Curiosity Camp

We?ve all heard of ?take your child to work day?. This summer at the Amazeum, we reversed this idea. We hosted a ?bring your adult to camp? week where four and five year olds had a chance to immerse their caregivers into the world of play. 

A central aspect of the Amazeum?s mission is to provide experiences for children and their families to explore, play, and learn together. This summer we tested this aspect through an adult-child camp in which 6 children and their caregivers engaged in interactive science and art activities together. The theme of camp evolved around everyday materials that are found in different rooms of the home. We took a unique look at common household items to awaken our senses and rattle our brains at Curiosity Camp.

Curiosity Camp started in the heart of the house- the kitchen. We experimented with milk rainbows, common kitchen sounds, and salad spinner spin art.

            

Then we headed into the garage to explore tools. Campers went to ?tool school? where they learned how to use a sanding block, tape measure, screwdriver, hammer and wrench. After they mastered these new tools, they put their skills to use by creating beautiful, handmade masks. We had a robot, a rabbit, and four human-like faces.  We love to see kids using real tools to do real projects!

          

Day three was the most magical of all. We worked together to transform the Amazeum?s Tinkering Studio into a large scale blanket fort! When the fort was ready, we sat inside, experimented with light/stars, made shadow puppets, and told stories.

                                             

During Backyard Day, we spent a lot of time where else but outside! We listened for birds and other nature sounds then moved inside to sample eating styles of various bird beaks and diets. We made homemade bird food and feeders and created some binoculars to help us see the birds that come to snack in our backyards. 

            

We ended the week with exploring bubbles and water as found in the bathroom. We got messy tinkering with bubbles and bubble art. Sink or float experiments required careful observation and data collection.

         

By the end of Curiosity Camp, all the campers (child AND adult) were playing and learning together. Spending a week with these curious campers makes us even more excited for opening day of the Amazeum when more families can explore and be curious together!