NEWBERRY — Although school may be out for the summer, Wise Street Camp and the Summer Reading and Saturday Academy Summer Camps enjoyed two educational presentations this week.
On Tuesday, campers welcomed Robin Walsh with the Roper Mountain Science Center; who presented the Science on Wheels program to the campers.
The campers were able to listen and participate in Walsh’s experiments. Some of the experiments included using a magic wand to make a liquid turn from pink to purple; putting a balloon to a flame to see if it will pop; applying pressure to a balloon on a bed of nails; and pulling a sheet from underneath a stack of buckets without making the buckets fall.
The learning continued Wednesday at Wise Street Park where Elamon White, with the U.S. Forestry Service, spoke to campers about safe burning and how to protect the environment.
White talked about the Seven Principles of the Leave No Trace Program, which includes: plan ahead and prepare, travel and camp on durable surfaces, dispose of waste properly, leave what you find, minimize campfire impacts, respect wildlife and be considerate of other visitors, according to lnt.org.
According to the website, “the Seven Principles of Leave No Trace provides an easily understood framework of minimum impact practices for anyone visiting the outdoors.”
During the presentation, White went through each of these Principles. One aspect she stressed to the campers was the importance of knowing how to read a map — in the event they become lost on a trail. She also showed the campers a few of the items she packs when going on a camping trip, like a first aid kit, waste disposal bags, a small stove to cook food and a container to store food. White said even a bear could not get into the container.
Barbara Chapman, executive director of Newberry County Literacy Council, said the camps are a great way to keep the youth’s involved during the summer.
“Our camps are to engage and enrich the student’s minds through reading, writing and math this summer. Through experiments, they can get creative and share their ideas during the summer,” she said.
Chapman also thanked the following individuals who sponsored and showed support for the camps: Newberry County Literacy Council, United Way of the Midlands, Newberry Housing Authority, the Newberry community and All Star Taxi Company.
