TBnJ

Last week T and J were at "Rockin' Rockets" Camp by Mad Science. They really love Mad Science camps, and given T's obsession with space, this was the perfect camp for him. J really enjoyed it, too. They will definitely be going back to more Mad Science camps, though not this summer.

The description of the camp is as follows:

Rocket Concepts - Blast your way into rocket science! Learn the Rocket Safety Code, so you can always have safe launches. Build your own rocket made of recycled materials. Launch your own water missile. Experiment with different rocket designs as you learn what makes a rocket work.

Launching into Science - Investigate Newton’s Laws of Motion first-hand. Learn about propulsion with air propelled miniature rockets. Then design your own! Build your own rocket pinwheel. Experience your first real rocket launch in Mad Science when you fire off a rocket like the one you built.

Rocketry in Space - Start building a new rocket with a payload tube! Build a model Saturn to take home. Create your own nanorover. Team up with fellow campers in a nanorover relay. Eat your own lunar prospector for snack.

Radical Recovery - Get ready to recover! Experiment with the best way to recover a rocket. Learn about parachutes, streamers, helicopters, and other types of recovery systems in this fun-filled day. Build a rocket that is powered by chemicals that you may have eaten!

Rocket Scientists - 3, 2, 1, Blast Off! Experience the most advanced launches with your expert rocket team. Master the concept of rocket staging by operating your own staging exercises. Demonstrate the rocket principles that you have learned all week with a launching finale!

The kids don't end up doing all the days in order, but they do all the things described. Here are T and J's descriptions of what happened at camp as recorded by me on a daily basis last week:

Monday: Before he left this morning, T was absolutely hyper. He kept “launching” himself. He was looking for launching pads to further his acceleration and I was vetoing that idea. He was really wound up about going to rocket camp. J was in her usual Monday morning "I hate camp" mode.

After camp, T was considerably calmer. He and J both said they made a small rocket but didn’t launch it. T also talked about how the kids helped the teachers set off two rockets: one that looked like a rocket but didn’t make any smoke that went up pretty far and one that looked like Apollo 1 on the bottom combined with a UFO on the top. That one put out smoke when it blasted off. They mainly played games in the aftercare as they weren’t interested in the movie, The Real McCaw.

At breakfast on Tuesday, J volunteered that there is another girl named J (the same as her) at Rocket Camp. J is 6 years old and has an identical twin C. The two sets of twins are in a group together. Somehow T has managed to get himself surrounded by women again. T also noted he and J are fraternal, not identical.

Tuesday: T and J brought home rockets they made at camp (pictured at top) and were very excited about them. T says they built a rocket they were able to launch using a piece of paper, a pencil, tape, and a straw. The straw was the propulsion method (along with some hot air!). The pencil was used to shape the tube of the rocket. They also did launch another rocket. At aftercare, they played outside and got “really sweaty.”

Wednesday: T says that they made a planet in orbit involving a straw, a pencil, a pin and a balloon. I never quite got the gist of how it worked. T said after camp, they played outside and looked at banana spiders.

J said that they launched a really big rocket with a C engine. It went up really high, and they think it came down, but they aren’t sure. They went looking around the field where they shot it off, and then they went to the fire station next to the field. They didn’t find the rocket they shot off, but they found a rocket from another class. J said that two of the firemen were walking around, and another guy was washing an ambulance. They also got to see a firehose and a firetruck tire sitting next to a firetruck.

Thursday: T said he made a Nanorover named the Mars Missiler which has a long neck and has extra missiles. He said that you blow through a straw and q-tip missiles come out. The nanorover looks like it has a UFO underneath. It also has a satellite named Rock Picker 9 which he made. It’s like a rover.

J said she worked on her Nanorover. She also played outside. She said it was raining at camp on the very small church playground where they were playing. It didn’t rain at home.

Friday: T&J’s team won the competition for the most points (earned for good behavior and such). They brought home a variety of rockets. I didn’t get much more out of them about today. T’s folder is labeled “Spaceman Spiff.” The boy likes Calvin way too much!

Labels: around the house, at camp