Have you ever been to a Museum and wondered how the exhibits are created? How do they decide what the interactive exhibit experiences should be? Who designs them? Do exhibits get tested before they officially open? Young people participating in the Museum’s Environmental Explorers Summer Camp program not only found out the answers, they even gave their opinions on a game prototype for an upcoming hurricane exhibit. These 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th graders tested a Hurricane Preparedness Game that allows players, through interactive touchscreen technology, to choose different hurricane scenarios and try to get all the supplies they need to survive the storm and its aftermath – before time runs out (in other words, before the storm arrives). After the storm passes, players get to see how well they were prepared. When the participants were finished trying out the game, they gave Museum exhibit designers lots of creative ideas for improving the game design and experience, and some of their ideas have even been incorporated into the game! As a thank you for their help, participants were then offered the unique opportunity to visit the Aplysia (Sea Slug) Facility at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. And when these young people come back to the Museum to see the upcoming Hurricane exhibit, they will know that the exhibit would not have been the same without them.

This summer, young people from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade are doing all kinds of things at the Miami Science Museum’s Summer Camp. From Kitchen Chemistry and Icky Sticky Goopy Glop, from Amusement Park Physics to Superhero Science, they are designing video games, investigating mysteries, learning about the science behind art, and tons more. But why stay on the ground? Aspiring rocketeers learned all about the laws of motion, aerodynamics and model rocket construction, and launched their own rockets up into the sky. That’s one small step, and more giant leaps to come!

It’s not a sentence you would expect to hear. A submarine dives into the Miami Science Museum! But this summer, from July 28 – August 12, the S101 submarine is on display at the Museum, thanks to a partnership with the OceanGate Foundation. The S101 has had a unique voyage on its way to the Museum. One of the earliest diesel-electric subs ever constructed, it was built in England and tested by the Swedish Navy. But then it received an interesting paint job. An environmental group took ownership and wanted to use it divert whales away from whalers – so they decided to paint it like an orca. (See the orca in the photo below?) But the S101 was not done yet. A private owner then upgraded the mechanics and dove the sub 35 times, exploring under the waters of Lake Washington and Puget Sound. And now the sub has a new purpose – to excite and inspire here at the Museum.

The mission of the OceanGate Foundation is to expand humanity’s understanding of the world’s oceans through exploration, education and outreach, and the S101 will surely do its part to inspire Museum visitors. And for youth participating in Museum programs, including Digital WAVE and select Summer Camp classes, that means special access to the sub and the chance to hear from visiting OceanGate staff and sub pilots about the science and technology of submarines. Mission accomplished!

The S101 Sub at the Miami Science Museum

OceanGate Foundation staff visit the S101 sub at the Museum

]]> http://www.miamisci.org/blog/the-s101-submarine-dives-into-the-museum/feed/ 0 http://www.miamisci.org/blog/summer-camp-time/ http://www.miamisci.org/blog/summer-camp-time/#comments Fri, 04 May 2012 16:17:31 +0000 admin http://www.miamisci.org/blog/?p=1811 Continue reading →]]>

What did you want to be when growing up? Or what about your kids? Are they scientists, explorers, conservationists or inventors? At Miami Science Museum’s summer camp, kids can explore lots of different fields. If they love roller coasters, they can sign up for our Amusement Park Physics course. Or maybe they’re an artist, and want to try their skills in our Enviro-Art class, where they can make masterpieces out of recycled materials. Speaking of the environment, let us introduce them to what it means to be an environmental explorer. They can snorkel, kayak and hike their way to becoming an ambassador of their own environment. Don’t worry, they won’t get shipwrecked…or will they? In Shipwrecked, students learn how to survive being marooned on a deserted island. Do they love the ocean? Then register for Deep Blue Sea, where they will learn about jellyfish, stingrays and other critters under the sea. Or maybe they’re more of a land lover and would rather join Between the Tides, where they can take a field trip to a mangrove forest!

No matter what camp class you choose for your kids, it’s a guarantee that Miami Science Museum’s classes are out of this world…sometimes literally! Future engineers or rocket scientists can construct a rocket model during Rocketry and see how high it’ll go. Or maybe you’ve got a little astronaut in the making. Register for Space Cadet and they can begin their astronaut training in Kindergarten.

From Pre-K to 8^th grade, the Miami Science Museum is the place to be this summer! For more information, or to apply, check out the Museum’s Summer Camp website.

This week’s group of 6-8^th graders, lead by MiaSci camp veteran Richard Cheney, is building a series of levers and pulleys to create elevators and other devices in the Crazy Contraptions class. Mr. Cheney is a 4^th grade teacher at Oliver Hoover Elementary, but for the past 11 years he has been a MiaSci camp instructor. When asked what keeps him coming back, he exclaimed: “Look around you! Campers are able to participate in hands-on activities by building things.”

