ACADEMIC SUMMER CAMPS PROMOTE THE FUN SIDE OF SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS

Children this week have been cheering for their science and math assignments.

They have raced bugs, played cards and eaten popcorn, and today will fly hot-air balloons and construct giant mazes as part of math and science camps.

Math camp is new this summer; science camp is in its fifth year, said director Judy Gau.

The camps are designed to make the sometimes dreaded subjects of science and math fun. Children learn a little something, too. No one earns a grade.

"We get to do a lot of cool stuff," said 9-year-old science camper Mesha Russell on her way to the pill bug races. "We do more things outside and with our hands. I think it's fun."

The camps are self-supporting, said Gau. Students pay to attend. That money is used to pay staff and purchase supplies. The school district provides the space.

These are things you wouldn't do in a regular classroom.

For example, science campers set traps for pill bugs as part of their Pill Bug Project. Students learned that some of the bugs are roly poly and others race away when discovered.

"It's an investigative project," said camp instructor Stan Seiler. "We have been doing a lot of experimentation and examination."

When the youngsters ran their traps Thursday, some found pill bugs. Others found ants and beetles. Other traps came up empty.

"It doesn't matter," said Seiler. "This is a wonderful project for thinking. Why do the bugs do this and why do they do that?"

Mark Cook and Linda Alberson are leading math camp. Their enthusiasm is contagious.

"Math is a lot of fun," Cook said. He began listing the activities math campers had been involved with during the week.

"Tanagrams, pattern blocks, card games, geo boards, computers, Krypto, puzzles, strategy games," he began.

Students have spent a lot of time estimating lengths, times and other numbers, and then discovering if they were close.

"We estimated how many of each color are in a Lifesavers roll," said Alberson. "We had jelly beans in a jar. Today we will have a handful of popcorn and estimate how many kernels will pop."

Students unrolled and measured cassette tapes and toilet paper.

"We have `mathletics' too," physical activities that reinforce mathematical concepts, said Cook.

For example, students estimated how many times they could toss a water balloon before it burst. Today they will draw mazes on the school playground with colored chalk.

"The new emphasis on math is on creative problem solving," Cook said. "We have tried to get the kids thinking about creative solutions."

Alberson said all the students are enthusiastic about math. "We have a variety of ability levels," she said. "But that's okay because everyone is interested and excited."

Enthusiasm is important, Cook said, because "math is everywhere."

Trisha Bennett, 10, said: "I wanted to learn more about math. It's been a lot of fun. You know, math usually is pretty fun."