Hello camp families! Though this week was shorter than usual, campers still had fun learning about different eras from the past. Here is a brief summary of what went on each day with some pictures as well!
Monday
On Monday we learned about paleontology. We learned about what paleontologists does and what they study. Then we went to the evolution gallery and checked out their work first hand. Aside from the exhibits in the evolution gallery campers also had the opportunity to see and hold some fossils we do not normally have out on display.
We played a game with campers called the fossilization game. In this game campers would use their imagination to create an imaginary environment. In this environment they would then choose an inhabitant to be, such as a fish, deer, plant etc. Once they picked an inhabitant to, campers would then act out interactions between the animals they chose. For example: a deer being chased by a wolf ( but in a much more tame manner).
After a while of acting they were told to freeze in place and counselors then handed them fate cards. The cards had a variety of different fates. Such as being washed away by water, eaten by scavengers etc. Very rarely there was the become a fossil card. This was done intentionally to show how difficult and rare it is for fossils to form.
Once we finished the game campers got the chance to paint some casts of fossils to take home.
As a sort of a cool down activity campers got to make a dinosaur out of paper. The pieces of each dinosaur were all there but it was the campers job to put it altogether.
Tuesday
On Tuesday campers learned about ancient Egypt.
We talked about scribes, hieroglyphics and the history of the Rosetta Stone. Afterwards campers had a chance to be scribes and decode 4 cryptic messages! Once they were done decoding the messages, they were officially scribe experts. As an exit activity campers made cartouches out of paper.
The pyramids were also a topic of discussion for the day. We learned how the design and scale of pyramids evolved with time. At first they were smaller and became grander mirroring the rise of dynasties as well as the power the pharaohs held. Eventually there was a decline in construction and grandeur due to the decline of the pharaohs power and wealth. After the discussion, campers became pyramid builders and built their own pyramids out of paper or straws and pipe cleaners.
Another activity campers did was make a pharaoh headdress. What was neat after the craft was seeing a bunch of pharaohs walking around the museum.
Wednesday
Wednesday’s topic was archaeology. Campers learned what an archaeologist studies and we briefly compared that to a paleontologist.
We talked about the Northwest Coastal Native Americans, specifically the Haida and the Pomo. We learned about an important part of their culture (the Haida) which is the totem pole. Totem polls were a way of passing stories from one generation to another, so they served as a sort of history book for these people. After learning about the lengthy process it takes to make a totem pole, we made our own mini versions.
After learning about the Haida we then changed gears to another tribe from the Northwest Coastal called the Pomo of California. The Pomo people play a game with stick dice. Each person who plays gets a set of 6 wooden sticks. One face of the stick is decorated beautifully with designs, while the other side is left blank. Players take turns throwing sticks and depending on the combinations they get they’ll receive a certain amount of points. We then had campers make their own sets of stick dice and then play with each other.
One activity we did today was an archaeological inquiry. In this activity we talked with campers about how archaeologists go about answering questions on how people lived in the past. They way they do this is by forming a hypothesis and then testing it out via the classification of artifacts. Once they finish the classification they can then look back and accept or reject their hypothesis. Then afterwards they can make a behavioral inference based on their results. Campers worked together and designed and conducted a research project by going through the archaeological inquiry process. The subject of their project was making inferences about what activities go on at camp by classifying the baskets o funs that the counselors carry around.
We also had the campers go on an archaeological dig! We set up the dig box and hide a bunch of cool artifacts for campers to excavate. Artifacts ranged from shells, to bones to arrowheads. Another activity we had right next to the excavation site were pottery puzzles. Campers were artifact restorationists and helped put back the broken pots together again.
