For the next four hours, Gabrielle Bonney will supervise 20 students as they create mazes, build seed bombs, and clean-up the mess too.
It’s just an average day at the Prince Albert Science Centre, where Bonney and fellow facilitator Sydney Dupuis oversee 20 students between the ages of eight and 12 at the first day of STEAMcamp on Tuesday. For Bonney, the whole process is a pleasure.
“It’s not many days that we do this,” she says during a break in the action. “It’s usually just (on teachers’) professional development days, but I think it’s really awesome because it’s just something for the kids to do instead of just staying at home or just going to normal daycare.”
On Tuesday, 20 excited and rambunctious students learned a bit of everything, from the importance of recycling, to the basics engineering. Bonney said the goal is to get them thinking for themselves.
STEAMcamp facilitator Gabrielle Bonney provides direction during an activity at the Prince Albert Science Centre STEAMcamp on Tuesday.
“One thing that I really try and focus on with all the activities that we do is just deductive reasoning,” she explained. “Even if the activity itself … is just something fun (to do) with other kids, I feel like it’s just really important to let them figure out the problems by themselves.”
The three-day STEAMcamp is one of many the science centre has hosted over the last few years, and they’ve proven to be a hit. Science Centre director Janelle Meyers said they’re operating at full capacity, which shows the need for program like this in the community.
“We usually try and plan one event a month. It doesn’t always get to that, but we certainly try,” she said. “We just want to have as many people in PA come and have fun and learn about science and have something to do (as possible).”
Meyers said they noticed years ago that some parents, due to work commitments, were looking for options when students couldn’t be in school during teacher development days. There was also interest in similar camps held over school holidays.
Meyers said the Science Centre’s goal is education, but if they could help meet that need to, they would. The uptake has been so strong they’re planning for more STEAMcamps in the future.
“It’s just a day of fun,” she said. “It’s not a day at home where they might be sitting in front of a device all day long. (It’s) to get them out meeting other kids too from other schools … and to get people to know the Science Centre actually exists in Prince Albert.”
The April STEAMcamp runs until Thursday. For more information about future STEAMcamps, email camp@princealbertsciencecentre.ca.
The Prince Albert Science Centre is located inside Gateway Mall.
@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca
