Workshops are the core of the program here at Sci-Tech where campers dedicate two and a half hours each day to exploring where their curiosity leads them and connecting to peers who share similar interests. These spaces foster self-expression and the development of transferable skills after camp.
Dragonfly lemurs and bear hawks may not exist on Earth, but they surely exist in instructor Sean Wheeler’s Digital Art Lab workshop. With the magical tools of the Creative Cloud, campers are using Photoshop to “world build” unapologetically expressive works.
Layer masks, bevel & emboss, and drop shadows are just a few of the skills that are transforming campers into proficient digital artists and graphic designers just a few days into the workshop. By the end of the session, they will each have a portfolio to showcase.
It’s not typical for campers to throw oranges in a marshy swamp, but Kayla Russo, who leads the Marine Science workshop, brought campers there today to map the water’s variable depth.
They learned that the oranges flowed across the water quicker when its depth was greater, so after returning to the lab with experimental data, campers drew a diagram of the lake with an accurate perception of its underwater terrain. Preparing to produce a research poster, they are continuing to study oceanography through interactive investigations.
Gracious professionalism and cooperative competition are keywords in the Robotics workshop, led by instructor Devon Barker. Campers are collaborating in teams to construct and code programs for VEX robots. During the workshop’s final days, robots undergo challenging tasks to award their team the points needed to win a tournament.
The robots – designed from scratch by Lower Camp with plastic snap-together building materials and by Upper Camp with metal hardware – connect with programs that campers code using visual block elements. The process of building a robot, from beginning to end, prepares campers with skills needed for careers like engineering and is just a lot of fun at camp.
With a total of nine workshops this session, campers are creating, experimenting, and constructing what they are excited to showcase at TECH Talks next Saturday.