60% Off Robotics Science Summer Camps!

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S.T.E.A.M. (Education: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) Camps are now enrolling!

Are you looking for a fun, exciting, and educational camp for your children?  Did you know that there are S.T.E.A.M. (Education: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) camps all over the country including MANY in the South Florida area- Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach locations!  Check out their websites to find a camp location in your area, prices, and dates- ROBOTS-4-U Summer Camps and Dynamic Art Design Camps.


ROBOTS-4-U Summer Camps is where fun, thinking & learning come to life with fun, hands-on projects.

Dynamic Art Design Camps  is where technology meets creativity!  They combine art with technology to create moving art!
Both camps are now enrolling!  They have many locations all over the country so check to see if they are in your area.
Campers having a BLAST, while learning and playing in a dynamic environment. Learning about Robotics and Science, in an independent and exciting way!


Important Information

– 1 week (5 days) long
– Days: Monday to Friday Times: 9:00-11:30 a.m. and 12:30-3:00 p.m.
– Robot / Science / Engineering / Day Camp / Challenges
– Camps Girls and Boys – Aged 7 to 14
– Robot Camps and Dynamic Art Camps offered during June, July and August
– Hands on Learning, Self-Paced. Beginners to Expert!
– CAMPERS RATIO: 1 Instructor to 16 participants
-Register early as camps do fill up quickly!
– Each Camper Individually uses a ROBOTICS or DYNAMIC ART Kit. Robot kits do not go home with campers but are available for purchase!

LEVELS: Individuals will grouped to their own level.

  • Age 7 to 8 Beginner will build 1-3 structures, up to 4 robots.
  • Age 9 to 13 Beginners to Intermediate will build & program 2-4 robots will build, potentially program robots, including custom designs.

A Typical Morning:

09:00 1st robot or structure assembly/programming

10:30 Demonstrations or Playtime ( With their Robot )

11:15 Break Down and Tidy up

11:30 Pick-up

A Typical Afternoon:

12:30 1st robot or structure assembly/programming

01:00 Demonstrations or Playtime ( With their Robot )

02:45 Break Down and Tidy up

03:00 Pick-up

Get 60% Off Robotics Science Summer Camps!
Use Code: USF1550r

Find them on Facebook:
Facebook.com/Robots4Usummercamp
Facebook.com/DynamicArtClass

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FREE Summer Learning and Fun For Families Online With Camp Wonderopolis

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wonderopolis

Looking for some great, educational activities to keep your kids busy this summer?  Camp Wonderopolis has got you covered.  Camp Wonderopolis is going to be bigger and better and even more awesome than last year!

How could Camp Wonderopolis get any better, you ask? Let us tell you.

  • Set up your full Camp account with your own username and avatar.
  • This year is all about science (hello, EXPERIMENTS!), and here are the worlds we’ll be exploring:
    • Wonder Zoo (Zoology)
    • Wonder Amusement Park (Physics)
    • Wonder Woods (Biology)
    • Wonder Laboratory (Chemistry)
    • Wonder Dig Site (Geology)
    • Wonder Observatory (Astronomy)
  • For every Wonder you master, you’ll earn a Wonder Card. That’s right… WONDER CARDS! Can you collect all 42?
  • There are even going to be prizes for the most WONDERful photos and videos shared by campers.

So, what are you waiting for?! Preregistration is now open. Sign up today for your spot in Camp Wonderopolis, and we’ll see YOU in just a few weeks!

Explore. Imagine. Laugh. Share. Create. Learn. Smile. Grow.

Welcome to Wonderopolis®, a place where natural curiosity and imagination lead to exploration and discovery in learners of all ages. Brought to life by the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL), our Wonders of the Day® will help you find learning moments in everyday life—ones that fit in with dinner preparations, carpool responsibilities, a stolen moment between breakfast and the bus, or within school curriculum and education programs.

Wonder is for everyone. It can happen anywhere and at anytime. Connecting the learning we do in our schools, our homes, and our communities, Wonderopolis walks the line between formal and informal education. Each day, we pose an intriguing question and explore it in a variety of ways. Our approach both informs and encourages new questions, sparking new paths of wonder and discovery in family and classroom settings.

Wonderopolis is generously supported by funding from the Verizon Foundation, and we are a proud Content Partner of its Thinkfinity Community. A free online professional learning community, Thinkfinity provides access to over 60,000 educators and experts in curriculum enhancement, along with thousands of award-winning digital resources for K-12—aligned to state standards and the common core. 
Here, educators connect and collaborate through themed groups, blogs and discussions, sharing resources, and best practices that support 21st century teaching and learning. Camp Wonderopolis follows a new model this year, enabling programs, families, and individuals to customize their experience to their own particular needs. Campers will explore different tracks of science and build their vocabulary, background knowledge, and literacy skills along the way.

