Description

Mad Science has awesome weeklong summer camps for children ages 4 - 12. We even have a camp for our young preschool scientists (ages 4 - 6). All of our camps have 2 instructors and are limited to no more than 25 children per camp. Our 3-hour per day camps are either 9:00am - 12:00noon or 1:30pm - 4:30pm. Our 6-hour per day camps are 9:00am - 3:00pm. For our 6-hour camps, we also offer a late pick-up option whereby you can pick up your child as late as 6:00pm. Early drop-off for our 6-hour camps is also available. Call us at (512) 892-1143 or (210) 651-1143 for details.

Following are the camps that we are offering:

Camp No. 1

SCIENCE EXPLORATIONS

(For ages 6-12)

Mad Science invites you to discover claws, codes and constellations with our exciting Camp Number 1. Following are some topics you will explore during this fun five-day camp. These are only a sample of some of the activities that you will be doing each day. The topics will not necessarily follow this order. However, each of these topics will be included at some point in the camp.

Mad Messages - Decipher the world around you as you learn different ways to send mad messages. Use Morse code to send secret transmissions to your friends and to interpret secret messages from them. Discover the mystery of the Mad Science Message Wheel. Experiment with cool color-changing goldenrod paper.

Earth Awareness - Learn all about pollution and what it does to our planet. Determine what big problems a little pollution can cause with a lake in a bottle. Unearth pollution solutions and other ways to help our planet. Bake nachos with solar power and make your own recycled paper.

Science of Sport- Jump right into the science behind sports. Test what your toes have to do with tennis and what your feet have to do with football. Make a new friend named CG Owl and find out what he has to say about sports. See how much air your lungs can hold. Make a helmet for your own crash test egg.

Nature - Let your nose be your guide on a trail of scents. Follow the clues on this aromatic path. Experiment with natural dyes that you can find in fruits and veggies. Decorate your own painters cap with all the colors that nature has to offer. Use jaws and claws to feed your beastly stomach.

Space Day - Blast off with science as you launch a water bottle rocket. Test soil for "Martian" life. Experiment with space suit design. Get a taste for space and eat like the astronauts when you make your own space snack. Learn how to throw water around and stay dry at the same time. Build your own rubber band powered space shuttle to take home.

Camp No. 2

MOVING WITH SCIENCE

(For ages 6-12)

Move with science in our exciting Camp Number 2. Following are some topics you will explore during this fun five-day camp. These are only a sample of some of the activities that we will be doing each day. The topics will not necessarily follow this order. However, each of these topics will be included at some point in the camp.

Jr. Engineers - Structures are all around you, everywhere you look and everywhere you go! Join a team of scientists to inspect the elements of structures as you build, test, and yes, even eat some structures you create. Climb inside a geodesic dome that you construct with fellow campers. Build a Soma cube puzzle that may even stump your parents!

Machine Mania - Investigate the world of simple machines as you learn that machines are helpful for work or play! Assemble and control pulleys, levers, catapults and mega-pinchers! Use the machines you create to feed yourself and shoot ping-pong balls! Operating your simple machines will make work seem like play.

Crazy Chemistry - Chemistry is part of your everyday life, but what is Chemistry? Explore this great topic and use chemistry to make your own sidewalk chalk and a chocolate candy roll. Create a crystal garden out of common household items and use chromatography to make a camp T-shirt.

Birds & The Beasts- Study Biology as you become an ornithologist and discover the unique characteristics of birds. Investigate feathers to see how birds fly. Dissect owl pellets to find out what they eat. Make your own seed mixture to attract your favorite species of birds to your own yard.

Shutterbugs! - Explore the use of light to utilize more than one form of photography. Make a cool kaleidoscope with mirrors. Apply your skills to make a camera obscura that will help you to understand how a camera works. Get artistic with a diazzo chamber and create a print to take home.

Camp No. 3

SECRET AGENT LAB

(For ages 6-12)

Mad Science invites you to discover cells and crime with our exciting Camp Number 3. Following are some descriptions of topics you will explore during this fun five-day camp. These are only a sample of some of the activities that we will be doing each day. The topics will not necessarily follow this order. However, each of these topics will be included at some point in the camp.

Cell City - Take a fantastic trip into cell city. Learn about cells and the different parts within them. You will compare the parts of a cell to a real city as you investigate its different functions. Build your own take home model cell out of unique materials. Even your snack will be a fun cell model you can eat!

