By Sara Thompson
Special to the Enterprise
Another summer camp season has come and gone, and we all had a blast! Campers attended our camps between June and August and learned about plants, animals, and space! With the generous donation of air purifiers by First Five Yolo we were able to hold our camps safely in our classroom, with plenty of time spent outdoor activities and walks through Mace Ranch Park.
Need for Seeds had our campers learning about all thing’s plants, how they grow, what they need to survive, and about different varieties right in our backyard. Campers dissected seed sprouts, observed pinecones, counted tree rings, made oak gall ink, and planted their own seeds and sprouts to plant at home.
Out of this World! took campers beyond our skies as they learned about our solar system. Campers learned about our planet and others, what makes comets different from asteroids, stars, as well as learning about the challenges of humans living in and exploring space.
Fur, Feathers, and Scales taught our campers all about different animal groups. Participants met several of our resident animals. Campers observed invertebrates, such as insects, arachnids, and worms. They also learned about mammals by looking at various pelts, skulls, and tracks. Campers observed birds in the park and looked at eggs and nests in the classroom, learned about what makes fish and amphibians different, and painted their own camouflaged snakes and floating turtles.
Explorit especially wants to thank our crew of dedicated volunteers, without whom we could not have had a successful camp season. A huge thank you to: Alex Chen, Angelo Lopez, Ben Rabin, Braden Alston, Carson Schmidt, Chloe Jaffe, Chloe Vu, Clara Szego, Cole Hanstad, Darby Rose, Dylan Jayalath, Ellen Ferguson, Emily Li, Heather Li, Jackson Friend, Jefferson Wright, Jordan Kim, Neha Dalal, Nicole Dalal, Pratyush Bharadwaj, Punya Uppal, Renata Ferry, Rohan Baxi, Sean Gao, Vik Prasad.
Exploit's coming events:
• Explorit will be closed from Saturday, August 20-Friday September 2 for installation of our next exhibit. Grand Opening of our new exhibit is Saturday, September 3rd, from 10am-2pm.
• We are honored and excited that we have been chosen to participate in a special charitable giving campaign, sponsored and funded by Target. And you have the chance to help direct a portion of Target’s donation to us! Now through September 30th, vote for us through the Target Circle program to help determine how Target’s donation will be divvied up. Find out more about Target Circle here: www.target.com/circle
• A Membership to Explorit grants the recipient free visits to Explorit’s regular public hours, discounts on events, summer camps and workshops, and gives you ASTC benefits to visit other museums throughout the world. To purchase or for more information visit https://www.explorit.org/membership or call Explorit at 530-756-0191.
• Now is a great time to donate and help Explorit continue to educate and inspire the scientists of tomorrow: https://www.explorit.org/donate.