Summer Camp

Register now for Summer Camp!

5- to 15-year-olds explore exciting activities in science, technology and art.

June 4 - August 3, 2012
reservations@explora.us
Or call (505) 224-8341

For more information about these programs contact:

  Reservations Coordinator
  505.224.8341
  Para Español, llame al
  505.224.8323

Explora Summer Camp Classes for 5- to 15-year olds.

June 4 - August 3, 2012
Spend half days or full days immersed in activities that explore science, technology and art. Register now for one or more of these weekly camps.

June 4 - 8
Morning Classes 9 am - 12 pm

• 5 - 6 yrs. What’s Cooking in Chemistry? Become a kitchen chemist. You'll experiment with household materials, investigate reactions in a variety of foods, make ice cream and more.
   
• 5 - 6 yrs. Branch Out: Experiment with plant growth and take a closer look at the parts of a plant as you try your hand at leaf chromatography, dissect seeds and plants, make leaf skeletons and explore tree rings.
   
• 7 - 9 yrs. Science Connections: Explore how science is all around you and how it is connected to math, technology and art as you experiment with balls and tracks, flying objects and mini wind tunnels, dry ice and soap bubbles, and more.
   
• 9 - 12 yrs. Dimensions of Design: Transform digital drawings into your own unique architectural models using recycled materials. You'll draw upon a variety of techniques, technologies and tools to engineer your vision as well as build structures that can interact with motion, sound and light sensors. 

June 4 - 8
Afternoon Classes 1 pm - 4 pm

• 5 - 6 yrs. Mix it Up: Get your hands in the mix as you concoct polymers, test the stretchiness of Silly Putty® and gums, compare the consistency of dough recipes and question the boundary between solids and liquids.
   
• 5 - 6 yrs. Water Wonders: Get wet as you investigate absorption, adhesion and other properties of ice and water! Classify a number of objects as floaters and sinkers, design your own floating vessel and more.
   
• 7 - 9 yrs. Cycles of Life: Investigate plant and insect life stages. Dissect seeds and use microscopes to look at plants, explore how seedlings respond to light, observe mealworm behavior in response to stimuli like scent and more.
   
• 9 - 12 yrs. Catapult Your Way Up: Engineer some fun as you experiment with trebuchets and explore how stored energy can send things flying. You'll find the best loads, the optimal fulcrum positions, and the right counterweights to send the balls the farthest and be right on target!

June 11 - 15
Morning Classes 9 am - 12 pm

• 5 - 6 yrs. Textile Science: Put fabrics to the test! You’ll concoct your own dyes, experiment with stain removers, test the breakage strength of yarn, make a patterned quilt and more.
   
• 5 - 6 yrs. Engineering Structure: Which designs and materials lead to strong and stable structures? Experiment with geometric shapes like triangles as well as unusual materials to test your engineering skills.
   
• 7 - 9 yrs. Digging Archeology: Piece it all together as you reconstruct 3-D pottery shard puzzles, excavate mystery objects embedded in stratified layers, and deduce the functions of curious artifacts based on their forms.
   
• 9 - 12 yrs. Push and Pull: Experience the forces behind hydraulic and pneumatic systems. You'll design, build and test contraptions that use liquids and air to transfer forces that move objects across bridges, up elevators and more.

June 11 - 15
Afternoon Classes 1 pm - 4 pm

• 5 - 6 yrs. Science to Go: Experiment with getting things in motion as you use air to propel flying objects, harness water to make water wheels turn, and experiment with rolling motion using marble roller coasters.
   
• 5 - 6 yrs. Gravity Rules: Feel the pull of gravity when you experiment with mini parachutes, let eggs drop from the sky and more as you determine how height and weight affect the results.
   
• 7 - 9 yrs. Sense-sational Science: Does your sight affect your taste buds- Investigate all of your senses as you encounter mind-boggling sensorial illusions. You'll experiment with temperature and smell perceptions, identify mystery objects by touch, explore your blind spots and more.
   
• 9 - 12 yrs. Materials Camp: Cast metal and resin, make an alloy, build a light bulb, concoct foamy creations and more while you use basic science to examine and discover what makes up the "stuff" around you.

