Boys & Girls Club session 3 & 4, winter/spring 2010

[jflis]

We're wrapping up our Session 3 but I haven't gotten pix up due to my schedule of late (getting ready for NARCON and 2 new kit releases) but I hope to get them up over the winter recess next week.

This past session we had the following classes:

• Beginner rocketry (Espresso and Thing-a-ma-Jig)
• Advanced rocketry (Shadow Lord with a focus on finishing techniques)
• Origami (2 classes, 2 different schools)
• Roller coaster design (2 classes, 2 different schools)
• Catapults

In advanced rocketry the kids built a simple rocket but we focused on build and finishing techniques. They got to explore paper wrapping fins, wood fillers, epoxy, spiral filling, sanding and applying primers. This past week they took the rockets home to spray paint and we will fly on Friday. Looking forward to seeing how they did on the final product

Session 4 begins right after the recess and I have the following classes:

• Beginning rocketry (Flea, Avalear)
• Advanced rocketry (Goddard's L-13 rocket and another yet to be decided)
• Survivor (2 classes, 2 diff schools) (break the class into tribes then hit them with challenges each week for points and prizes)
• Rubber band powered cars (2 classes, 2 diff schools)
• Ukrainian egg decorating
• Weird Science (each week we will explore some oddity in science such as wave prorogation, the senses, heat transfer, super cold, etc)

It's going to be a very busy session coming up I am hoping that I can get the session 4 photo albums posted as we go along, and not wind up waiting till the end...

The rocketry classes are the best as many of the kids stay with it throughout their 3 years in this program and I start seeing them at our club launches. We typically build 2 rockets over the 7 week program and the kids have to take 3 of my beginner classes in order to move on to advanced.

Origami has also been a lot of fun, especially when I discover the kids have gone out and bought their own origami books.

If you ever get a chance to teach kids, any age, any topics, jump at the chance. It's a lot of work, but worth every minute of it!

 

[Pippen]

Jim, sign me up for Ukranian egg decorating, please. I'm so unartistic, it isn't funny so you'd have your work cut out.

I thought of you recently when I ran into some cool science-related creative writing projects. One was have the students make "The Journal of Parafictitious Scientific Inquiry". :cyclops: Another was creating a dossier for an Intergalactic Life Form for a science fiction story. I haven't used them yet, but they looked like good, creative fun.

 

[jflis]

Jim, sign me up for Ukranian egg decorating, please. I'm so unartistic, it isn't funny so you'd have your work cut out.

I thought of you recently when I ran into some cool science-related creative writing projects. One was have the students make "The Journal of Parafictitious Scientific Inquiry". :cyclops: Another was creating a dossier for an Intergalactic Life Form for a science fiction story. I haven't used them yet, but they looked like good, creative fun.

hhmmmm, a creative writing class would be interesting...

 

[jflis]

Well, this week long winter recess has afforded me the time to get the photo album from our last session on line! You can find it by clicking this link.

That link will lead you to a directory to photo albums for both rocketry classes, two origami classes, two roller coaster classes and a class on trebuchet. Good stuff

Our next session starts on Monday and I have to get ready for another beginner rocketry session as well as the Ukrainian eggs.