Nathan Moreno-Mendelson, a 13-year-old who will be an 8^th grader this upcoming August, said that his favorite part was getting “The chance to build and be creative. They’re not that strict about what you do on each day. I built my trebuchet on slope day!”

Nearby, 11-year-old Damien Richmond was building a catapult with an elevator using the techniques he learned earlier in the week. His favorite part of camp is “Building new things and coming up with new ideas.”

These campers are also getting a special treat: chess! Mr. Cheney leads the chess club at Oliver Hoover and says: “Sometimes the kids need a break from what they are building, so they free their mind playing chess or doing other things inside the classroom.” No wonder Mr. Cheney has been back to camp so many times, he knows how well kids can express themselves building crazy contraptions all while having fun learning.

For additional information about MiaSci Summer Camp, please visit http://www.miamisci.org/summercamp/classinfo.php or call Karlisa Callwood at (305) 646-4233. Summer camp consists of eight one-week sessions from June 20^th through August 12^th, for campers in Pre-K–Fifth Grade. Camp hours are: 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Before and after care are available.

First graders are growing green thumbs at MiaSci Summer Camp! Mrs. Tamarit’s class of first graders learned about gardening and growing, starting from the seeds up, in Thumbs Up! Campers started the week by planting lima beans, which they cared for and watched grow throughout the week.

Green thinking encouraged creativity when the first graders used paint, their handprints and forearms to create artistic trees. Another experiment the first grade troupe got to try was dying carnations with food coloring to see how the flowers absorbed water.

Mrs. Tamarit has been teaching at MiaSci summer camp for 15 years now. She says she “loves the sciences and activities,” and, most of all, she loves “to work with children—they make you laugh.”

For additional information about MiaSci Summer Camp, please visit http://www.miamisci.org/summercamp/classinfo.php or call Karlisa Callwood at (305) 646-4233. Summer camp consists of eight one-week sessions from June 20th through August 12th, for campers in Pre-K–Fifth Grade. Camp hours are: 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Before and after care are available.

A group of 4^th and 5^th grade mini engineers, led by John Morrissey, took over the MiaSci Shark Gallery for a week to learn, play and build. Strong Structures introduced campers to general engineering concepts as they built structures out of foam and wood blocks and then placed them on tables to simulate the effects of an earthquake to test the theories they were learning. What materials or building techniques help houses stay strong enough to withstand hurricanes in Florida? Javier Taboas, a 10-year-old going into 5th grade said that Mr. Morrissey “told us about building techniques…we learned triangles are very good.” His camp classmate Diondre Richmond said that they were learning that they “need things to keep our buildings strong.” Mr. Morrissey’s assistant, Stephanie Albright, a senior at FIU, also mentioned that the kids would be making support beams and testing their maximum weight capacity later on in the week. Talk about a crash course for future engineers!

Mr. Morrissey has been a camp counselor at MiaSci for 14 years. During the school year, he teaches 5^th grade math. Mr. Morrissey keeps coming back to teach at MiaSci summer camp because he enjoys the “hands on learning” and sees the “joy in the kids.” Mr. Morrissey says that it’s an effective way for children to learn independently because “it’s not teaching to the test…science components make them think they’re having fun but learning at the same time.”

For additional information about MiaSci Summer Camp, please visit http://www.miamisci.org/summercamp/classinfo.php or call Karlisa Callwood at (305) 646-4233. Summer camp consists of eight one-week sessions from June 20^th through August 12^th, for campers in Pre-K–Fifth Grade. Camp hours are: 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Before and after care are available.

This year, MiaSci Summer Camp includes exciting new classes aimed at educating children (Pre-K–Eighth grade) about science and the world around them. For 45 years, children have been participating in creative, educational and fun classes during Summer Camp.

In the Scales and Tails class, campers got a chance to get up close and personal with real live reptiles, including a tangerine leopard gecko and bearded dragon! Scales and Tails teacher Maria Sandoval guided 2^nd and 3^rd graders as they created their own paper plate turtles and dinosaur fossil replicas, and took part in a reptile scavenger hunt. Compared to other camps, Maria says: “MiaSci camp is a full circle experience because campers have the opportunity to actually touch and see what they are learning about.”

Campers in the Scales and Tails group were excited to continue their day’s lesson and wait for their dinosaur fossils to set while checking out their class pet for the day—a Ball Python.

For additional information about MiaSci Summer Camp, please visit http://www.miamisci.org/summercamp/classinfo.php or call Karlisa Callwood at (305) 646-4233. Summer camp consists of eight one-week sessions from June 20^th through August 12^th, for campers in Pre-K–Fifth Grade. Camp hours are: 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Before and after care are available.