Sciencein Nature Summer Camp Program

Little Explorers

June 14th through August 31st

The summer of 2010 will be all about becoming a junior scientist! Students and staff will betaking a fascinating journey into the world of detection, investigation and exploration of science and nature. Science will come naturally as we observe, ask questions and watch all of the amazing things in our environment. Our overall objective is to show your child how fun science is and that it has a direct link to the environment that we live in.

June 14-18 LET’S GET ACQUAINTED

The first part of the week is all about meeting our new classmates and exploring the campus.Some activities of the week will include painting faces, making friendship necklaces, and interviewing each other. We will also visit the barn, take a hike on the nature trails and get started working on our gardens.

June 21-25 DINOSAURS

We will focus the second part of the week on the history of the earth. We will study dinosaurs and spend some time excavating the skeleton of a mysterious prehistoric animal, finding their eggs, and using bread dough to shape into bones that we caneven eat!

June 28–July 2 IT IS ALL ABOUT PLANTS

We will grow exotic plants, bring the wetlands indoors and even generate electricity from potatoes. Growing our own tree from seed is a magical experience that we will be able to share. We will also get our new gardens started!

July5–9 THE WORLD OF FROGS

Welcome to Planet Frog – a place where the children will observe live tadpoles transform into frogs. Watch the frogs explore its surrounding rainforest habitat and learn why frogs play an important role in the environment. We will also spend some time by our campus pond studying our own native frogs.

July 12-16 WIND AND WATER POWER

Helping children learn how to be more environmentally responsible by building a functional wind turbine and harnessing real power will fill the students with excitement. We will also have a fascinating classroom habitat that will teach about the water cycle.

July 19-23 FLUTTERING BIRDS

Your child’s imaginations will soar as they learn first-hand about our winged friends. They will see pictures, hear calls, and learn the names of many of our feathered friends. We will then take a hike out on our nature trails to find and identify the bird’s native to our campus.

July 26-30 WIGGLY WORMS

This week our students will explore the fascinating lifestyle of worms, they will learn where worms live, what they eat and how they see. Using magnifying glasses, children will examine live worms, up close and personal!

August 2-6 HOW WE LOVE BUGS

Get up close and personal with creepy crawly bugs. We will be studying butterflies, ladybugs, spiders and ants as well as many other insects. Out on the trail we can find where these bugs live; under a stump, up in a tree or on a spider web. We will even build our very own ant farm.

August 9-20 GETTING READY FOR OUR GRAND FINALE

These weeks we will be putting the finishing touches on our big show and setting up for our science fair that will be held on Wed. Aug 18th. Parents, please mark this day on your calendar so that we can show you all of the wonderful things we learned over the summer!

August23-31 GETTING READY FOR THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR

As the summer draws to an end we will take this time to relax and get ready for the new school year. We learned so much over the summer so it is also important to take a break before the new school year begins. It’s a good time to just play games and have some relaxing fun!

CampSchedule

7:00 – 9:00 Pre-CampCare

9:00 – 9:30 Breakfast

9:30 – 9:45 CampWelcome

9:45 – 10:30 Explorers Morning Hike/Gardening/Animals/Science experiments

10:30 – 11:45 Camp on the Knoll

11:45 – 12:30 Lunch

12:30 – 1:30 Creative Dance (MWF) / Phy. Ed. (TR)

1:30 – 3:30 CampLab

3:30 – 4:15 CampWrap-Up at the Museum

4:15 – 6:00 After CampCare

What to Bring

Our summer is filled with indoor and outdoor activities. Children should bring:

-sunscreen - comfortable footwear

-water bottles- swimming suits

-appropriate apparel - beach towel

-extra change of clothing

*All the above can be placed in your child’s backpack.

Daily Attendance

If your child will be late or absent please call 608.837.6100.

Medication

Should your child require medication, please inform the teacher or office staff by filling out our medication form in the office so we are allowed to administer the medication.

Registration

AGES: School Age Summer Program - 5 through 10 years old

PRICE: $215/week (full time) or$46/day (2, 3 or 4 days/week)

Registration ends June 1st. Registration fee is $25 per child.

Little Explorers Hours: 7:00AM - 6:00PM Monday through Friday

Contact Info: Little ExplorersNatureCenter Preschool

5218 Reiner Road

Madison, WI53718

Phone (608)837-6100