Tag Archives: Camp Curious

GRPM’s Camp Curious Program returns this summer

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By Grand Rapids Public Museum


The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) announced that its Camp Curious summer programs are now open for registration. The Museum will offer in-person, small group camps, as well as virtual Digital Discovery sessions for kids to explore the wonders of science, history, culture and more.

Kids pre-K through 12th grade will use the Museum as a learning lab through a variety of camp offerings, beginning June 14 and are available through mid-August, 2021.

  

“We’re excited to offer a mixture of in person camps as well as Digital Discovery sessions to the community this year,” said Rob Schuitema, the GRPM’s Director of Public Programs. “Both opportunities will provide students with the tools and guidance they need to have fun while learning and making genuine connections to the curriculum and the Museum. As always, our team is thrilled to share their expertise and enthusiasm for science, history and culture with the next cohort of curious minds this summer.”

 

Camp Curious offers single day or multiple day camps and are available by the grade level students will be entering in the fall. Popular camps include Slimy Science, Fossil Hunters, Dream it, Build it with LEGO® Bricks and Young Wizards Academy. New, in-person camps this year include River Critters, Adaptations & Pollinators, Fun Tech and River Explorers.

Digital Discovery Sessions encourage campers to explore and investigate through hands-on experiments and activities, while using common items in their homes as well as artifacts and specimens in the GRPM’s digital Collections. New this year, Stargazers gives students the opportunity to explore the wonders of the universe by learning how to navigate Stellarium, an open-source software that will bring the power of the planetarium to their home. Other virtual offerings include Slimy Science, Time Travelers, Dream it, Build it with LEGO® Bricks, Wizards Academy and the Grand Photo Project.

Digital Discovery sessions will require access to the internet and the use of a device to watch presentations and receive daily instructions. These sessions will utilize the virtual platform SeeSaw, with most activities taking place off-line. Digital Discovery sessions are designed for campers to do projects independently; the Museum recommends that parents of young children (1st – 3rd grade) be present. Digital Discovery session supplies include common items from around your home, and can be interchangeable based on what campers have access to. Recommended lists can be found at grpm.org/EduClasses.

Pricing for camps vary, starting as low as $35 for single day, in person camps and $40 for multi-day Digital Discovery sessions, with discounts available for Museum members. For more information on Camp Curious and Digital Discovery Sessions and to register today, visit grpm.org/Educlasses. Early registration is highly recommended, as camps will sell out. 

‘Curiosity Labs’ continue this summer at the Grand Rapids Public Museum

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Participate in hands-on learning for both families & kids!

By Kate Moore, Grand Rapids Public Museum

 

Curiosity Labs will continue this summer at the Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) as part of their ongoing science programming, making science accessible and fun for children and families. Curiosity Labs take place once per month on Saturdays and change focus each time.

 

July’s Curiosity Labs will focus on Mystery Solving Science, and will take place on Saturday, July 22. Participants can help the Museum solve mysteries using science! Learn to think like a scientist and conduct two hands on experiments. In this lab, kids will search clues to find out who stole a missing artifact from the Museum’s Collections, using hands-on scientific techniques.

 

On August 12, visitors can learn more about food in the What’s in My Garden? Lab. Are you interested in the food we eat and where it comes from? In this Curiosity Lab, kids will be hands-on learning about gardens, from how to care and harvest, down to what is in the soil that helps plants grow. Kids will prepare their own snack using some of the vegetables from the Museum’s urban garden. This lab will partially take place outside, weather permitting.

 

Labs take place at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on their scheduled date. Labs are designed for children to work alone or to be accompanied by a parent or guardian. It is recommended children 8 and under have a parent or guardian with them. Tickets can be purchased at grpm.org/science or by clicking here.

 

“This is a great way for kids and families to learn together about science!” said Dr. Stephanie Ogren, the Museum’s Science Director. “These special lab experiences were designed after our successful weekly ongoing science programs, Science Tuesdays. At the Museum our goal is to make science accessible to all learners.”

Additional Summer Family Programming at the GRPM

Camp Curious

Additional experiences at the Grand Rapids Public Museum this summer include Camp Curious summer camps that explore the wonders of science, history, culture, art and fun. For 9 weeks this summer, kids age 4-14 can use the Museum as a learning lab in a variety of camp themes.

 

Camp Curious runs through August 14 with various sessions available depending on age and interest. Discounts are available for enrollment in multiple camps and by registering multiple campers. Additionally, Museum members receive discounts off each camp.

 

Camp Curious offers sessions with a focus on a variety of themes from space exploration to building with Legos®, and from fossils to exploring what it was like to grow up in the Victorian Era. Camp options vary for each age group and are suited to their interest. Age groupings are 4-5 years old, 6-8 years old, 9-11 years old and 12-14 years old. To register and to learn more about Camp Curious, visit grpm.org/CampCurious or call 616.929.1700.

 

Special Exhibits — Creatures of Light & Mindbender Mansion

In Creatures of Light visitors will move through a series of luminous environments, from the familiar mushrooms on land to the extreme in the deepest parts of the ocean, to explore the diversity of organisms that glow and how they do it. Visitors will discover the ways in which light is used to attract a mate, lure unsuspecting prey and defend against a predator, and to learn how, where and why scientists study this amazing natural phenomenon. Creatures of Light is open through July 9.

