Jeff Decker assembled the tools needed to amaze campers in his Science Blast-Off camp - soap bubbles, a recycled soda bottle and methane gas.
After getting "goggled up," students in the Minds Alive! Middle School Leadership and Innovation Summer Camp at St. Gregory College Preparatory School watched as Decker tinkered with the experiment until all systems were go.
Decker, a science teacher at St. Gregory, created a column of methane gas bubbles that he set ablaze, delighting campers with the "Methane Mamba."
"This is more exciting than a reality TV show," said Sarah Spitz, 13. "The methane bubbles become a floating fireball."
Decker and science teacher Bonnie Miller taught campers why and how objects fly in Science Blast-Off, one of the course offerings at Minds Alive! The summer camp is in its second year at St. Gregory, 3231 N. Craycroft Road.
People are also reading…
Across campus, students created art from recycled materials in the "Sculptors Secrets" workshop.
Sophia Duclo, 10, created a giraffe from a glass bottle, Styrofoam balls, wooden blocks and papier mache.
"I saw the long neck of the bottle and it reminded me of a giraffe," Sophia said.
She said the class taught her to paint with different shades and use sponges to add texture.
"I think I'm going to put him in my room," she said of her creation.
Annabelle Huether, 10, used a water bottle and pipe cleaners to create her Recycle Alien.
"I thought about how water bottles should be recycled, so I thought about a Recycle Alien," she said of her creature, which had a recycle symbol on its belly. "You can make art with almost anything."
St. Gregory art teacher Ginny Encila encouraged artists to "take responsibility for what we create on this planet."
"We are taking an innovative approach for ways to use the waste that we create and turn it into personally meaningful art," she said.
Minds Alive! is for students entering fifth through eighth grades. Camp director Mary Babbitt said students can select from courses designed to mix learning with fun.
Other classes include:
• Circuits, Sensors and Robots
• Voilà - An Introduction to French
• Musical Theater for the Aspiring Broadway Star
• Writing for Fun and Education
Space is available for the next two-week session, which starts June 20. The all-day program costs $490 and the half-day session is $295.
For more details, call Babbitt at 327-6395 or go to www.stgregoryschool.org
Fill out the form at azstarnet.com/foothills to contribute a story.