The Organ Trail - Do you know the recipe for a healthy body? You will after you journey down the Mad Science Organ Trail. Come to camp and meet "Tall Paul"! Paul is a torso model that can have his organs removed and replaced. Paul'’s brain, bones, lungs, heart, and digestion system will all be investigated. Make a gutsy apron and a model lung to take home.

Scene of the Crime - Team up with fellow campers to solve the “Great Cookie Caper” crime. Arrive at camp to find a real crime scene surrounded by crime scene tape. Walk the grid and collect evidence to solve the crime. All of your observation skills will be needed as you use your new magnifying glasses and notebooks to record your evidence. Use your forensic skills to solve the crime and make your own cookie snack.

Chemical Counting - Get ready for a day in the Mad Science Laboratory! Turn a lemon into a battery. Experiment with electrochemical reactions, as you electroplate a penny and a nickel. Learn how chemical elements help you to create chemical compounds. Put your new chemistry know-how to work as you make your own brain goo“!

Radical Reactions - Ready, set, reactions! Learn with hands-on reactions that matter is never created or destroyed. Make a rainbow and a chemical clock in a cup. Experiment with chemical bonds and whirligigs as you discover conductivity. Make your own invisible ink.

Camp No. 4

ROCKIN ROCKETS

(For ages 6-12)

Mad Science invites you to launch your knowledge of rockets in our exciting Camp Number 4. Following are some topics you will explore during this fun five-day camp. These are only a sample of some of the activities that you will be doing each day. The topics will not necessarily follow this order. However, each of these topics will be included at some point in the camp. We will launch rockets and your child will build several types of rockets. Our camp includes everything your child needs during our camp day. However, if you wish to continue your child’s interest in rocket launches outside our camp, you will need to purchase a launch kit at a hobby shop.

Rocket Concepts - Blast your way into rocket science! Learn the Rocket Safety Code, so you can always have safe launches. Build your own rocket made of recycled materials. Launch your own water missile. Experiment with different rocket designs, as you learn what makes a rocket work.

Launching into Science - Investigate Newton's Laws of Motion first-hand. Learn about propulsion with air propelled miniature rockets. Then design your own! Build your own rocket pinwheel. Experience your first real rocket launch in Mad Science, when you fire off a rocket like the one you built.

Rocketry in Space - Build a model Saturn to take home. Create your own nanorover. Team up with fellow campers in a nanorover relay. Eat your own lunar prospector for snack.

Radical Recovery - Get ready to recover! Experiment with the best way to recover a rocket. Learn about parachutes, streamers, helicopters, and other types of recovery systems in this fun-filled day. Build a rocket that is powered by chemicals that you may have eaten!

Rocket Scientists - 3, 2, 1, Blast Off! Experience the most advanced launches with your expert rocket team. Master the concept of rocket staging by operating your own staging exercises. Demonstrate the rocket principles that you have learned all week with a launching finale!

Camp No. 5

WINGS AND THINGS

(For ages 6-12)

Mad Science invites you to fly with science in our exciting Camp Number 5. Following are some topics you will explore during this fun five-day camp. These are only a sample of some of the activities that you will be doing each day. The topics will not necessarily follow this order. However, each of these topics will be included at some point in the camp.

The Milky Way - Take a trip into the galaxy! Discover the universe as you build your own planisphere to take home with you. Make your own sundial as you discover what the universe has to do with telling time.

The “Wright” Stuff - Learn all about the amazing Wright brothers as you build your own rubber band powered plane. Experiment with other flying devices. Discover that everything that flies doesn’t have wings.

Newton’s Loco-Motion - Fasten your seatbelt, for a day of motion! Learn how magicians can pull the tablecloth out from under dishes! Use an inertia stick to better understand just how stubborn inertia can be.

Gravity Gallery - Gravity is acting on you and everything around you all the time! Learn what gravity has to do with everyday life. Defy gravity

with miniature hovercrafts and balloon-powered helicopters that you

make and race yourself.

Up, Up, and Away - Design, build and fly your own kite using ancient flying machines as your guide. Discover why kites have tails. Have a radical resistance race with your fellow campers.

Camp No. 6

LET’S GET GROWING

(For preschoolers)

Mad Science invites you to learn about the garden in our exciting Camp Number 6. Following are some topics you will explore during this fun five-day camp. These are only a sample of some of the activities that you will be doing each day. The topics will not necessarily follow this order. However, each of these topics will be included at some point in the camp.

