Summer Science Camp: Water Fest

On a particularly hot day, move science camp outside for a day-long Water Fest.  Make sure to let students know they should dress appropriately for a water-filled day.

You might want to begin with some learning...
...about properties of water
But It's Full
Baby Powder Snowstorm
A Hole in the Water
Boat Races
Bending Water
Capillary Action in Action
Balancing Act
Mystery Jars
Drops on a Penny
Penny Boats

...about the water we have on Earth
Who Dirtied the Water
Earth's Water Necklace
Earth Ball Catch


And, since it is summer, make sure you include some fun water games - sponge tosses, relay races, water balloon catch, drip-drip-splash (a.k.a. duck-duck-goose, with a wet twist!).  I found a great list of water games (including various versions of the games I just mentioned), with the rules, for camp here.  I'm thinking I want to try the T-shirt Freeze.  I would be especially great if you've made the Sharpie t-shirts (or some other shirt) during camp and still have those in your possession - what a fun way to distribute the shirts to the students!

Summer Science Camp: Air Pressure Demonstrations

If your budget or location doesn't provide you with the opportunity to do a Chemistry Magic Show, consider a series of air pressure demonstrations.  They can be just as much fun, and the science behind them is easier for younger students to understand than the chemistry. 

Start things with a bang - literally - and use air pressure to crush a can. 

It follows nicely to collapse a milk jug. 

Set up the Balloon in a Flask and have students keep an eye on that while you're proceeding through other demonstrations. 

Sucking an egg into a flask is always a favorite.  A simple Internet search will provide you with instructions thousands of times over. 

Challenge a student to Blow up a Balloon in a Bottle! 

Give your students a shower with the Straw Fountain. 

Find two strong students to try to pull apart Two Plungers. 

Bernoulli demonstrations are a bit counter-intuitive and fun.  Try the cardboard tubes or balloons. 
And, if at all possible, finish with some bell jar demonstrations.

Summer Science Camp: Rocketry

One of the big selling points of our science camp was building and launching a model rocket. 

Launching model rockets may sound intimidating, but if you start with a basic model, it's really not bad at all.  I didn't have any experience with model rockets before taking it on as a science camp project, and it all worked out very well.  Of course, it is the kind of project you'll want to make sure the school (or other hosting facility/group) is okay with.

I bought my rocket kits from AC Supply, as they seemed to have the best prices.  They offer a lot of different styles and levels of rockets and provide bulk packs of rockets and engines.

With our elementary students, we used the Alpha III (pictured above), which is a level 0 rocket.  With younger students, you'll definitely want to look for a one-piece fin unit - it makes it much easier to assemble and will fly with better results.   

As simple as the Alpha III is to assemble, there is still plenty for little hands to do.  Make sure you assemble one before you have your students do it, as you may find there are things you want to do for them, ahead of time.  I pre-glued the parts that needed gluing, both to save time and to increase the likelihood that things were straight. 

If I were to do camp again, I think I'd try the Gnome.  I'm not sure if it was available the last time I ordered or not, but having done the science camp experience a couple of times now, I realize that the mini-engines would provide more than enough height for the space we were working in and the lower price tag is always a plus.  Like the Alpha III, the Gnome is also available in bulk packs.

You'll need to order engines for your rockets, as they are not included in the kits.  There are several engines you can choose from for each model.  The model's page will list the engines appropriate for that model. 

If this is your first time launching rockets, you'll also need to order a launching pad. 

When scheduling your rocketry sessions....
Plan one session for assembling the rockets and another session (or two) on another day (in case assembly runs long) for launching.  I wouldn't recommend scheduling your launch for the final day of camp, because it's a weather-sensitive activity and you want to leave yourself room to reschedule if necessary. 

You'll want a day that's free of rain and ideally a day with little wind - depending on where you live, you may just have to do the best you can.

You want a large open field on which to hold the launch.  Set up the pad in the middle, as far from trees and power lines as possible.  Depending upon the direction of the wind and air currents, you may need to move the pad to adjust for those conditions, but start in the middle.

Set up a designated area for the students to sit and watch.  Anyone who's not launching a rocket needs to stay in that area.

Have one student at a time come to the launch area with his/her rocket.  The student will wear goggles while in the launch area and will place their rocket on the pad.  Allow all students to participate in the countdown and then the rocket-owner presses the button to launch.  When the rocket returns to the ground, the student then goes to retrieve it. 

When not launching, make sure all safety protocol (as instructed within the launching kit) are being followed. 

I always gave students this warning:

If you launch your rocket, there's a chance you won't get it back - it could get stuck in a tree, the wind could blow it somewhere we can't retrieve it, etc.  If you want to be guaranteed that you'll have your rocket to take home, you don't have to launch it. 

