Summer Camps 2008

GardenWorks Sprouts: Art in the Garden
June 9-12 Exploration Garden 8:30-12:30
Ages 7-12 NonMembers $85 / Members $75
Instructor: Becca Leaphart

• description
  Through a variety of artistic mediums, students will explore the start of the growing season in the Exploration Garden at the YMCA. Projects include still- life art, plant sketches, clay pinch pots for their own sprouts, flip books docu- menting plant changes, and plant impression tiles. Students will also collabor- ate on the large-scale map that will become a permanent exhibit in the garden.

Take Flight    FULL
June 9-12 ExplorationWorks Classroom 8:30-12:30
Ages 9-12 NonMembers $85 / Members $75
Instructor: Kyle Hunter

• description
  This action-packed camp will give students the opportunity to explore the science and fun behind the flight of rockets, planes, and birds. Students will build and fly their own solid-fuel rockets, rubberband-powered airplanes, and ornithoptor bird models -- comparing and contrasting the aeronautic principles of all three.

Science of Mount Helena
June 16-19 ExplorationWorks 8:30-12:30
Ages 8-12 NonMembers $85 / Members $75
Instructor: Kyle Hunter

• description
  Do you really know Mount Helena? This class will take different hikes up the mountain each day and study it through the lens of a scientist. We will discuss native species and why they are an integral part of this ecosystem; we will also look at unique geologic features on this ancient mountain.

GardenWorks Minis   FULL
Sprouts : June 17,18,19
Grow : July 8,9,10
Harvest : August 5,6,7
Tuesday - Thursday 9:30am - 11:00am Exploration Garden
Ages 3-6 Cost: $35 each / $90 for all (half off for members)
Instructor: Becca Leaphart

• description
  Youngsters will get a great sampling of the garden in these three-day workshops. Each session will focus on a particular aspect of the growing cycle, and students who attend all three will have a chance to watch their seeds turn to plants and then to food. Activities include circle time, a garden tour, snack-making, munching, music-making, finger painting and, of course, some digging, planting and dirt-play. Parents are welcome to attend, but not required.

Montana Kids Outdoors     FULL
June 23-26 ExplorationWorks 8:30-12:30
Ages 8-12 NonMembers $85 / Members $75
Instructor: Amy Shepppard

• description
  Learn how to safely enjoy Montana outdoors. We will go on a morning “back- packing trip” on Mount Helena, learning what to bring and how to use it. One day we’ll pretend to get lost on a hike and discover what is the most important thing to bring in your backpack when you’re out for the day. Out all week, we will learn about the ecosystems on Montana’s public lands and how to take care of them.

Great Northern Science
June 24,25,26 ExplorationWorks 9:30am-11:00am
Ages 5-7 NonMembers $35 / Members $35
Instructor: Kyle Hunter

• description
  We will explore the Great Northern Town Center by looking at how science is all around us. Activities include taking water and soil samples to determine their make-up, how location determines their chemical properties and how these affect life that grows there.

Water Wonders     FULL
June 30-July 3 Meet at ExplorationWorks 8:30-12:30
Ages 7-12 NonMembers $85 / Members $75
Instructors: Kyle Hunter & Dr. Liz Gundersen

• description
  Students will get wet as they explore water biology and ecology through hands- on, in-the-field experiences. They will travel to local ponds and streams to ex- plore the health of Helena area waters using the scientific method. Monday: Prickly Pear Creek, Tuesday: York Pond, Wednesday: Moose Creek, Thursday: Spring Meadow.

Inventions   FULL
July 7-10 ExplorationWorks Classroom 8:30-12:30 Limit 10 students
Ages 10-12 NonMembers $85 / Members $75
Instructors: Dr. Liz Gundersen & Sandy Jones

• description
  We will build electrical circuits using batteries, LED lights, and buzzers, and then create unique switches out of materials like aluminum foil, brass tacks, ball bearings, etc. We will connect these projects to microprocessors and use a simple computer program to create interactive art/clothing/gadgets.

GardenWorks Grow: Building in the Garden
July 14-17 Exploration Garden 8:30-12:30
Ages 7-12 NonMembers $85 / Members $75
Instructor: Becca Leaphart

• description
  To help the garden move through its growing cycle, students will focus on building garden structures and decorations. Participants will create bird houses, mosaic stepping stones, trellises, miniature habitats for “garden gnomes,” benches, garden boxes, and much more. Students will also collaborate on an installation that will become a permanent part of the Exploration Garden.

Journaling in Nature   FULL
July 21-24 ExWorks Classroom & Helena trailheads 8:30-12:30
Ages 9-12 NonMembers $85 / Members $75
Drop off locations vary
Instructor: Becca Leaphart

• description
  This camp will begin with a bookbinding class so students can make their own nature journals. Throughout the week, students will spend time outdoors prac- ticing techniques for observing and reflecting on their impressions. They will experiment with sketches, watercolors, poetry, and prose. We will also keep a group journal all week for collaborative pieces.We will end the week with a "coffeehouse" event for students to share their work with friends and family.

Urban Science
July 28-31 ExplorationWorks 8:30-12:30
Ages 8-12 NonMembers $85 / Members $75
Instructor: Becca Leaphart

• description
  We will walk around Helena and look at how science is all around us. Some activities include taking water samples from in-town water systems and random soil samples to determine their health, how location might affect the chemical properties, and how these chemical properties affect life there.

Intro to NXT   ( This class is offered twice this summer! )
Class 1: August 4-7   FULL
Class 2: August 11-14   FULL
ExplorationWorks Classroom 8:30-12:30
Ages 10-13 NonMembers $85 / Members $75
Instructors: Dr. Liz Gundersen & Sandy Jones

• description
  This class is an introduction to the new Lego NXT programmable brick and NXT programming. Working in teams of two, students will build a robot, and then pro- gram it to respond to a variety of sensors, including touch, light, sound, and ultra- sound. Teams will then have to create and program their robots to respond to a challenge.

GardenWorks Harvest: Culinary Camp
August 11-14 & 18-21 Exploration Garden & Helena High School Kitchen
8:30-12:30
Ages 7-12 NonMembers $160 / Members $145
Instructor: Becca Leaphart

• description
  In this two-week camp, students will learn how to prepare and enjoy a variety of healthy cuisines from the food produced in the Expoloration Garden. Activities will include harvesting the garden, designing menus, investigating the sources of our food, competing in an “iron chef contest,” and practicing methods of preserving foods. Guest chefs will join us to share their expertise in food prepa- ration and culinary traditions. Students will learn many basic culinary skills and create their own cookbook. At the end of the camp, the group will invite family and friends for a cob-oven cookout in the Exploration Garden.

Missions-Oriented NXT   FULL
August 18-21 ExplorationWorks Classroom 8:30-12:30 Limit 10 students
Ages 10-13 NonMembers $85 / Members $75
Instructors: Dr. Liz Gundersen & Sandy Jones

• description
  This class is for students already familiar with NXT robotics. They should know how to build and program a basic mobile NXT robot with sensors. We will do a review of basic concepts, and then present a series of "challenges" that will require students to design and program their own robotic solutions.