DVUSD
– Camp doesn’t just mean marshmallows on the fire and
scary ghost stories anymore. Now it means forensic science
and blasting into space as well.
Deer
Valley Unified School District is launching its Science
Rocks! Day Camp program.
Partnering
with Honeywell Hometown Solutions community outreach program,
the camp features
a concentrated look at the fields of aerospace, forensics
and environmental science.
One
week is devoted to each subject over the period of the
three‑week camp.
“These
are exciting programs,” said Alexis Schallenberger, a
grant writer with the public relations
department at DVUSD. “I wish I was the age to attend.”
As
part of the partnership with DVUSD, Honeywell has donated
$20,000 to fund camper scholarships, field trips, guest
speakers, robotics and science tools.
Schallenberger
said the scholarships are designed for students interested
in attending who may not be able to afford the cost.
For
children who don’t qualify for the scholarship, the cost
to attend is $200 per week with a multiple week discount
of $25 for the second and third week. The first week of
camp began this week with the following two weeks wrapping
up the program. Other than the field trips, camp activities
take place at the Sandra Day O’Connor High School in Glendale.
“It’s
on a high school campus,” said Schallenberger. “It has
that collegiate feel to it for the kids.”
The
camp is designed specifically for students between fourth‑
and ninth‑grades and includes experiments and laboratory
work, games, competitions and field trips. The field trips
are to the Challenger Space Center, the Department of
Public Safety crime lab, and some nearby parks for the
environmental sciences portion.
“There’s
a lot of teamwork projects and a lot of mentoring,” said
Schallenberger.
Focused
camps such as Science Rocks! are where the field is heading,
according to Schallenberger. Rather than one camp with
a variety of activities that not all the students attending
would be interested in participating, schools now are
moving toward theme camps such as a science camp, computer
camp or arts camp.
“The
kids have really responded to this,” she said. “I know
I would’ve loved to do something like this when I was
in school.”
