UPDATE: The photos sets linked below have all been updated with new photos from week four of BASE Camp. Check them out! (7/5/11)

Our Vex Robotics kids (entering 6th-7th grade) custom designed, built and programmed robots to meet a variety of challenges in the form of different games. They built a variety of bots, working in teams, and put on a great show for parents, guardians, siblings and friends at the final competition on June 30!

The Fibonacci Mural group (entering 6th-8th grade) learned and mapped the golden ratio, and then designed and painted a mural under the "L" tracks between North and South Boulevards where Forest Ave. meets Home Ave. On June 13, they took a field trip to get inspiration from many fabulous murals in Humboldt Park. On June 24, they hosted a reception to celebrate their fine work.

Our Architecture Adventurers (students entering 4th-6th grade) designed buildings and made models, with help from professional architects and high school student TAs. They also worked with Google Sketch Up to create 3D virtual models.

The Dissection: Comparative Anatomy and Medical Illustration class (for kids entering 5th-8th grade) spent 2 weeks dissecting specimens from chicken wings to fetal pigs to learn about human anatomy. They spent a day working with Pat Thomas, Board Certified Medical Illustrator and Oak Parker who explained the how and why of her trade and helped students with their illustrations.

Geared Up: Engineering with LEGOs campers (entering 3rd-5th grade) took on new challenges every week -- from structures to wind power, animals to vehicles. They experimented with motors and remote controls, tested their machines and made them better and better.

In Art Start: Arts Adventure, our youngest campers (entering 1st-2nd grade) spent 2 weeks exploring many of the arts, including theater, story, dance, music, and painting.

They presented the fruits of their labor, including an elaborate set, costumes and books made mainly from found materials, to parents and friends on June 24.

In Geared Up/Architecture Adventure: Engineering with LEGOs (for students entering 1st-2nd grade), kids built the White House, Willis Tower, Wrigley Field, Seattle Space Needle, the Grand Canyon and more. They learned about geography, history and architecture while creating very impressive models!

The last week of camp included Art Start: Maps of the Imagination (for kids entering 3rd-5th grade). The kids used painting, drawing, and printmaking to create unique versions of their own mind-boggling mind maps.



 

She came to Mr. Hayward's 4th-grade class in a Tyvek suit, hard hat, respirator, and goggles. Trained as a geologist, Mann parent Tricia Feeley looked a bit like a space walker. Really she was there for a series of Global Village presentations on the land and water around us.

Ms. Feeley is an environmental consultant. She explained to the students that she sometimes must wear the protective suit when involved with the disposal of hazardous materials, such as asbestos and old storage tanks, on land to be redeveloped.

Peter G. liked this first time Ms. Feeley came to class. "That was cool." She also showed them photos of work sites in which the suits are a necessity. Aidan R. said, "To see the actual thing was cool. Normally, you only see those suits in cartoons!"

In another visit to the class, Ms. Feeley talked about floodplains and erosion by water and glaciers. She helped the students set up a glacier melting in a tub--a chunk of ice along with sand, rocks, and mud--to recreate how erosion of the land happens over time. Of specific interest, she talked about Oak Park 100,000 years ago and what it looked like before and after the glaciers moved through.

Olivia N. told about another experiment they conducted. "She made a handmade thing from a Gatorade bottle to show how soil erosion happens," how the larger particles settle out first when you shake the bottle. According to Ms. Feeley, this is because "when water moves fast, it carries more sediment load." The students were impressed by an experiment in which they soaked pennies in a jar of salt, vinegar, and water to see the chemical reactions.

Ms. Feeley also talked with the students about various rocks and minerals. Olivia N. noted that "some people have rock kits but don't know how to use them, but she taught us how." Ben P. agreed: "Seeing the rocks close up and using a magnifying glass and how it looks was really cool." Ben also thought the presentations were neat since "if you want to do what she does then you can listen to her and know that you can do it too."

On this day, the students also participated in a game in which they had to describe their group's rock and then see if the rest of the class could identify which one was theirs based on the detailed description.

Mr. Hayward has worked with Ms. Feeley on Global Village projects for the past 4 or 5 years. He noted how her presentations link to their curriculum but that "she is teaching them scientific method as well." By sharing her studies and her work, Ms. Feeley said, "I hope kids think science is interesting."

Olivia N. was impressed. "She is a very intelligent person who loves what she does and enjoys sharing it with us."

Check out a slideshow of photos from Ms. Feeley's visit by Oak Park photographer Roy Phifer.



 

The Mann 5th graders were shown architectural examples that could inspire them to design a rectilinear building (with straight lines), but they were also told to pull ideas from their own lives as inspiration. The students spent 2 class periods designing their buildings followed by a period transferring their drawings onto a corrugated cardboard sheet. Then volunteer architects and volunteer parents came by to help cut out their designs for construction. The kids used hot glue to assemble their buildings, brought found objects from home to add on to their structures, and then painted their projects for display. The accolades they received from parents and friends were enormous!

Thanks to our volunteer architects and designers: Joe Berton, Kara Boyd, Adrienne McMullen, Roya Bassirirad, and Roseanne McGrath. Check out the slideshow by Paul Goyette.