Science 2011
Chairperson: Jerry Dievendorf
S1 Bugs and Slugs
Sessions: 2A & 2B Grades: 2A: 2-4; 2B: 4-6
What is that thing crawling up your back? What do butterflies eat? What is making those strange noises in the bushes? Investigate the mysterious lives of beetles, butterflies, crickets, bees and other things that bug you! We’ll make slides for microscopic inspection, swing nets, build and set traps, manage an insect zoo, experiment and discover many interesting facts about insects while we observe these amazing creatures, close up and personal!
Instructor: Jerry Dievendorf
S2 Science Fun
Sessions: 3A & 3B Grades: 2 & 3
Do you know why certain animals live where they do? Explore the forest with us, probe the pond and swamp, examine evidence of deer activity and learn how to find salamanders, snakes, frogs and insects. Recognize animals from their tracks. We’ll conduct chemical tests of water and berries to make deductions about what certain animals eat and where they live. We will also examine stream beds to find fossils of ancient life, and we’ll try to guess what our environment might have been like in those earlier times. Come and have fun with us!!
Instructor: Diane Betzwieser
S3 Wee Beasties
Session: 2B Grades: 3 & 4
Have you ever wondered what earthlings looked like 3.5 billion years ago? Do you think it would be fun to be a “Microbe Detective” and use cool microscopes to help solve crimes? Would you like to extract DNA from strawberries, and get to eat them as well? Would you like to make yeast bread, and see the “wee beasties” that make it? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then this is the class for you!
Instructor: Dr. Dorothy Matthews
S4 Swamping
Sessions: 2B & 3B Grades: 2-4
Different plants and animals live in different parts of our swamp. We’ll spend the week discovering who lives in all that mud!
Instructor: Dee Strnisa
S5 Critter Patrol
Sessions: 1A & 1B Grades: 1A: 2-4; 1B: 4-6
Calling all creatures! Reptiles, amphibians, mammals, insects, birds and more! All of them live near you. How many creatures and critters can we locate and identify in our local ecosystem? We’ll search under rocks, in ponds and puddles, under logs, in fields, trees – everywhere!
Instructor: Paul Doyle
S6 Fossil Hunting
Sessions: 3A & 3B Grades: 3 & 4
Find the remains of organisms that lived here hundreds of millions of years ago! Learn about the prehistoric environment that these creatures lived in. Discover how to search for fossils in an area known for its geologic richness. Get your hands dirty identifying fossils such as trilobites, bryozoans, ancient corals, and many, many others, as we talk about their significance.
Instructor: Kevin Duffy
S7 Fossil Hunting II
Sessions: 1A, 1B & 2B Grades: 4 & up
Dig into the world of rocks, minerals and fossils. Learn about earthquakes, glaciers, volcanoes and much more! We go on fieldtrips to various fossil collecting sites, create model volcanoes and learn to navigate the woods with ease (an essential life skill!) using a map and compass. We’ll complete the week with a “treasure” hunt!
Instructor: George Pafumi
S8 Birding, by Sight and Sound
Session: 1A & 2A Grades: 4-6
Wouldn’t it be great to recognize the birds found in our area by using visual clues, their songs and their flight patterns? We will even have live birds of prey, including hawks and owls – up close and personal! In addition, each student will receive a bird identification book. We’ll leave this class with a better understanding and appreciation of our feathered friends!
Instructor: Fred Realbuto
S9 The Science of Magic
Session: 3A Grades: 5 & up
Learn the role that science plays in the “Art of Magic”. Learn how to make the laws of gravity work for you as you learn the basics of the Fushigi Ball, floating sticks and more. What is friction and how is it incorporated in magic tricks? What role does biology play in magic? Why are our eyes drawn one way while the magic is happening elsewhere? (misdirection) Learn how the laws of magnetism can create illusions. Have fun and learn magic tricks, all the while learning about physics, chemistry and biology! Fushigi balls will be supplied; magic wands are optional!
Instructor: Fred Realbuto
S10 Plant Explorers
Session: 2A Grades: 4-6
We'll explore forests, fields and swamps as we search for the biggest trees, the smallest ferns, the strangest mushrooms and the most colorful wildflowers! They all have a story to tell! We'll observe their unique characteristics and learn techniques to record and preserve samples. We'll identify which are dangerous and which are beneficial. We'll measure the diameter of various species of trees, estimate their ages, and start the "Plant List" for Heldeberg Workshop!
Instructor: Alvin Breisch
