Summer Camp season coming

The little girl tugged on the educator's sleeve to get her attention.

“Is this science?” Chloe asked as she measured how much her alfalfa seeds had grown during the week.

Upon hearing that the answer was yes, she said, “I didn't know science could be fun!”

That, in a nutshell, is what makes Explorit's Summer Science Camps special. Kids have fun, just as at any well-designed camp, but they also discover the joys and wonder of everyday science.

On Saturday, Explorit will start taking registrations for this year's 10 weeklong camp sessions, which run June 15 through Aug. 21. The center's employees will be present at the Children's Summer Activity Faire from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday in Central Park next to the Davis Farmers Market. Employees will hand out Camp Guides, which contain registration forms, and answer questions about camp.

Key information about Explorit camps:

• Three age groups are offered: One for children in preschool and entering kindergarten, one for children entering grades 1 and 2, and one for children entering grades 3 through 5. Minimum age is 4.

• Camps will begin at 8:30 a.m. this year, moved up a half-hour from years past. Preschool sessions end at 11 a.m. and only meet three days a week - Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Campers in the upper age groups meet daily until 12 p.m.

• Extended-day options are available to campers in grades 1-5. Parents may pick up their children anytime up to 5 p.m. Explorit staff member supervises a sack-lunch time, then an afternoon of activities sometimes related to science and sometimes just pure summertime fun - such as playing slip-and-slide with a garden hose on the big lawn at our Mace Park Branch, 3141 Fifth St.

• Each weeklong session has a theme; each theme runs for two weeks. This year's selections: Ecosystems and animals, space and astronomy, weird science, inventions and transportation, and the science of the very big and very small.

• Prices range from $52 for a week of preschool camp to $197 for an upper-grade camp combined with the extended-day option. Those prices are for Explorit members; non-members pay about 15 percent more. Family membership is $50 and includes many other benefits as well.

• April 17 is the deadline for our random-drawing registration. All registration forms received by that date will receive a random number, and campers will be placed in sessions in order of their number. Some children are wait-listed for the most popular camps, but we try to create enough sections of each camp to meet demand. Campers will be notified of their placement in early May, and an open registration period will begin on May 4.

• Some scholarship assistance is available through Explorit's Ethel Sassenrath Fund. Donations to the fund are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated; learn more or donate at www.explorit.org.

It's easy to get more information about Explorit's camps. First, a PDF of the Camp Guide can be downloaded at www.explorit.org. On March 19, the printed Camp Guide will be inserted in the Davis Enterprise. Guides will be sent home in the backpacks of all kindergartners through 4th graders in the Davis public schools in coming weeks. Other guides will be available at both Explorit locations and at the public library.

Camp Guides also will be mailed to Explorit members and former camp families. Others who would like a copy in the mail may request one by emailing explorit@explorit.org or calling (530) 756-0191 from 9 a.m. -4:30 p.m. weekdays.

Explorit's Summer Science Camp is sponsored in part this year by Scholarshare, California's 529 college savings plan.

A final note: Chloe was in a camp called “Sizing Up Stuff” that was similar to this year's big/small camp. She grew her alfalfa seeds in a soil mixture stuffed in pantyhose that had been fashioned into an animal shape with head, legs, arms, etc. By Friday, the seeds grew to cover the “alfalfa critter,” which Chloe then decorated with foam craft pieces and googly eyes. It was a take-home souvenir of her lesson about plant growth, estimation, measurement and the “fun” of science.
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Explorit Science Center has two exhibitions running: “The Energy Story” and “Move It! Science in Action.” Admission is $4 general, free for age 3 and under. The museum is open from 2-4:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 11 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Explorit is at 2801 Second St., Davis. For more information: (530) 756-0191 or www.explorit.org