Full STEAM Ahead!
We rounded off our first summer of Amazeum camps with STEAM Camp. The slots filled up fast and we maxed out with 15 campers, ages 9-12. We covered a different letter of the STEAM acronym each day: Science on Monday, Technology on Tuesday, Engineering on Wednesday, Art on Thursday, and Math on Friday. We saw a lot of light bulbs go off throughout the week as campers looked at familiar concepts through the new lens of hands-on interactive activities. These photos offer a sneak peek into some of the exploration that took place at STEAM Camp!
Each camper made a journal out of recycled materials to record their observations and questions throughout the week.
Science Monday included exploration into the state of matter. Do you know what happens if you put salt and food coloring on an ice balloon? Maybe you should freeze a water balloon to find out!
Campers got to try out the latest technology on Technology Tuesday. Jason and Jeannie Quail showcased amazing gadgets like 3D printers, Google Glass, 3D scanner, and drones. We were fascinated at the possibilities that technology offers us, especially the idea of a pizza printer! We ended the day by using technology, such as tiny LEDs and copper tape, to create customized paper circuit greeting cards.
Wednesday was all about engineering with an exploration of circuits and chain reactions. Campers learned about circuits and electricity in the morning and worked with a partner to create a collaborative chain reaction (think Rube Goldberg Machine!) in the afternoon. For more about this challenge, check out the Amazeum in the news.
We had two artists visit the Tinkering Studio to kick off Art Thursday. Each camper painted a small black canvas with their interpretation of the universe for Jenn Gilder?s collective art piece called ?The Universe is In Us?.
Casey Spurlock guided the campers through making sugar and salt playdoughs in order to make squishy circuit sculptures.
Our guest artists got our creative juices flowing so we designed and made a bottle cap art piece for the Amazeum construction fence. Be sure to drive by the construction site to see the STEAM inspired art work!
Our final day took us through many mathematical challenges. We put our math skills to the test with several problem solving games, building with KEVA planks, and interpreting construction documents of the Amazeum building. We ventured over to Arvest Bank to tour their vaults and learn about check writing. We used our division and measurement skills to halve a recipe in order to bake up several batches of chocolate chip cookies.
By the end of the week, each camper?s journal was well worn from recording the things they noticed, things that they wonder about, sketching chain reaction ideas, and designing bottle cap art. Campers discovered that each subject area of STEAM doesn?t stand alone but rather are connected in fascinating ways. We used the skills and knowledge from Science in Art and Engineering in Math and ?.well just about every combination you can think of!