When you register as a Camper (kids of all ages) or a Counselor (parents, library staff, teachers), you will be able to:

  • Select your own avatar
  • Follow your own path through six tracks of scientific exploration
  • Engage in Wonder lessons and test your learning to earn Wonder Cards® (42 in all!)
  • Check out what other Campers are doing and share your own experiences on the Wonder Wall
  • Keep track of your Camp activities on your personal dashboard (Counselor dashboards will track individual and groups of Campers—perfect for parents, libraries, and summer learning programs)
  • Try out fun, hands-on activities with everyday items
  • Compete in photo and video contests for a chance to win Camp prizes

Be sure to pre-register now, and stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks!

– See more at: http://wonderopolis.org/camp-early-registration/

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Family Fun and Learning at the Miami Science Museum

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Disclosure:  I received free admission for myself and my family to the Miami Science Museum to facilitate my review.  I received no other compensation and all opinions are 100% my own.

(PLEASE NOTE- My camera died after only take 1 picture at the museum so I had to take all the pictures for this review with my cellphone which doesn’t take the best pictures.  Please excuse the quality of my pictures for this review.)

Growing up in South Florida I have fond memories of taking field trips and family trips down to Miami and going to the Miami Science Museum.  My favorite part was always the laser light show in the planetarium.  The planetarium at the Miami Science museum only has the laser light shows once a month so we weren’t able to see it today.  We were still able to enjoy the planetarium show that was about where to find certain stars and constellations in the sky such as the Big Dipper, North Star, and other important stars.  We are hoping to be able to see some of them when we go outside at night sometime soon.  My girls were excited to see all the stars shining on the planetarium walls and ceiling.  We just wished that they had showed more pictures of what the constellations were supposed to represent so they could visualize it easier.  Hopefully we’ll be able to find some constellations in the night sky soon!
miami science museum8
There was so much to do at the museum today.  We were there for about 5 hours and could have stayed longer but we were getting hungry and had to come home to walk our puppy.  Make sure to bring lunch with you or eat before you go because there is no place at the museum to get a meal.  They do have several vending machines to grab a quick snack though and if you are really hungry they have tuna salad kits in the vending machines which are all temperature controlled so even in the hot Florida weather the snacks come out of the machine cold.

I really liked how there were screens throughout the museum that changed between a map of the museum and the schedule of shows for the day so we were able to easily know where we were and what the next shows were.  It even had a QR code that you could scan with your cellphone to get the schedule of events right on your phone.
miami science museum2
There were so many hands-on activities for all of us to do.  We started in the Sea Lab.  There we were able to touch and hold starfish, hermit crabs, sea urchins, and shrimp.  Watching the suction cups on the starfish was mesmerizing.  My girls loved this area so much we stopped here 3 times while at the museum.  It was interesting to learn all about these sea animals and my girls were particularly fascinated with the hermit crabs because they were so tiny and there were so many of them.  I have to say my favorite sea animals that we held were the starfishes.
miami science museum1

Some of our other favorite exhibits that are currently at the Miami Science Museum include learning about Hurricanes, Moving Things, Water, Wind, and Weather: Miami in a Changing Climate, Energy Tracker, and being Heart Smart.  We sat in an airplane cockpit, used our bodies to generate electricity, problem solved with gears, watched our shadows, and so much more.  There were exhibits that didn’t just challenge our minds and get our hands working but also challenged our bodies like the hula hoop.  
miami science museum3

Here’s my new favorite “selfie” picture:
miami science museum4Another one of my favorite part of the museum was the facial recognition exhibit.  You stand in front of the screen and it tries to figure out your age, your sex, and your mood.  It was so much fun to smile at the camera and watch it put a smiley face over my face and then frown and watch it put a sad face over mine.  But the best part- it thought I was a teenager and it thought hubby was in his 50’s.  LOL  Hubby didn’t like that too much! 😉
Miami Science Museum5
My girls were both picked to participate in the Science Live Show.  We learned all about liquid nitrogen and they each participated in an experiment on stage.  I am sure it is a lesson they won’t soon forget.
miami science museum6
We love animals of all kinds so we all enjoyed the animals in the Wildlife Center.  We saw various snakes, reptiles, arachnids, turtles, tortoises, an owl, vultures, an alligator, a crocodile, a bald eagle, bees in a hive, and so much more more.  We learned how the Wildlife Center rehabilitates many birds and then sets them free back into the wild or keeps them at the center if they cannot be turned back into the wild.  My favorite was the owl.  It was so cute!
miami science museum7
If you are in the Miami area make sure to check out the Miami Science Museum.  Admission is just $14.95 for adults and $10.95 for children (Dade county residents get a discount).  It is located just north of Coconut Grove, across from Vizcaya Museum & Gardens and open daily from 10am to 6pm (box office closes at 5:30pm).
Miami Science Museum on Facebook
Miami Science Museum on Twitter

