Week Two of Science Camp

Last Sunday, we had our annual open house at work, a day in which anybody who is coming up to camp during this school year can come and learn more about the program. The people who come are usually those who are either really excited or really nervous. I brought Willow along, and since she is technically a counselor now (after going through the Leaders In Training program this summer), we put her to work at the arts & crafts table and then taking meal tickets in the dining hall.

We didn't keep track of how many people came during the day, but it was probably around 1500. It went well, and people seemed appreciative of our efforts. We found an alligator lizard on the one hike I led, and after I put it down facing away from the group, it abruptly turned around and ran across a mom's foot, with predictable results. Despite being catapulted a couple of feet, the lizard was fine.

The following week of camp found me at our Cupertino site, nestled in the hills near Steven's Creek Reservoir. There were only four field classes, and we split the 96 campers evenly (or 95, since one girl never showed, so I had only 23 campers in my group). The kids exuded enthusiasm, and it has been awhile since I've had a group who was so excited to hike. Three of the four so-called "epic journeys" (the Thursday long hike) were more epic than usual, with my group and Arctic Hare's group going to the (dry) pond and then heading downhill to the reservoir basin and following the creek back to camp, and Algae's group doing the incredibly epic peak/reservoir loop (as far as I know, I'm the only other instructor to attempt that).

Here are some photos from the epic journey. I wish I could post pictures of the kids playing in the mud, but I can't share pictures of kids without parental permission. The rattlesnake was about a yard off the trail near the end of the solo hike, and the group in front of me (27 people) all walked right by it without seeing it.

During the week at camp, we have the campers write about how their week is going. This alerts us to potential problems and gives us a written record of them. Sometimes the responses are bizarre. Here are a couple of them from this week.

Finally, here are a couple of pieces of art generated by campers during recess, offering proof that Donald Trump scares children. The girl who drew the picture of Trump in a dress is Muslim, and it made me think about how terrifying Trump's anti-Muslim rhetoric must be for Muslim children (not to mention the ignorant antics of many of Trump's supporters). This particular girl, who named herself "Flamingo" this week, was also among the muddiest of campers on the epic journey. At one point, she ran out into the mud flats and stood there on one leg like a flamingo. She also happened to be wearing pink, which completed the picture nicely.