Explorit announces summer camp offerings

Looking for a unique summer camp experience? How about a camp with the theme of “Goology?” Children will be able to make slime, dig in the earth and touch wiggly worms in the camp offered by Explorit Science Center.

“Be prepared to get a little messy in this camp,” says Mackenzie Tysell Yamamura, Explorit’s program director. “We want kids to roll up their sleeves and really get into science.”

Explorit’s catalog of summer camps is now available and can be viewed at www.explorit.org. Designed for children entering preschool through fifth grade in the fall, the camps are weeklong investigations of a variety of science topics. Dates this year are June 18 through Aug. 24.

As in previous summers, Explorit's first round of registration is being conducted through a random-drawing process. The deadline to submit registration forms for the random drawing is 4:30 p.m. April 16.

All camps involve children in the doing of science through experiments, take-home projects, games and hands-on investigations. Children entering grades one through five will have the option of taking morning classes that run Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; an optional extended-day program runs until 5 p.m.

Children at least 4 years old and entering preschool or kindergarten in the fall can enroll in camps that meet Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

In order to meet the demand for fun, educational summer activities, Explorit is holding the majority of the camps at the Mace Park Branch at 3141 5th St. and will hold additional sections of camps at its main public site at 2801 2nd St.

The extra space at the main public site allows Explorit to offer multiple sections of the same camp. This means that families who register children by April 16 have a very good chance of getting their first or second choices, as Explorit will add sections as needed to meet the demand for any given topic.

Some of the topics offered this year include "Animals Around Us" and "Up, Up and Away" for children entering preschool or kindergarten. For children entering grades 1-2, some camp options include "Slimy, Grimy Science" and "California Explorations." "Pattern Magic" and "Aero-Adventures" are just two of the topics offered for children entering grades 3-5.

In addition to the hands-on learning offered as part of the camps, each child will receive a colorful Explorit T-shirt.

Also, each Thursday evening during summer camps, Explorit will host a free program. Parents, siblings and friends will be invited to Explorit to take a peek into what summer camp students have been working on and to try out some fun activities.

To learn more about the camps, attend the Children’s Summer Activity Faire at the Davis Farmers Market in Central Park on Saturday from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. where you can pick up a catalog. Printed copies of the camp catalog are also available at Explorit’s Second Street site. Details about scholarship opportunities are available at www.explorit.org.

If you can't make the April 16 random-drawing registration deadline, don't worry. The next round of registration for any remaining spaces begins May 1. This is an open registration process.
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Plug into circuit science in a Family Exploration program called “Charged Up” from 1-4 p.m. Saturday at Explorit’s Second Street site. Children and adults can explore the powers of electricity and magnetism as well as construct circuits, make metal objects float, make their hair stand on end and more. The program, sponsored by Davis Waste Removal, is free with paid admission to the museum.

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Explorit Science Center is open at its new site, 2801 Second St., Davis. Through June 10, you can visit the exhibition “Looking Up: The World Above Us.” Public hours are Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Tuesday through Friday from 2 to 4:30 p.m. For more information: www.explorit.org or (530) 756-0191.