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Weird & Wacky Contraption Lab Product Review and Giveaway

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As a parent of two young daughters there are a few attributes that I especially love to find in toys.  I love when toys allow for creativity, science, exploration, and trial and error.  The Weird & Wacky Contraption Lab fits that bill.  It is a set of 60 mix and match pieces that children use to construct all types of courses for the metal ball to go down.  They stick to the special 2 foot board that has a Velcro®-like material on it as do all the parts.  Set up is super easy.  My 9 year old set the board up herself and was able to make her own contraption within minutes.  With so many parts to use, the possibilities are endless.  It is a great one or two person toy that makes for hours of creative play with lots of trial and error.

With the  Weird & Wacky Contraption Lab my children were testing out and learning about gravity, angles, and more without even realizing they were learning.  If you want the ball to travel faster do you tilt the slide up or down?  That is just one of the scientific questions that my daughters discovered with this set.  The set is well crafted and was easy for both my 7 and 9 year old daughters to use by themselves.  I think their favorite part is the flying pig at the end of the contraption they created.  I mean who wouldn’t love a flying pig?

Standing over two feet tall, the Weird & Wacky Contraption Lab has 60 mix-and-match pieces to build an unlimited amount of contraptions.  Kids can dream up crazy courses, then build and test them using this easy-to-construct Velcro®-like system.  Instructions offer tips and tricks on how to best manipulate the kit’s components.  It guides kids through five sample contraption designs while they learn how to predict the outcome of each.

Components:

  • Cannon with flying stunt pig
  • Cleaning machine
  • Toilet
  • Chicken coop
  • Boot buster
  • 2 gears and cup
  • Funnel
  • Zigzag ramp
  • 12 tracks
  • 24 track clips
  • 2 off-ramps
  • 6 stops
  • 4 steel balls and ball extractor
  • Hook-and-loop backer board with stand
  • Tri-fold instructional booklet


Make sure to check out SmartLab’s FREE ZONE for fun, FREE activities, trivia, and coloring pages.  There are TONS of great activities to do so make sure to pin this post so you can pull it out on a rainy day or a day when you hear those dreaded words, “Moooooooommmm, I’m bored!”  The activities range from making “alien blood” to making a spa mask, from making a rubber band guitar to having a backyard scavenger hunt and LOTS More!!!

Want to win your own ?  Enter below:
GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED


Disclosure: I was not compensated for performing this review. I received one or more products mentioned for free to conduct my review. The statements expressed by me in this post are my own personal and honest opinions of this product.

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SciGirls PBS TV Series For Tween/Teen Girls

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SciGirls

SciGirls (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My girls and I recently discovered a wonderful PBS TV Series that is geared towards Tween/Teen Girls and fostering their love of science.  SciGirls is charging into its second season full-STEM ahead!  Ten new episodes showcase bright, curious, real girls using science, technology, engineering and math in their everyday lives.  They design an underwater robot, engineer a “chill” ice-cream-making bike, apply real forensic methods to solving a mysterious crime, and more!  Animated characters Izzie and Jake are back, getting into jams that can only be solved by the real-life SciGirls.

I received a screener DVD that contained a few episodes of SciGirls and I put it on for my girls to see what they would say.  They were immediately drawn into what the real girls on the show were doing.  In the first episode the SciGirls were designing a real underwater robot.  My girls were fascinated that real girls around their age could actually create a real working underwater robot through trial and error and then do real world experiments with it to research 2 different underwater areas to see which had more species living there.In Season Two, there’s even more of the unique combination of TV and web that won the series a Daytime Emmy for “New Approaches” in its premiere season. Every episode of the TV show features onscreen clues that lead girls to a “mash-up” game on the website, where they can create their own, unique SciGirls stories. Plus, in other new interactive games, kids can search for underwater treasure, care for a colony of honey bees, and design wildlife dioramas.

