A Day At GIANT STEAM Camp...

When schools are closed, The GIANT Room doors are open! Our STEAM Winter Day Camps are an opportunity for GIANT Dreamers to explore, create, and innovate. 

Wondering what happens during GIANT STEAM Camp? Here’s a recap of one of our epic STEAM day camps went a couple of months ago:

Kick Off: What’s your idea of a Dream Land?

The day kicked off with an introduction to the current theme, Dreamland. Participants gathered around a giant piece of paper and brainstormed ideas for what would be in their Dreamland. The ideas were overflowing, from Candylands, to Mystical Animals and Magical Guitars. These ideas were then added to our ideas box for future participants. By the end of the ideation exercise, each participant had an idea that they wanted to work on, either by themself, or with a group. 

Building Time: Act on one of your most ambitious ideas! 

Participants then started on the physical constructing of their projects, using both familiar tools and arts and crafts materials like cardboard boxes, duct tape, and pom poms, and new machines and fabrication tools like a laser cutter, 3D Printer, and embroidery machine to bring their structure to life. One group built a bakery for Dreamland using a cardboard box and duct tape, another girl made a miniature clay meal, while another participant created a base for a guitar using the laser cutter. 

Make it move, light up, and do things with electronics and codable blocks! 

After a break for lunch and board games, the participants came back together to think about the next step in their project, or if they’d like to start something new. Based on their ideas, we introduce them to new tools like Makey Makeys, littleBits, and microcomputers like the Microbit and Raspberry Pi. With these tools, participants can enhance their projects by either simply adding light and sound, or more complex programming like creating a sensor that collects data!

Sharing our Big Wins, Epic Fails, and Good Wonders! 

At the end of the day, the group came back together to share what they’ve made and to share their big wins (a break-through creative idea or accomplishment that we’re proud of), epic fails (things we tried but didn’t work out as planned), and good wonders (things we’re curious to try in the future). 

For Big Wins, one participant was proud that he did so much work on his own today, since “[he’s] usually not that independent at home”. For Epic Fails, one participant designed and cut a 200 piece puzzle all the same color which was super challenging to solve. And for Good Wonders, one girl wondered if it was the weight of the gumballs that was causing them not to fall, or the design of her gumball machine. 

When their parents arrived, our GIANT campers weren’t ready to leave; they still wanted to work on their projects and asked if they could have more time. 

The GIANT Room will be hosting more STEAM Camps this Winter. Registration for camps, afterschool, and open studio is now open!