Childhood is a crucial time for developing behaviors, attitudes, values and personalities. Much of the ways we learn, communicate, and problem-solve as children stay with us as we continue to grow. It is in childhood wherein many of us develop our passions and find the things that truly excite us. Of course these passions and interests may shift or evolve with time, but plenty of studies confirm that childhood is often a very foundational time in a person’s life.
Here at M.E. Society, we have both been privileged to grow up with nature as our playground, classroom, and more. While we grew up in completely different ecosystems and climates, our love for nature began in childhood and continues to blossom through adulthood. This is why we wanted to develop and teach a nature-based curriculum for summer camps local to Melissa on the East Coast of the continental United States.
When this journey began, we were wondering why some people grow up to love and appreciate the environment, while other people are indifferent. We discussed access to nature as a child being instrumental for developing a lifelong passion for sustainability and conservation, and recognized that such access is not always equitable, particularly in urban or urban-adjacent environments - thus our Summer Camp Curriculum was born!
We learned so much from this journey - I’d even venture to say we learned as much from the children as they learned from us. We faced some challenges, but remembering our “why” - that is, why we pursued this initiative in the first place, helped us remain positive and derive some creative solutions.
THE SCENE:
Seven weeks of summer camp. Kids aged 5-13. 80ish kids per week. Sessions of 30-45 minutes apiece.
THE CHALLENGES:
Developing an interesting, engaging curriculum for kids with such a broad age range required some creative solutions, particularly because we only had less than an hour with each group. Understanding that kids are naturally curious and some may have difficulty sitting still, particularly when exciting things are happening around them, we strove to create activities that were memorable, low-risk, and encouraged further questions and thought. We only went to each summer camp one time (7 camps), so we wanted our lessons to have some longevity beyond the time we were there, therefore we also tried to send campers with something to take home at the end of the day so they could keep the conversations going with their siblings, their guardians, and their friends. The take home items we gave to students were prints of our own nature photography, seed starters they made in certain lessons, and friendship bracelets we made by hand with elastic cord, wooden beads, shells and letter beads.
THE SOLUTIONS:
We decided to stick to two main themes/topics for our summer camp curriculum, with activities of varying complexity based on the age group. We also strove to use as many secondhand or thrifted materials as possible, collecting glass jars, cardboard tubes, egg cartons and the like from our neighbors through a Community Gifting group on social media.
LESSON ONE: Needs for Biological Life, Oxygen
Main topics of discussion:
Earth is the only known celestial body that has the perfect conditions to sustain biological life due to its distance from the Sun and its atmosphere.
The four main things needed for all biotic life are sunlight, water, food and the carbon cycle. Food for plants looks a bit different than food for humans, since most plants need to photosynthesize for nutrients.
Studies show that singing and talking positively to plants can help them grow.
When we go into the natural world, we should be respectful of the land itself and the creatures we share it with - after all, nature is the greatest teacher, healer and friend.
Trees can be a home to many species at once, a source of resources and nutrients, they regulate gasses in our atmosphere, and more!
Trees aren’t the only plants that exchange carbon dioxide for oxygen.
Activities:
Which Plant Gives Off the Most Oxygen?
For this activity, we used glass mason jars full of water and 5 different leaf types, all gathered from the neighborhood. This helped bring the activity closer to home. We used 3 types of tree leaves and 2 types of shrubs. We hypothesized which plants give off the most oxygen, and measured results by observing bubbles of air that appeared after the leaves were placed in the water, both in size and frequency.
The challenge with this activity was that the campers were very eager and wanted to move the jars around to examine them better and touch the leaves in the water, therefore the results may have been slightly skewed. In the future, this activity would have been better as a sort of background activity that we could revisit after doing something else, but it remained informative nonetheless.
An unintentional benefit of this activity was seeing where the bubbles on the leaves occurred - generally around the middle of the leaf, where it broke off from the stem. This helped us discuss how plants exchange nutrients, and how the needs for a plant’s survival are similar to the needs of a human!
Seed Starter
For this activity, we made seed starters out of cardboard tubes, filling the tube with soil (closed at one end) and planting a seed or seedling in the open end. We used plastic Ziploc bags and glass mason jars to hold the seed starters in place for minimal-mess transport home. We discussed what the campers need to do at home to help the plant continue to grow, and discussed how you don’t need a garden to grow plants at home. We used microgreens as they grow quickly and are edible.
The challenge with this activity was using disposable plastic bags. If we had smaller groups, it would have been more eco-friendly to use glass mason jars or Terra Cotta pots solely - however, with hundreds of campers, cost-effectiveness was key, and we had only collected so many jars from our neighbors.