A few students won't be sure and will at least consider not launching their rocket, but usually the excitement of getting to launch it and seeing where it goes will convince them it's worth taking the chance on not getting it back. 

There are always a couple of rockets that don't make it back down (the reality when you don't have as big a field as you should when you launch), but I've never had anyone upset about it. 

One final bit of advice... take some extra batteries for the launch controller out to the field with you.  It will save you time and give you peace of mind when the launcher seemingly stops working while you're in the middle of launches!

Summer Science Camp: Potato Chip Challenge

I haven't done this one myself, yet, but it's on the list.

The Potato Chip Challenge is an actual (free) national challenge in which your students can compete, but I think it could also work beautifully as part of a week-long (or longer) science camp.  

For the challenge, students need to engineer the smallest, lightest package to protect 1 Pringles potato chip in the US mail.  The weight and volume are recorded and then the potato chip is sent to someone else participating in the challenge.  When the chip arrives at its destination, it is evaluated according to standard criteria.

To use this in a camp setting:
I would have students design and construct their packaging on the first day of camp.  I would have them address their packages to themselves, in care of the school (or other location) where camp is being held.  When camp was over for the day, I would drive to a neighboring community and put the packages in the mail there.  (If you live in a community where all of the mail leaves to be sorted elsewhere, you can just take them to the local post office).  Then you wait for the chips to come back to you and see how everyone fared.

I think I might just have to give this a try myself... anyone want to trade chips?

Summer Science Camp: Sharpie T-Shrits

This is both a Summer Science Camp idea and a previous-post update.

The pinwheel Sharpie t-shirts are a great summer science camp project.  Take the shirts, markers and rubbing alcohol outside and get creative.  Bonus: when you're outside there's less worry about alcohol fumes bothering anyone!

The update: when I was getting ready to do this project with a group of 24 students, I was trying to find some enough of the same type of container to stretch the shirts around, without making a huge investment. 

I decided to with with 4" PVC pipe (available from hardware stores), cut into 5 or 6" lengths.  You do need a hacksaw to cut the pieces, and the cutting can be a bit messy, so you'll have to determine if this option makes sense for you. 

It worked quite well for several reasons:

• The tie-dye designs don't usually go beyond 4", so it was plenty large.
• The smaller size (as compared to a shoe box or dish pan) made it easier for young hands to manipulate and stretch the rubber band around.
• The smaller size was nice for students sitting almost shoulder-to-shoulder at tables. 

The pictures included in this post are of shirts created by students in grades 3 through 5.

Summer Science Camp: Chemistry Demonstrations

If you're running your science camp in a full science lab, and you're comfortable with chemistry, consider putting on a chemistry "magic" show for your campers. 

While this doesn't have the same hands-on, active participation as most science camp activities, the students loved it!  They oohed and aahed and were captivated the entire time. 

Grab your science supply catalogs and look for the chemistry demonstrations (I've gotten them from Flinn Scientific, Ward's Natural Science and Nasco) - they have kits that contain the chemicals (and often anything else you might need, minus the glassware) you need for each demonstration.  Look for demonstrations that involve color changes or some other wow-factor.  It's fun shopping, but if you're not careful, you could blow your whole camp budget on this one session - choose wisely and realistically.

Make sure you follow all safety precautions - wear your goggles and lab coat and make all the students wear goggles as well. 

When you're "performing." show the students the solutions you'll be mixing together and ask them for predictions as to what will happen.  Make sure you react appropriately amazed and awed by the reactions, as they occur!

I don't expect the students to learn a whole lot from this session (they're elementary students and there's no way they'd understand the chemistry), instead I use it as an opportunity to build their enthusiasm for science and just have a little fun (it is summer, after all!).

Summer Science Camp: Slow Car Race

Students are each given a length of lumber (the size doesn't really matter, just make sure everyone has the same sized piece) and a matchbox car.  They need to create a ramp the car can travel down, but as slowly as possible. 

The students can position the wood in any way they wish and add anything to the wood to slow the car.  My only caveat is that they cannot ruin the wood - at the end of the "race" they need to be able to remove anything they've added and return it to me in the same condition in which they were given it (so it can be used again for another group). 

I spread out a variety of supplies:

• a variety of types of paper
• rubberbands
• masking tape
• glue
• yarn
• string
• thread
• toothpicks
• popsicle sticks
• straws

Students are welcome to ask for other supplies - if it's something I have in the lab, they're welcome to use it. 

The ramp construction must be completed within one session.  Even students who build quickly can remain busy by constantly testing and trying to improve upon their design.

Once construction is complete, all the ramps are set up.  The cars are placed at the top of the ramp and released at the same time.  The last car to reach the bottom is declared the winner.  Any cars that don't reach the bottom of the ramp (put a 5 or 10 minute time limit on the race) are disqualified from the competetion.