Summer Fun and Science Camp ended on Friday, June 26 with a pizza party luau at the pool for the 30-plus campers that participated. The weeklong camp that was held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from June 22 through 26 had youngsters reveling in a variety of experiments and scientific challenges along with a cool dip in the pool in the afternoons.
Camp leaders Joye Thompson, Eli Vernon, Vanessa Vargas, Stephanie Argumedo, Jackie Hernandez, and Gerrick Figueroa manned the camp and watched over the activities with an afternoon and morning shift.
The campers were between the ages of six and 12 and were from all over the area including Oakdale, Modesto, Turlock, Ceres, one from Salinas, and of course, Riverbank.
Creating their own water bottle holders and tie-dye shirts, the campers also had plenty of things to do that included a variety of experiments and scientific challenges that they kept track of in a log where they entered the experiment, hypothesis, and results of each experiment.
The Skittles Density Rainbow experiment was a hit with all the campers which taught them how to layer different densities into a rainbow of color. The tools necessary for the experiment included microwave safe cups, Skittles, clear drinking glass or glass bowl, measuring cup, spoon, and a bulb syringe. The cups turned into a rainbow of colors and campers learned that oil floats on water because the oil is less dense. The Skittles were dissolved in water completely and mixed with the sugar it was the densest.
As a first time camp leader, Vargas was having a great time with the kids.
“They are very funny and they make me laugh,” said Vargas. “I love being a recreation leader.”
To show that candy can cause an eruption if used with soda was the Mentos Soda Fountain experiment. With safety goggles on, campers had a small cup of soda and were given a mint to drop in it to watch the reaction. This test failed due to the insignificant fizz that occurred. The final test with wintergreen Lifesavers caused a fountain of soda.
The Life Savers Lights experiment also had the scientists ooh-ing and aah-ing after they made sparks in the dark. Chomping up the wintergreen Lifesavers and watching them spark was a delight for all.
The City of Riverbank offers a variety of camps during the summer to keep the youngsters entertained all summer long. However, space is limited so parents are asked to register their children early to also avoid the cancelation of a camp.
The second session of Outdoor Adventure Camp will run from July 13 to 17 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Jacob Myers Park, Basketball Camp will be from July 20 to the 24 at Cardozo Middle School Gym and the final camp Games Explosion will be from July 27 to 31 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Teen Center, Community Center and Gym.