June 18 - 22
Morning Classes 9 am - 12 pm

• 5 - 6 yrs. Imaginations Act Up! Explore a variety of media in the Explora Theater, including puppetry, circus skills, storytelling and ensemble work.
   
• 7 - 9 yrs. Chemistry in the Kitchen: Put on your chef apron and try out tempting, tasty, bubbling kitchen experiments. You'll conduct a baking soda/baking powder challenge, compare, adapt, and invent recipes, and make green eggs and ham!
   
• 7 - 9 yrs. Gravity Rules: Feel the pull of gravity when you experiment with mini parachutes, let eggs drop from the sky and more as you determine how height and weight affect the results.
   
• 9 - 12 yrs. Art Movements: Explore kinetic energy in art! Design your own whirligigs, apply concepts of balance and center of gravity to unique mobiles, and try your hand at animation and moving art sculptures that use computer-programmable devices called Pico Crickets.^TM

June 18 - 22
Afternoon Classes 1 pm - 4 pm

• 5 - 6 yrs. Colorful Science: Discover the differences between colored lights and colored pigments. Watch colors change as you create spinning tops, mix pigments to create secondary colors from primary colors, and combine colored light filters.
  
  
• 7 - 9 yrs. Imaginations Act Up! Explore a variety of media in the Explora Theater, including puppetry, circus skills, storytelling and ensemble work.
   
• 7 - 9 yrs. Bathroom Science: Discover the chemistry around you when get ready in the morning! You'll test several shampoo and toothpaste brands for effectiveness, try different concoctions to make your own glycerin soap, go on a germ hunt and more.
   
• 9 - 12 yrs. Smoke and Mirrors: Investigate optical illusions and deceptive perceptions that use light and shadows. You'll experiment with reflection, refraction, translucence, scattering and focus, as
  well as explore how the brain 'sees' objects.

June 25 - 29
Morning Classes 9 am - 12 pm

• 5 - 6 yrs. Art Experiments: Explore science through art as you compare ingredients and manipulate variables in homemade paints, paper, doughs and other art materials that you'll use to create art pieces and sculptures, some of which you can eat!
   
• 7 - 9 yrs. Magnets that Move You! Have you ever seen a magnetic storm? You'll use a sun spotter to track one down. You'll also experiment with magnetic fields as you make a chaotic pendulum, find directions to the poles, explore electromagnets and build a basic electric motor.
   
• 7 - 9 años Dale Cuerda: Explora las possibilidades de la propulsión con ligas y aprende más sobre las energías potencial y cinética al construir juguetes que vuelan y flotan.
   
• 9 - 12 yrs. Beyond Visible Light: Can you see your body heat? How does sunscreen work? Explore the wide range of the electromagnetic spectrum including infrared and ultraviolet light as you experiment with spectroscopes, plasma balls, diffraction gratings, prisms and more.

June 25 - 29
Afternoon Classes 1 pm - 4 pm

• 5 - 6 yrs. Amazing Circles: Create art with loops and circles, be an architect with cylinders and domes, experiment with spheres and spirals, and test discs that spin, roll and twirl.
   
• 7 - 9 yrs. Art Experiments: Explore science through art as you compare ingredients and manipulate variables in homemade paints, paper, doughs and other art materials that you'll use to create art pieces and sculptures, some of which you can even eat!
   
• 7 - 9 años A partir del suelo: Descubre el mundo de la topografía, la proporción, la escala y el diseño urbano al planear una ciudad en miniatura usando el software SketchUp; construye tus diseños usando materiales de reciclaje y prueba si tu ciudad puede soportar desafíos naturales.
   
• 9 - 12 yrs. Inventive Robotics: Explore basic robotic systems as you experiment with devices that hover, flap their wings or launch balls. Program Lego® Mindstorm® robot missions, program Pico Crickets^TM to create a "smart house," build a basic robot from recycled materials and more.

July 2 - 6

   No Camp This Week
 

July 9 - 13
Morning Classes 9 am - 12 pm

• 5 - 6 yrs. The World Beneath Our Feet: Get ready to dig down and investigate soil to find out who and what is in it. You'll feel the textures of various dirts, sands, and soils from around the world as well as explore plants and creepy crawlies that live in the dirt.
   
