Museum ‘campers’ sense fun

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While her brother Benjamin kept tabs on a giant polymer lizard, Isabella Walker showed how dye was absorbed in a carrot’s roots.

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Five year-old Aaron Chambers liked talking about the three-jar demonstration testing a shark’s ability to smell blood.

Drop in on summer camp at the Kern County Museum, and you might spot what looks like a giant lizard trying to escape the watery confines of an undersized aquarium. While the lizard will continue to grow, there is no chance he will escape. In fact, when the museum staff eventually drains the water from the aquarium, the giant lizard will shrink to its normal, less than a foot, garden-variety size. Yet, there was a lesson to be learned for these campers, ages 5-11, about the value of perceiving the world around them.

It turns out the lizard was made of polymers and when introduced to water it expanded through absorption over time. As such, it was a good demonstration to kick off the summer camp’s theme for the week, “The Original www: The Circle of Life.” Camp teacher Doreen Adam explained that the week of June 29-July 2 was an examination and celebration of how human senses play a role in our perception of the world.

“Today, we have been concentrating on the water cycle, learning about habitats, areas, and how much of the earth’s surface is covered with salt water,” Adam said. “We started off by making our own BioMs (vegetation communities where organisms adapt to a particular environment) out of half liter plastic baggies, pebbles, dirt, compost and grass seed. We introduced water to the mix, sealed the baggies and put them out in the sun. As the water evaporates it rises to the top of the baggie, finds no outlet, condenses to water again and drips down on the grass seed making it grow. The process just keeps repeating itself and is a good demonstration of how the cycle of life works.”

Around the classroom inside the Lori Brock Discovery Center at the museum, students were working on a crafts project — picture frames decorated with aquatic animals, such as seals and walruses, which the children had drawn and cut out and were attaching with paste.

One youngster, five-year-old Aaron Chambers, had been soaking up everything he learned, and much like the polymer lizard, he could not wait to let the information pour out of him. So, he took a seat beside three jars filled with either lesser or greater amounts of red food coloring, water and baby powder. The jars were marked “#1, #2 and #3,” and according to Adam, they were an experiment to show how a shark’s sense of smell could detect blood in the water even in diluted amounts. Chambers was ready to embellish on the findings.

“We had to guess which one of the jars the sharks would like,” Chambers said. “They would like them all because they can be attracted to the smell of blood from even a hundred yards away. So, don’t go in the water with a cut, or they could find you. Even in shallow water, sand sharks could come by. They swim in shallow water.”

There figured to be plenty of discussion on that lesson and all the others in the Walker household at day’s end. The Walkers — mom Michele and children Mekenna, Isabella and Benjamin — represented the largest block of campers. Michele figures she has had at least one child enrolled in the museum’s summer camp for the past five years.

“A big part of bringing the kids here is that I know they will be in a safe environment, where they are loved,” Michele said. “The camps are always lots of fun and a great experience. Jackie Brouillette (museum education services manager) and her staff make the presentations in a fun way, so the children don’t realize they are learning. And that’s good.”

There are still openings in the remaining four, half or all-day, week-long museum summer camps, running from July 13-August 7. Themes include “Kitchen Science,” “Movie Magic,” “Chemistry is Cool” and “Hmmm…That’s Weird.” Half day sessions are $90 for museum members and $115 for non-members. Day long sessions are $160 for museum members and $200 for non-members. For more information, please check the museum’s Web site, http://www.kcmuseum.org or call (661) 852-5050.


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