Finally, a summer camp that gives kids freedom to problem solve, collaborate, and innovate. Making mistakes is even encouraged! We all learn from our mistakes and can quickly improve on the next attempt.

Galileo science camp is shaping a new generation of innovators by teaching kids to explore and create without fear!

Galileo sent some materials for my kids to tinker with and get creative making. These materials are based on materials they actually use in their summer camps and included a tooth brush head, google eyes, mini light bulbs, conductive copper tape and conductive string, batteries, a miniature motor, and more.

How to create a light up drawing

My 5 year old was most interested in the tiny light bulbs and I suggested she could make a picture that lights up. We set aside the materials she would need and she brain stormed what type of picture she wanted to make. I left it up to her and didn’t make any more suggestions.

Materials:

• copper tape
• conductive string or wire
• miniature light bulbs
• small battery
• binder clip
• paper
• pens, crayons, or other drawing tools
• scissors
• tape

 

Instructions

Draw a picture. She concentrated hard on her picture of a house until every detail was just right.

Turn your picture over and cut your copper tape to fit across one half of the paper.

Set battery in middle, with negative side down, touching the copper tape. Mark negative below the tape.

Measure another piece of copper tape to halfway across plus an inch. Tape down, but fold the last inch under, so that the non sticky side of the copper tape touches the top of the battery. Hold together with binder clip and mark positive below the copper tape you added.

Bend the wires apart on the mini light bulb and touch one wire to the positive side and one to the negative side of the copper tapes to complete a circuit. My daughter played around with it for a while until she got it. As she fiddled I explained how a circuit works and how the electric current moves through the metal and wire in a circle. I let her discover what was necessary to make the light come on.

If the light does not come on, try turning it around so that the opposite wires are touching the positive and negative copper tape. If it still doesn’t turn on, check that your battery is touching both copper tapes, one touching negative only and one positive only.

Once the light comes on, remember which side needs to touch which.

Poke a small hole in the paper and push the light bulb through. Use small lengths of conductive string or thin wire  to connect the copper tape to the correct wire on the light. Secure with tape. Be sure that the strings are not crossing or touching each other.

Repeat for each light bulb. We found that the battery we used could power one larger bulb (about the size of a Christmas tree light bulb) and one smaller one, but the third larger bulb we put in (blue) would only turn on when the yellow turned off (due to the wires jiggling loose). My daughter enjoyed moving the paper so the lights would flash on and off. She said it looked like twinkling Christmas lights.

She was so proud of her electric art work.

She couldn’t wait to explain to her dad how a closed circuit worked and how she could make electricity travel to her light bulbs!

A Summer Camp for Makers, Free Thinkers, Innovators…

I would actually send my kids here. Galileo’s art and science curriculum is packed with substance and sparks kids’ imagination and innovation. Homeschool camps are in short supply since our kids are used to having the freedom to create, dream, tinker, etc, without the confines of specific instruction at all times. This would be a day camp I could see them loving! Right now you can get major savings, so read to the end.

My kids are free thinkers. They don’t need detailed instruction and adult supervision every step of the way. They have plenty of ideas I could never dream up swimming in their heads already. What they need is time, tools and encouragement.

My son once decided he really wanted to make his sister a new doll. I did not have the time to break out the sewing machine, but no need. He disappeared in his room with a box of recycling and was in there for quite a long time. I heard him get frustrated more than once, but he didn’t come out looking for help so I let him be. Through trial and error, he found materials that would work for his vision and created a doll that he was thrilled with. He was so proud he had made it himself! He made mistakes, but he didn’t give up. He worked through them and created a one of a kind work of art that he was very happy with.

Encouraging kids to come up with and problem solve their own ideas grows confidence and trust in their own abilities like nothing else. Allowing them to fail and teaching them that it’s ok, more than ok, it’s a great thing because they will learn and can make it better when they try again.

I always keep scraps of fabric, buttons, recycling, anything that looks interesting for a craft project in a large drawer along with easy access to all the usual craft supplies you are familiar with. When inspiration strikes, I want my kids to be able to create without waiting for me to get out what they might need. I also don’t worry much about mess while they’re working. Clean up can happen later on.

Galileo camps are for pre-k through 8th grade.

 

Pre-K through 5th grade, there is Camp Galileo where campers take on art, science, and outdoor activities tailored to their level. They learn lasting innovation skills like collaboration and reflection and take home tangible creations like a rocket, photos inspired by Ansel Adams, or even an archery bow!

For kids entering 5th grade through 8th grade there’s Galileo Summer Quest. Campers can choose from 13 immersive majors, each confidence-building, collaboration-packed session gives them an opportunity to realize their personal vision in a new inspiring subject. Campers make short films, engineer catapults, whip up inventive dishes, design custom video games, and much much more.

One of the most impactful things about the Galileo experience is the staff and how much heart and energy they bring to camp every day. They screen thousands of applicants each year to find the absolute best people to work at their camps. The people they hire not only have the silly gene but a deep passion for education and developing young innovators as well.

There are over 60 locations for Galileo camps in the U.S., Bay Area summer camps, Southern California summer camps and Chicago.

Galileo is sending me an innovation kit for the kids to get creative. I’ll share our science project or art creation as soon as we get it. We can’t wait to get started!

Meanwhile, camps fill up earlier and earlier every year. Don’t miss this deal:

Register your kids for Galileo before February 29th to get

both $40 off a week of Galileo Camp using code 2016BOLD

and Early Bird Savings (details below).

After February 29th, the $40 discount will still be active.

By signing up now, you can lock into Galileo’s biggest savings of the year!

Early Bird Savings: If you register for camp by February 29th, on top of the $40 off discount with code 2016BOLD, you can save an additional $25 per week at Camp Galileo and Galileo Summer Quest or $12.50 per class ($25 off a full day) at Summer Camps @ The Tech. Early bird savings apply automatically to your camp purchase and can be combined with Galileo’s multi-session discount Guarantee your spot—and your biggest savings—by February 29th and you can change your camp date or location through May 2 for absolutely no fee.

Thank you Galileo for sponsoring this post