We are SO excited for our Bruce 2010 Summer Camp!! The Science of Chocolate! Superheroes! Science MAGIC! We have so much awesomeness packed into one week! You won’t want to miss it…CHECK IT OUT!!!

2010 GEMS BRUCE

The DRY ICE Experiment

Last day of camp proved to be very busy for the girls. It started with finishing off their Science Fashionistas outfits and finalizing the accessories and the write up that would go along with it. They got a chance to wear their designs and make any last minute adjustments.

Designing was today’s theme and the girls got right in to it. After reviewing the concepts of drag, gravity and thrust and discussing how a rocket operates, they were asked to brainstorm a possible design for a balloon car. The trick was each group had to work with a limited supply of items. After the morning break the teams were eager to get their supplies and get started.

Lunch was filled with excitement for various reasons:

1. It was pizza day
2. There was a HUGE cake to celebrate one camper’s birthday
3. Today was the SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

All teams were ready to put their soccer skills to the test and after a very tough game, The Baconators came out as winners. However, Team Dynamite also took home a prize for showing the best sportsmanship. Way to go girls!

The afternoon activities began with groups working on catapults. Similar to the balloon cars, they had a limited supply of material and time. There were some very interesting and innovative designs that we got to see at the camp. We definitely had some Engineers in making!

When the time was up, we got ready to test the cars and the catapults. Some cars bounced in the air to travel a distance of about 2 meters, while a few successfully crossed the finished line at 3 meters in less than 5 seconds. Catapults were used to launch grapes across the room. Some went as high as 9 meters, while the winning team was able to sent its’ grape as far as 10 meters.

Finally, it was time for the girls to showcase their scientific abilities to their parents. At the Open House, each fashionista displayed her outfit and shared their reasons of choosing the material and design they used. Parents also got a jist of what the girls learned at camp through a friendly game of Gems Jeopardy. And when asked about the probability that the girls will return next year, the answer was a very loud and clear – THREE HUNDRED PERCENT!

Thank you WiN Bruce for a wonderful week; we will see you next year!

What day is it today? BIOLOGY DAY! Our first topic covered the essentials of a balanced diet. We tested various cereals to determine their iron content using a magnet. Frosted flakes came out on top!

Next, we learned why our dentists tell us not to drink pop! We used pH paper and phenolphthalein to rank different types of pop according to their acidity. We mixed pop and water in an Erlenmeyer flask and added phenolphthalein with a dropper until we noticed a permanent colour change. Gingerale was the least acidic, while mountain dew contained the most acidity.

The girls enjoyed a rapid game of Catch the Bacon after lunch – the sun was shining bright!

Our afternoon started with an explanation of enzymes. Did you know you can’t add fresh pineapples to jello? The enzymes in the pineapples eat up the gelatin preventing it from solidifying into jello. The girls demonstrated this by adding fresh, frozen, and canned pineapples to a jello solution. The fresh and frozen pineapple solutions did not solidify, while the canned pineapple jello did! This is because canned pineapples are processed, which removes the enzymes! Cool stuff!

Finally, after snack break, we checked out a pre-dissected dogfish shark! Gross but awesome!  We wrapped up the day with some Shark Jeopardy – winners wereteam  SHARK ATTACK!

Another great day at Camp GEMS! Tomorrow is GEMS spirit day and the open house!

The girls started the day with an exciting experiment about the effects of acid rain on the environment. The activity demonstrated how acids cause corrosion by  showing the effects of lemon juice and vinegar on chalk. Lemon juice is not kind to chalk! We also learned about different types of electricity and discussed the pros and cons of different energy sources. Nuclear rules!

The soccer tournament continued at lunch with intensity. The teams are now ready for the championship games on Friday.

After lunch we learned an important lesson about why scientists always build a prototype before they start production on a product. Not all scientific experiments work well. Our boats didn’t have the thrust promised by the antacid tablets BUT Bill Nye saved the day by teaching us all about buoyancy and some fun experiments we can test at home.

Before getting into our creative craft, a few groups participated in probability games outdoors. The girls tested their knowledge of probability through a game of cards, while others tried their skills at baseball.

We ended the day finishing off our puppets and creating our very own rocks from plaster of paris. Tomorrow is Biology Day!

Day two of Camp GEMS was full of fun and lots of learning. We started our morning working on our Science Fashionista activity for Friday.

The girls began the day as weather station engineers and created a wind vane and a barometer. The girls were really able to predict the weather – Nothing but sunny skies ahead!

We enjoyed a hamburger and veggie lunch and then headed out for Day 2 of our soccer tournament.

In the afternoon we built our own cities and then watched as earthquakes tried to destroy them. All in all we had some pretty tough buildings.

After a snack we got the creative juices flowing and designed our own hand puppets – the girls will be voting for the best puppet on Thursday. The day wrapped up with our Super Scientist presentation. Another fun day at camp!

August 10 – 14, 2009