This summer we’re hearing from our amazing camp staff. Our Hope College students do the heavy lifting of planning, prepping, and teaching our hands-on camps all summer long! Each week, 2-3 student staff members will recap a camp they’ve led and share tips on how to keep the fun going at home!
Happy summer, everyone! My name is Annie Arthurs and I am a recent graduate of Hope College and an ExploreHope teacher this summer! Science camps create so many wonderful hands-on experiences for campers and allow children the opportunity to ask questions and make discoveries in a safe, fun, and vibrant environment.
I recently had the privilege of leading our Science of Star Wars camp. The week was filled with laughter, excitement, and learning! Throughout our four-day camp we talked about mixtures and solutions, Newton’s laws of motion, light energy, and so much more!
Although the entire week was a blast, my absolute favorite part was watching our young padawans create their own carbonite using what we learned about heterogeneous mixtures! They even got to stick Han Solo (a green army man) in the carbonite! So cool!!
If you want to experience a taste of Star Wars camp at home, you can try making your own R2D2 escape pod using a few household items.
The materials you will need are
- An egg (or two!)
- Markers
- Aluminum foil
- Plastic straws
- Paper
- Coffee filters
- Tape
- String
The raw egg will be your own personal R2D2! Feel free to decorate the egg (gently!) with markers to make it look like a real droid.
Then, using the household materials listed above and anything else you think might be helpful, create your own pod to protect R2D2 from a tall drop.
Once your pod has been created, test it! You can drop it from various heights and modify your pod to best protect your pod!
This activity helps us to understand Newton’s laws of motion and of course, the Force! The biggest force in question is gravity when it comes to dropping our pods. We know our pods are going to go down; however, we can use what we know about force, mass, and acceleration to modify our pods and protect our drone!
Visit ExploreHope Summer Camps for more info. Although many of our camps are full, there are still openings for all ages. We hope to see you soon!