Updates for EMBHSSC

Scheduled Highlights

 

There are many activities in place for our upcoming ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp. Here are examples of activities for each day:

• Sunday, July 12 - Opening Ceremony
• Monday, July 13 - Getting up close and personal with animals!
• Tuesday, July 14 - Movie Night
• Wednesday, July 15 - Fort Wayne Children's Zoo, Safety Academy, and TinCaps Baseball game
• Thursday, July 16 - Lego Mindstorm Robots!
• Friday, July 17 - Media Day (meet Dr. Bernard Harris, NASA astronaut, and Amee Patel, ExxonMobil representative)
• Sunday, July 19 - Welcome back from your weekend at home!
• Monday, July 20 - Solar powered frogs!
• Tuesday, July 21 - Scratch (online programming)
• Wednesday, July 22 - Pokagon State Park
• Thursday, July 23 - Building 3-D models!
• Friday, July 24 - Closing Celebration (meet Crawford Bunkley III, ExxonMobil representative)

The community is welcome to attend Media Day on Friday, July 17. Activities will be held in Ketner Sports Center from 8:30 AM - Noon. Feel free to attend at any time during this event.

Sunday, July 12

Today was the beginning of a very full two weeks at the ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp. Check-in ran smoothly, and all 45 campers moved into their new home away from home, Widmann Hall. In the evening, Camp Counselors played icebreaker games with the students, such as telephone, find your pair, and even a rock, paper, scissors tournament (we had an overall champion who receives no prize except the ability to boast that she was the champion). It was a great first day, and the students are eager to start experimenting with science tomorrow!

Monday, July 13

Monday morning wake-up call at 7:15 came really early for all the students (although it probably came a lot faster for all the counselors!). Campers met their first set of teachers, tested the strength of Madagascar hissing cockroaches, learned the special senses that animals have, talked about how to eat healthy in the dining hall, took a campus tour, and played a number of games in the evening (to run off some of that great energy!). The campers began their journals in the evening by documenting some of the highlights for them so far. One thing is for sure - they were definitely tired by the time lights out came around this time!

Tuesday, July 14

The highlight of the day today seemed to be the web page designing. Students learned HTML and designed their own mock web pages. They also learned about bones (with a visit from the skeleton), burned foods to learn about calories, and got an introduction to their final project. Tuesday night was movie night and time to call the parents. Everyone seemed happy to talk to their parents/guardians or grandparents, but it did make the homesickness kick in a little more (hearing their voices made it tough). On to a BIG day tomorrow in Fort Wayne!

Wednesday, July 15

If the campers weren't tired before, they sure are tired now! We traveled to Fort Wayne to the Children's Zoo to study the animals movements and habitats. We were really hoping for no rain, and it stayed cloudy all day but only about 10 drops ever fell. The weather was beautiful. After a picnic lunch, we moved to the Public Safety Academy of Northeast Indiana where they received a behind-the-scenes tour of training facilities for the police and fire departments. Then, they had the opportunity to control robots used by police officers, military, and firefighters. Following the fun with robots, we headed to the new baseball field in downtown Fort Wayne for a TinCaps game. We ate hot dogs, cheered for the home team, did the chicken dance, and even bought a few foam fingers! One student even through the ceremonial first pitch! We ended the day by collapsing into bed around 10:30 pm. It was a great day for counselors, staff, and campers.

For more information:
Kelly Stout, Executive Camp Director
(260)665-4307