 

In Mindbender Mansion, families will enjoy exercising their minds as they try to master each of the 40 individual brain teasers and the 5 group activities in this fun and unconventional new exhibit. Visitors to Mindbender Mansion will be greeted by the wacky Mr. E., master brainteaser and puzzler extraordinaire to explain the mysteries of Mindbender Mansion, then will set out to gather hidden clues and secret passwords. Upon completing each of the select brainteasers and group challenges, visitors will see if they gathered the necessary clues and passwords to become a member of the Mindbender Society and add their portrait to the “Wall of Fame.”  Mindbender Mansion is open through September 3.

 

For more information, please visit grpm.org.

 

Science Tuesdays

Science Tuesdays is an ongoing educational experience, offering science programming based on changing themes each month. Science Tuesdays take place throughout the day every Tuesday at the Museum and include a variety of activities and interactive displays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

 

July will focus on amazing explosions, and will teach about the minerals responsible for the fantastic colors in firework displays. Participants will learn about exothermic and endothermic chemical reactions through demonstrations and quick experiments.

 

August Science Tuesdays will focus on food. Learn about where the food we eat comes from. Visitors can discuss large scale agricultural science as well as community gardening. Museum artifacts will feature historical food-making devices and utensils to emphasize the relationship between food and culture.

 

For more information on Museum programming and exhibits, please visit grpm.org.

 

Grand Rapids Public Museum opens registration for Camp Curious Summer Camps

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By Kate Moore

Grand Rapids Public Museum

Camp Curious is now open for registration at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. Camp Curious is the Museum’s summer camp program that explores the wonders of science, history, culture, art and fun. For nine weeks this summer, kids ages 4-14 can use the Museum as a learning lab in a variety of camp themes.

Camp Curious runs from June 19 through Aug. 14 with various sessions available depending on age and interest. Discounts are available for enrollment in multiple camps and by registering multiple campers. Additionally, Museum members receive discounts off each camp.

Camp Curious offers sessions with a focus on a variety of themes from space exploration to building with Legos®, and from fossils to exploring what it was like to grow up in the Victorian Era. Camp options vary for each age group and are suited to their interest. Age groupings are 4-5 years old, 6-8 years old, 9-11 years old and 12-14 years old. To register and to learn more about Camp Curious, visit grpm.org/CampCurious or call 616.456.3977.

Camps range in dates and duration, including Be Curious Day Camp offering one day sessions on Mondays and new this year one day camps on Fridays! Others camps are multiple days and have options between morning or afternoon sessions.

New camps for 2017 include our “Farm to Table” Camp for ages 9-14. Campers will learn about the gardening process from the science of soil to the fun of harvesting! The Museum is partnering with Urban Roots, a non-profit dedicated to connecting people to soil and table, for this one-of-a-kind experience.

Brand new for 2017 is adult camps. This summer adults can be a part of “Date Night Out” where Museum staff watches the kids while the adults enjoy an evening exploring the Museum. Adults can also enjoy “Dinner at the 1895 Voigt House,” one of the Museum’s sites that serves as a time capsule of the late Victorian period.

Grand Rapids Public Museum announces summer Camp Curious programs

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Explore science at the Grand Rapids Public Museum's Camp Curious.
Explore science at the Grand Rapids Public Museum’s Camp Curious.

There is something new for this year’s Camp Curious program at the Grand Rapids Public Museum – a special Watershed Wonders camp.

 

The new program will utilize the recently added exhibit “Grand Fish, Grand River,” which explores how the Great Lakes region’s largest and oldest fish, the Lake Surgeon, once found in abundance, is now a threatened species. According to Museum officials, the exhibit will be used as a way to teach students about the endangered species in Michigan’s watersheds and what has caused it. Students also will be using the Grand River, which runs right outside of the Museum to learn more about the Grand River watershed and the creatures that call it home..

 

The Watershed Wonders is one of several Camp Curious programs offered June 22 – Aug. 10. The Museum’s summer camp program is designed to explore the wonders of science, history, culture, art and fun. For nine weeks this summer, kids ages 4 – 14 can use the Museum as a learning lab.

 

Camp Curious offers sessions with a focus on a variety of themes from space exploration to building with Legos®, and from fossils to exploring what it was like to grow up in the Victorian Era. Camp options vary for each age group and are suited to their interest. Age groupings are 4-5 years old, 6-8 years old, 9-11 years old and 12-14 years old.

 

Registration for the Camp Curious programs is now open and officials say it is better to register earlier than later since some programs fill up quickly.

 

Discounts are available for enrollment in multiple camps and by registering multiple campers. Additionally, Museum members receive discounts off each camp.

 

Camps range in dates and duration, including Be Curious Day Camp offering one day sessions every Monday, each based on a different topic. Others camps are multiple days and have options between morning or afternoon sessions.

 

The Watershed Wonders program is in conjunction with Grand Valley State University’s Teaching English as a Second Language program and is available for age groups 6-8, 9-11 and 12-14.

 

The Grand Rapids Public Museum is located at Pearl St. NW, Grand Rapids. To register and to learn more about Camp Curious, visit the Grand Rapids Public Museum’s webpage or call 616-456-3977.