Our favorite episode on the screener was one that was all about forensics.  This episode was all about a “crime” that was committed at a camp and the SciGirls used forensics to collect evidence and figure out who the guilty person was.  Someone stole an important mask and the SciGirls took pictures of the “crime scene” and collected evidence.  They went over the interviews of the suspects.  They learned how to observe different types of evidence using various techniques including using a microscope, making an overlay, and testing the ink from different pens.  It was so exciting for my girls to watch as the SciGirls put the pieces of the crime together to finally discover who the thief was.SciGirls’ sophomore season will empower girls – and their parents and educators – to tap into the collaboration, exploration, and authentic discovery.  Every girl can be a SciGirl!  My girls are now asking me to do science experiments at home.  We received a kit recently from LittleBits with various snap together electronic modules and my girls and I will be experimenting with it this afternoon with a post to follow.  I am sure we’ll be posting more science experiments soon.  I love that my girls are now very excited and motivated to explore the hands-on possibilities of science that we can do together.

If you can’t find SciGirls on your local television, you can access SciGirls anytime at http://pbskids.org/scigirls.
Here’s a preview of SciGirls:

PBS SciGirls Second Season Sizzles
Bringing STEM to Every Screen: Let the Games Begin!
Got a tween?  Then you’ve probably got a screen. Or two, or maybe three.
SciGirls gets screens.  As the PBS series that’s all about engaging girls 9-13 in science, technology, engineering and math (or STEM), SciGirls understands how today’s “digital native” kids largely live online.

So as the series premieres its second season in October 2012 on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings or watch online at scigirls.org), SciGirls is shaking up screen time as we know it, unleashing inspirational, innovative and flat-out fun STEM videos and games across all of the digital platforms girls love.

First, there are ten new half-hour episodes of the popular television series that the PARENTING Magazine calls “cool stuff” and the New York Times says makes science “downright enjoyable.” Shot in reality TV’s verité-style, SciGirls’ bright, curious, real girls work with female mentors to engineer a ‘chill’ ice-cream-making bike, design a groundbreaking earthquake app, get the buzz on urban beekeeping, use real forensic methods to solve a mysterious “crime,” and more! And of course, animated characters Izzie and Jake are back, still getting into jams that can only be solved by the real-life SciGirls – and STEM.

In Season Two, SciGirls really soars beyond broadcast, into the interactive space where the series snagged a “New Approaches” Daytime Emmy Award for linking its shows and website in inventive, fresh ways.  The episodes will seamlessly introduce and “tease” cool new online games, activities, and other content, including:

  • ·         Pick ’m Stick ’m: SciGirls is throwing a search party, with a unique online game that starts during the show! Each episode features onscreen clues that lead girls to a corresponding “mash-up” game on the website.  So while kids are enjoying the new episodes, they’re already playing the game! With the clues, girls go to the SciGirls website to solve an “iSpy”-style puzzle (Pick’m !), unlocking pictures they can use to create a their own collage about the show (Stick’m!).  Pick’m, Stick’m and Share’m, SciGirls!
  • ·         Aqua Bot: In this game, girls take what they learn from the “Sea Perch” episode and engineer an underwater ROV—remote operated vehicle—that doesn’t sink to the bottom or float to the top.  Once the ROV is ready to roll (or, um, swim?), deep sea-divas can navigate a multi-level game, helping Izzie and Jake find lost treasure.
  • ·         Busy as a Bee: Got honey? That’s the golden currency of this simulation game, which extends the adventures of beekeepingSciGirls on the TV show across the website’s social network.   Part Farmville, part Tamagotchi, kids nationwide will grow their gardens and help their hives by depending on each other.  Sweet!

“Texting, social networking, smart phones, gaming—digital technologies are more than just diversions to kids.  They are educational tools as common to our viewers as pencils and notebooks were to their parents,” said SciGirls executive producer Richard Hudson.  “SciGirls’ second season marries the onscreen adventures of our remarkable SciGirls to the power of the web, to ignite girls’ curiosity and change the way they think about STEM.”

The SciGirls creative team is headed by Twin Cities Public Television’s Director of Science Content Richard Hudson, Executive Producer  of the long-running PBS children’s science series Newton’s Apple and creator of DragonflyTV and the SciGirls initiative.Co-Executive Producer is Kathleen Shugrue co-creator of Fetch! and producer of ZOOM at WGBH. Animation is created by Soup2Nuts, producers of PBS’ WordGirl. The website is developed by Big Bad Tomato Interactive, and SciGirls is generously funded by The National Science Foundation.  Additional funding is provided by L’Oreal USA.
Disclosure:
I was not compensated for performing this review. I received one or more products mentioned for free to conduct my review. The statements expressed by me in this post are my own personal and honest opinions of this product.

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