Monday, August 3, 2009

Ultimate Summer Camp Experience

July was full of activities for MHC After 3 summer campers. The museum provided outdoor and indoor programming, and kept participants busy learning about science and natural history.

The group from the Spencer Penn Center enjoyed the "Wet and Wild" camp. The kids learned about watersheds and erosion, tested water quality, searched for macro invertebrates in a stream, helped shoot off a water rocket, and went canoeing on Fairy Stone Lake.







The groups from the Collinsville YMCA, Martinsville YMCA, and the Fieldale Community Center tested science myths in the "Mythbusters" camp. Some of the myths they tested: Your shoe is dirtier than a toilet seat; Mentos in soda causes an explosion; M&Ms melt in your mouth, but not in your hand; Water is always frozen at 32 degrees fahrenheit; and more.














Students at the Bassett Community Center, the Martinsville Boys and Girls Club, and VMNH challenged themselves with the "Amazing Challenge" Camp. They travelled to Fairy Stone State Park, Philpott Lake, and the Gravely Nature Preserve to complete a series of challenges using GPS and their natural history knowledge.