A very helpful item to have in this activity is a fully-grown plant - in this case, Microgreens. This helps campers visualize the “end goal,” see what their plant has the potential to become, and try eating some as well. We also sent the campers home with instructions
LESSON TWO: Geology, Volcanoes, How the Earth Formed and Continues to Change
Main topics of discussion:
The Earth has changed so much since its conception a few billion years ago, and continues to change through tectonic processes.
The Moon was formed from a large item crashing into the Earth as it was still cooling down, sending debris and gas flying which eventually coalesced into the Moon we recognize today.
The Moon has no atmosphere, so missions, manned or not, must be very carefully planned as the Moon’s gravity is minimal compared to that of the Earth.
We must keep an open mind when approaching scientific questions, because our understanding of the natural world is constantly changing. Our ideas of the Earth’s age have changed in the past hundred years alone as technology develops and more information becomes available. It’s important that we accept some things as fact, like gravity, but also to not be so arrogant as to assume we already have all the answers.
Volcanoes are an example of a tectonic process that continue to shape the Earth’s topography today - there are even volcanoes on the seafloor!
There are so many different kinds of science, and while we focus on geology this week, chemistry is at play too.
As you get closer to the center of the Earth, there is more pressure and it is much hotter. Rocks and minerals change given these varying conditions - graphite and diamond have the same mineral makeup, but different atomic structure.
Activities:
Volcano with Household Items
For this activity, we used recycled 2L soda bottles, baking soda, dish soap, white vinegar, warm water, and food coloring. This was a simple experiment that the kids absolutely loved! When we had extra time, we conducted multiple versions of the experiment using varying levels of vinegar vs. baking soda so that we could hypothesize what each ingredient contributed to the experiment. It was slightly messy, but making sure we had an old towel handy helped minimize clean-up. We discussed how the reaction was similar and different from actual eruptions.
The challenge here was that the activity wasn’t very hands-on, which we remedied with additional activities.
Soft Moon Landing (older groups)
For this activity, we used a variety of household and recycled items - egg cartons, index cards, binder clips, balloons, scrap paper, rubber bands, string and more. The goal was to create a craft to “land on the Moon” at the slowest rate, since the Moon’s gravity is minimal. The campers worked in small groups, and at the end of the session we tested them back-to-back by dropping them from the same height and timing the descent - the craft to reach the ground in the slowest amount of time won!
The challenge here was trusting middle schoolers with balloons. Many of the campers were distracted by balloons - in the future, I would not use balloons at all, or tell them they only get to use one.
Rock Kit Explanation & Rock Samples
Melissa happened to have a basic geology kit from taking a course previously, which includes a chisel, a small shovel, a jeweler’s loupe, and other tools for collecting and cleaning rock samples. She also has a few rocks and minerals she has collected over the years, plus a geode which the kids loved. Having an extra item like this can be great to show campers what tools geologists actually use and help them visualize sampling things in the field, and talking about the cool rocks we had to share as well as how they may have formed served the purpose of making these kids more aware of their surroundings when in nature.
Important note here: we made it very clear to the campers that it’s important to not take too much when finding cool things outside - not only do we want to leave things for other people to enjoy, but these materials do serve ecological purposes, like erosion control, homes/shelters for insects and small animals, and more. We discussed appreciating things in their natural environment, and taking pictures instead of taking items out of the ecosystem.
GENERAL TAKEAWAYS:
Try everything beforehand! Don’t go into any activity with no point of reference - this will help you know what to expect and to adapt as needed.
Engage, engage, engage - ask questions and encourage answers and conversation. Children generally like to talk about anything to anyone who will listen - try to make science relevant for them. Even if they never see a volcano in real life, the topography of the Earth that we know today has been shaped by tectonic activity. Make the activity and lesson relevant and close-to-home.
Encourage team-building. At any age, but particularly in childhood, we just want to be understood, to feel seen, and to feel like we are not alone. Making sure your activities foster collaboration and camaraderie make all the difference, and make the activity more exciting and memorable.
If you don’t know an answer, don’t make something up or shoot it down! There were a few times a child asked a question we didn’t know the answer to off the top of our heads. It is better to say “great question, I don’t know but let’s find out,” than to make something up or brush it off. Part of fostering creativity is encouraging further research/seeing a question through to its correct answer. There are no wrong or stupid questions.
All in all, it was a wonderful summer that was soul-filling for us, and hopefully was exciting and memorable for the campers. If you have questions or comments about our curriculum, please contact us! We are always looking for new resources to excite and educate people about the environment, regardless of their age, though we do believe in the utmost importance of introducing children to nature at a young age.
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