Flandrau Camps Will Offer Kids a Science Adventure
The University of Arizona Flandrau Science Center has spiced up 13 summer camps to provide fresh adventures for the next generation of scientists.
Summerfusion Science Adventure Camps offer opportunities for students from preschool to high school to study a variety of science topics, including the stars, marine life, forensics, planets, robots, crime scenes and rocket science.
They also offer hands-on activities and unique trips, said Monica Ramirez, a Flandrau senior instructional specialist.
“Anyone and everyone is a scientist in his or her own way,” Ramirez said. “These summer adventures for children are aimed at breaking the ideology that a summer camp is school away from school. The goal is to promote continuity of learning and provide engaging experiences so that children can have fun and learn at the same time.”
MarsBots, one of the interdisciplinary camps, offers a Mars and robotics curriculum that is under development for the Phoenix Mars Scout Mission’s education and public outreach program. The curriculum will be disseminated through the Phoenix mission and the Science Engineering Mathematics Aerospace Academy, which is NASA’s No. 1 education program, Andrew Shaner, team leader for the MarsBots camp, said via e-mail.
There has been a lot of interest in space exploration due to the success of the Mars Exploration Rovers and the Cassini mission to Saturn, Shaner said. MarsBots will introduce campers to the basics of robotic space exploration – and give them the opportunity to build and program their own robotic rovers, he said.
“Children are naturally curious, and curiosity makes them natural scientists,” Shaner said. “Camps like MarsBots give them the opportunity to experience real-time science through hands-on, minds- on activities.
“Knowing that any one of the MarsBots campers would be inspired to become the first human on Mars is an exciting thought,” he added.
Sanlyn Buxner, a team leader for the camp called Not Your Brother’s Science Camp, says much research and discussion have gone into planning these camps. This camp in particular is targeted toward seventh- and eighth-grade girls, mainly because statistics show middle school is the age when most girls decide to not participate in hands-on science opportunities, Buxner said in an e- mail.
Not Your Brother’s Science Camp includes an overnight trip to Kitt Peak National Observatory, where the girls can study the darker skies with great telescopes, Buxner said. They’ll also be using the UA labs for DNA extraction experiments and marine life dissection, she said.
“There is some amazing science going on at the university that just happens to be there, and the camps will benefit from those strong resources,” Buxner said.
Camp details
* Camps run all day from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
* They begin June 6 and run weekly through July 24.
* Prices range from $145 to $695.
* For more information, go to www.flandrau.org or call 626-6257.
* Registration is under way and will continue until the camps are full. There are 13 camps in all: Planet Express, Cosmic Quest, Extreme Universe, AstroTrek, Not Your Brother’s Science Camp, Marine Science, Life in the Universe – Are We Alone?, DNA Detectives, K- Camp, MarsBots, CSI: Tucson, Rocket Scientist Training Academy and Infinity. For descriptions, see the Web site.
* Contact reporter Marcee McKernan at 807-8430 or mmckernan@azstarnet.com.