Winter Wonderland?

During a week when the weather forecast looks like this:

...this is what you close your eyes and dream about:

Fortunately at Cambridge Adventure Day Camp, it IS winter. Sort of. I can promise that we are at least giving it our most effective effort!

In Cooking yesterday, campers had the opportunity to make and enjoy "Frozen Hot Chocolate." Today they changed direction to cook a delicious chili, which one camper delightedly called "shimmering" like ice and newly fallen snow. 

Campers in Group One had great fun with a parachute. I can imagine those colorful balls as flakes of snow or chunks of hail, can't you?! Kind of makes one long for a snow day!

We also had our second Design Challenge, during which students were given the task of building an 8-inch tall table that could support the weight of two algebra textbooks. Sounds simple enough until you realize their only materials were an 8x11 piece of cardboard, 4 sheets of newsprint, and a few strips of packing tape. As a staff, we have been running into an interesting dilemma: design teams are asking if a) they need to use all of their materials and b) if they can have more materials if they accidentally damage their original materials. The latter issue seems easier to address; if we are teaching our children to consider mistakes not as failures but as attempts, or "iterations," than it seems reasonable to give them additional materials so long as they recognize that doing so automatically classifies their design as a "second iteration." This should not be considered a big problem for anyone and is actually an important part of the design process. The question of whether all materials need to be used is a more interesting one. As engineers, we want to encourage innovative and creative thinking, and if they can identify design solutions that don't require the use of all materials, especially if those materials will be redundant or even useless, than that seems reasonable. However, given that the challenges mandate the use of these, and only these, materials, perhaps the challenge is as much in being innovative about the use of materials as it is in being innovative about the solution. Hmmmm. This is truly an example of the types of dilemmas that we have taught our campers to consider and value; the questions that have no obvious solutions and that instead invite dialogue between people with varying perspectives. Of course, we welcome you to chime in with thoughts of your own by submitting a comment to our blog!

Of course, the scorching heat is reminding us that it really isn't winter, and we are spending ample time in the water to keep cool. Trips have included visits to Dealtry Pool in Watertown, Hopkinton State Park, and Walden Pond. 

In other news, campers are just having an all-around great time with programing. They are finishing up studies of abstract art and learning about symmetry, connecting the latter to the design of snowflakes. They continue to enjoy each other and the vast array of activities we are able to offer because of our tireless and dedicated staff. 

We are looking forward to skating through the week, particularly in an air-conditioned roller skating facility this Thursday called Roller Kingdom. Although not icy, I imagine we'll have no difficulty at all closing our eyes and imagining the cool crunch of our skates gliding across a frozen Charles River. We'll keep you posted!