Hello!
My name is Megan McCormick, and I am working at Explore Hope Science Camp this summer! I am a recent Hope graduate with a degree in Elementary Education. I will be teaching third-grade at West Ottawa this fall! I was excited to return to science camp this summer because I love how camp provides children the opportunity to explore scientific concepts while having tons of fun doing it!
This summer, I had the privilege of teaching a camp called Art in Nature where campers were able to learn the science behind nature/the world around us while creating awesome nature based crafts. We explored topics such as light waves/how we see color, photosynthesis, the lifecycle of plants/fruit, cholorphyll, nature self-portariats, 2D/3D art, mineral and crystal formation, camoflouge, and so much more! We had the opportunity to visit the animal museum and even got to look at real crystals from the Geology department!
Each morning, the campers arrived excited and ready to create each day! We created various crafts including sun catchers, natural paints and paint brushes, clay bowls, seed landscape portraits, fish tesselations, UV light flowers, fruit stamps, and more! We got to explore both the scientific concepts as well as art elements such as patterns and texture!
One of my favorite crafts that we made were nature based sun catchers! This is a simple and fun craft you can make at home! First, cut a circle out of the middle of the paper plate. Then, buy some contact paper from a craft store. Once you cut out the contact paper to fill in the circle, add nature items to the middle such as leaves or flowers! Lastly, use a hole puncher to make a hole on the top and tie a string through it. You can hang it up in your house! This fun craft can remind kids about the process of photosynthesis and how leaves “capture” the sunlight to help them create oxygen and glucose!
I had so much fun leading this camp, and the campers had a blast too! Campers got to be artists and scientists and had the opportunity to explore, create, and most of all, have fun!