Soil and Seeds - Learn all about what is under a garden in this fun filled day! You will dissect soil and discover its components. Play a super seed relay game! Observe the life cycle of a seed with hands-on activities. Make your own super seed expert badge!

Sun, Wind and Rain - Investigate the elements as you discover what they do for gardens. Make your own sun visor so you will be protected from the sun. Become a weather artist using rain and wind as your tools!

Plants and Leaves - Get ready to grow! Learn all about living plants and leaves. Discover the art of rubbings. Play a leaf sorting game, as you learn about their differences. Grow your own budding bean necklace to take home with you.

Butterflies, Bees, and Ladybugs - Get ready to see and make some bugs and creepy crawlers. Explore the life of a caterpillar as you discover how it turns into a beautiful butterfly. Make your own bug bracelet!

Flowers, Fruits, and Veggies - Discover the difference between fruits and vegetables with your own placemat. Learn super songs to sing about nature. Make a mural of the garden with your fellow campers. Bring home your own journal that you use to keep track of everything you unearthed.

Camp No. 7

RED-HOT ROBOTS

(For ages 7 or entering 2nd grade -12)

Mad Science invites you to join us this summer in our Mad Science robot world in our exciting Camp Number 7. Learn about the uses of robots in the world. Spend time playing with our super cool red-hot robots. Use your skills to build your very own working robot to take home to “live” with you. Following are some topics you will explore during this fun five-day camp. These are only a sample of some of the activities that you will be doing each day. The topics will not necessarily follow this order. However, each of these topics will be included at some point in the camp. This camp does have a $30.00 robot supply fee.

Robot Concepts - Roll your way into robot science. Experiment with different robot designs, as you learn what makes a robot work. Invent your own robot designs using recycled materials.

Robot Basics - Discover the world of robots as we investigate the differences between humans and their robotic counterparts. What makes a robot work will be explored during hands-on activities and discussions.

Robot Building - Each day some time will be spent perfecting a real working robot that we will finish and take home on Friday. We will be using our fine motor skills and we require that campers be entering the second grade so they do not become frustrated with construction.

Red Hot Robots - Hands-on activities will include fun time with our robots. We will play games and experiment with super cool robots such as a soccer robot, a line tracker, a hyper peppy, and a robotic arm.

Robotic Science - Campers will learn how robots use infrared and other sensors to discover the environment they are placed in. Working in groups we will explore how robots work and how they can make our lives easier.

Camp No. 8

SPY ACADEMY

(For ages 6 - 12)

Mad Science spy academy camp will help you sharpen your special operative skills as you learn about the secret world of espionage. The key to being a great spy is your ability to use science to “sniff” out your suspects and uncover their secrets. Following are some topics you will explore during this fun five-day camp. These are only a sample of the activities that we will be doing each day. The topics will not necessarily follow this order. However, each of the topics will be included at some point in the camp.

Discover Detection -Use your skills of listening, testing, and observation during this day of detection. We will investigate fingerprints, handwriting, and shoeprints to reveal the identity of our suspects. Listen to an audio crime story to learn clues needed to solve a mystery. Learn to view the story from all angles with a nifty new device.

Spy University- We will utilize spy gear such as metal detectors, spy ears, and motion sensors to hone our skills. Spies need to understand and use secret codes to pass along important information. Our Mad Science spies will investigate the dancing men code, Braille, and many other ways to share classified information. Use your new skills to write a message and digestively dispose of it before it can get into the wrong hands.

Sleuths on the Scene -As a spy you will need to learn how to process clues at a scene. Discover proper procedures as we use all of our senses to study and dissect debris for evidence. Our scientist spies will learn the art of the inflatable fingerprint as they discover perplexing partial and leftover latent prints.

Funky Forensics - Using forensics to evaluate evidence is a huge part of the spy business. Today we will analyze evidence with chemistry, collection skills, and spy tools. The correct conclusions are critical to solving the crime scene puzzle. We will identify acids and bases as well as synthetic blood samples in our forensic lab. Today all of your analytical skills will be tested.

Science of Security - Unlock your spy skill as we tackle the toughest security breaches. We will “pick open” locks, sneak past a whispermeter, and create our own security system. Teams will attempt to crack through each other’s security systems and track a treasure.

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