Summer of Science: How Hall Camps Engage Young Learners

“This is so awesome!”

The exclamation rings out loudly across a small classroom filled with eager kindergartners and first graders learning about the science of electricity. Each camper grabs items, ranging from twisted slinky wreckage to plastic spoons, to test on their individual circuit boards. The goal is to learn which are conductors and which are insulators.

Toy Factory campers use fun and unique materials to design and build (and play with) their own toys and gadgets. As they discover and innovate, students learn basic scientific properties.

“Quiet on the set!”

Just down the hall, a young camper readies the room to record sound for his own movie. These fifth, sixth, and seventh graders are part of Animation camp. Over the course of two weeks, they will learn the principles of stop-motion animation, including sound syncing, reference videos, and more.

At the end of the second week, campers have three days to write and animate their own short films from scratch. They show off their creations in an Animation Showcase on the museum floor, teaching their parents and museum visitors their new skills.

Toy Factory and Animation are only two of dozens of camps offered this summer by the Lawrence Hall of Science. Each is designed and facilitated by professional educators who know how to activate children’s curiosity about the world around them.

“Our educators are amazing. They are all very fun people. They do everything to make science fun for kids,” says Matt Chilbert, a New Media Specialist at the Hall’s TechHive and teacher for the Animation Camp.

“The Lawrence Hall of Science has developed a program where every child feels like they can grow and learn and engage with science,” says Eric, one of our camp teachers, “I’ve been doing this for five years, and every time there are kids that amaze me with their creativity and genuine interest in learning science.”

From LEGO Engineering to Marine Biology, the Hall has a camp that will spark young learners’ creativity and curiosity. There are still some spots left in camps this summer, and be sure to check back for camps offered during winter break as well as next summer!

To register and to see a full list of our camps, go to lawrencehallofscience.org/camps.