LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
Newton's law of motion, sound vibrations and water density based on temperature sound like heavy topics for a summer camp, but they are all concepts youth in Fort Simpson had the chance to explore last week.

Lisa Coulter, with Elephant Thoughts, shows Kaden Nahanni-Kwasney how to use a bike wheel gyroscope to experience centrifugal force during the final day of the science camp in Fort Simpson on July 18. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

Elephant Thoughts, a Canadian educational charity that runs school programs and summer camps in Canada and internationally, ran a week-long science camp in the village from July 14 to 18. An average of 17 youth attended each of the morning and afternoon sessions.

"Getting kids interested about learning," is the camp's goal said Lisa Coulter, who ran the program along with James Watkins.

Every day youth were introduced to a variety of scientific ideas and principles through hands-on activities, experiments and crafts.

The Chinese spouting bowl was one of the favourites. Watkins and Coulter encouraged youth to wet their hands and then rub the handles of the brass bowl. They explained that the friction caused vibrations that not only produced a sound, but also caused water droplets to leap from the bowl. The challenge is to create the friction that makes the best water spouts.

"They loved it," Watkins said.

In another activity the youth hypothesized that when the separator was removed from the middle of a glass tank the cold water on one side that was dyed red and the hot water on the other that was green would mix together to make brown water. Instead the hot water rose and the cold sank making two separate layers.

The visualization helped them grasp the concept that water at different temperatures has different densities, something they hadn't realized before, Watkins said.

The Zorbs were Elohdie Fabre-Dimsdale's favourite part of the camp. Participants were enclosed in the large, inflatable balls and then ran around and bumped into each other. There was also a human -sized hamster ball.

"It's really fun to roll in, but it's kind of scary at the same time," the nine-year-old said.

Coulter and Watkins tried to use the balls to explain Newton's law of motion, but they admit most of the youth were more interested in having their turn in the balls.

In addition to the hamster ball, Brittany Kendo, 9, also liked the two snakes – a corn snake and a Honduran milk snake that came with the camp.

"That was my second time seeing a real, live snake," she said.

The youth took turns holding Popcorn, the corn snake. The snake felt smooth, she said. Kendo, who was attending the camp for the first time, wasn't ready for it to end.

"I think it was fun. I wish they didn't leave," she said.

In addition to science, Coulter and Watkins also spent time every day on team-building activities and also did a lot of work on self-esteem and bullying prevention. The camp went really well and the community was very inviting, Coulter said.

Liidlii Kue First Nation's Brighter Futures Program sponsored the camp. It is the only science camp that Elephant Thoughts is running this summer in the NWT.