGRAM STRUCTURE
Each week has a theme, representing topics of study I love to teach but do not cover during the school year. Please refer to the schedule below for information about each topic.
Field trips: Each week we will take one field trip. Our past field trips have included: The Museum of Science, Glass Blowing Museum, New England Aquarium, Canobie Lake Park, and Boston Common. This year we are planning trips to MIT, J.P Licks, and the Waltham Fields Community Farm.
Guest speakers:Each week we will have a different guest speaker. All details are still to be confirmed. We are planning on a chef from the Harvard School of Cooking, two different engineers so students can begin to understand different areas of engineering and an environmentalist.
Recess and lunch breaks are scheduled every day
CAMP SESSIONS AND THEMES
Week 1: Engineering Week
Our focus during this week will be designing, building and improving. Students will work through different design challenges throughout the week. Students are challenged to build cars from LEGO bricks that are tested on a ramp course to see how far they will travel. Students will also create their own projects/inventions using the WeDo robots and scratch program. Students will design and build a siege engine out of everyday materials to see who can launch a ping pong ball the farthest. We’ve done the classic egg drop challenge, so here’s a twist! The challenge is to design a car that can keep an egg safe during normal driving conditions and in the event of a crash. Students will build k’nex roller coasters and take one home!
Week 2: Environmental Week
Our focus during this week will be going green and sustainability. We will plant fruits and vegetables at Maimonides and visit the Waltham Fields Community Farm. At the farm, students will participate in hands-on learning about natural ecosystems, crop production and the farm environment, nutrition and food choices. Back at school, we will make farm fresh snacks in our outdoor solar oven. We will explore wind energy through creating a windmill that can generate electricity and lift weights. Students will also explore solar and water energy in a variety of hands on experiments.
Week 3: Science of Food and Cooking Week
Everyone eats and some people cook, so the focus during this week is to see that science is everywhere, especially in our cooking and the food that we eat! Students will explore science, math, food, cooking, and nutrition this week. Students will watch the yeast rise as they the make bread and pizza. We will experiment with different amounts and types of sugar to see how that affects the yeast. Students will learn about the science behind cheese and make their own. We will explore pickling and not only use cucumbers, but other vegetables that the students are not familiar with. We will explore and experiment with acidity, emulsions, foams and thickeners in the world of cooking! Students will do a lot of the cooking in the kitchen at Maimonides and enjoy some snacks at school as well as bring them home for everyone to try! We will visit J.P. Licks or another Kosher business for a behind the scenes tour for their science of cooking!