August 11, 2013 by Megan Schiller

Making Science Creative

This week, Karuna had the amazing opportunity to attend Camp Galileo. As her third camp this summer, I was curious to see how it would compare to the other two camps. As I mentioned in a recent post, Camp Galileo talks a big game.

During each one-week session, they hope to inspire innovation by offering opportunities to imagine, create, and test their creations. Campers work together to build on their ideas and discover new ways to re-work their designs. All of this is based around a weekly theme and infused with fun & enthusiasm. After hearing the daily reports from Karuna and visiting the camp during their “art class,” I was pleased to find that this camp definitely walks the walk!

The theme for this week was “Medieval Adventure.” One of the first projects the kids collaborated on (in “science class”) was building a giant castle wall and a catapult. They tested these creations by having some campers hide behind the wall, while others used the catapult to launch balls at the wall. The campers then used their knowledge to create their own smaller catapults.

When I visited camp, I found the kids in their art class working on jester hats. With a focus on patterns, tracing, and cutting, the kids made their own jester hats from scratch (no pre-made templates here!). Even during this individualized activity, children were huddled on the floor, working closely and sharing ideas.

When I asked Karuna what her favorite part of camp was, I expected to hear about art class, the treasure hunt, or the other outdoor games. Instead she responded with, “science class.” That is truly a testament to the creative ways that Camp Galileo incorporates science and innovation into their curriculum.
Here is a photo of Karuna and her friend testing out their draw bridge pulley system that they created in science class.