• 7 - 9 yrs. Express Yourself Naturally: Explore art and nature in the Bosque as you hike, sketch, take photos, paint and illustrate field notes. You'll also use natural elements by the river to create a biodegradable sculptural installation. Camp will be held at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. (Drop-offs and pick-ups for this camp will be at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Call 224.8341 for details.)
   
• 7 - 9 yrs. 2,000 Miles Off Broadway: Join us for this exciting crash course in theater! From warm-ups to scenery to acting, we'll do it all for a performance in the Explora Theater at the end of the week.
   
• 9 - 12 yrs. Creatures of the Bosque: Become a field scientist as you observe plants and animals in the Bosque. You'll construct nets to catch and release fish, dissect owl pellets, use portable microscopes and more. Camp will be held at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. (Drop-offs and pick-ups for this camp will be at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Call 224.8341 for details.)

July 9 - 13
Afternoon Classes 1 pm - 4 pm

• 5 - 6 yrs. Keep it Balanced: Become a circus performer as you balance objects with your body, an engineer as you support objects with hidden weights, and an artist as you creatively design your own mobile.
  
  
• 7 - 9 yrs. Creatures of the Bosque: Become a field scientist as you observe plants and animals in the Bosque. You'll construct nets to catch and release fish, dissect owl pellets, use portable microscopes and more. Camp will be held at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. (Drop-offs and pick-ups for this camp will be at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Call 224.8341 for details.)
  
  
• 7 - 9 yrs. Super Structures: Hone your engineering skills as you build bridges, towers, roller coasters and a newspaper structure you can crawl into. You'll then test your designs in classroomsimulated earthquakes and more.
  
  
• 9 - 12 yrs. Express Yourself Naturally: Explore art and nature in the Bosque as you hike, sketch, take photos, paint and illustrate field notes. You'll also use natural elements by the river to create a biodegradable sculptural installation. Camp will be held at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. (Drop-offs and pick-ups for this camp will be at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Call 224.8341 for details.)

July 16 - 20
Morning Classes 9 am - 12 pm

• 5 - 6 yrs. Geology Rocks! Have you ever seen a rock that floats? You'll also discover rocks that fizz and ones that are magnetic, make your own fossil, grow crystals, explore stalactites, create clay sculptures and more.
   
• 7 - 9 yrs. Pinball Wizard: Design a pinball game out of pegboards, rubber bands and a variety of other materials. You'll experiment with building and testing pins, traps, bumpers, guardrails and more.
   
• 9 - 12 yrs. Motion Creation: Experiment with levers, pulleys and linkages as you use everyday materials to design simple machines that can flap, dig or walk. You'll also problem solve to improve the movement and articulation of your creations.
   
• 12 - 15 yrs. Photo Lab: Delve into the art and science of photography as you explore light and optics, make and test pinhole cameras, experiment with light-sensitive photochemistry, create unique light paintings, as well as use digital methods of photography.

July 16 - 20
Afternoon Classes 1 pm - 4 pm

• 5 - 6 yrs. Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Investigate reflection and symmetry as you compare your image in a variety of mirrors, build kaleidoscopes, make symmetrical art and play symmetry games.
   
• 7 - 9 yrs. What's That Sound? Feel the vibrations as you explore sound waves, observe how they travel through water and air, experiment with tin can telephones, make quackers and more.
   
• 9 - 12 yrs. Food Science: Find out what’s in some of your favorite foods by testing them for sugar, fat, pH, vitamin C and iron. You'll also experiment with yeast and fresh baked breads, use a home-made calorimeter, grow rock candy crystals and make liquid nitrogen ice cream.
   
• 12 - 15 yrs. Science of Stuff: Explore ceramics as you bend, etch and blow glass. You'll also investigate the properties of metals as you melt, pound and roll them into a variety of shapes as well as use sand casts and lost-wax casts to create unique metal art objects and jewelry pieces.

July 23 - 27
Morning Classes 9 am - 12 pm

• 5 - 6 yrs. Mechanics in Motion: Increase your strength with mechanical motion as you try out a variety of challenges such as lifting a bucket of rocks with pulleys, building a drawing machine that uses gears, pulling a car up a ramp, and going bowling with pendulums.
   
• 7 - 9 yrs. Blast Off: Explore inertia, action/reaction, thrust, propulsion and aerodynamics as you design and test water-powered and air-powered rockets that soar.
   
• 9 - 12 yrs. Switch it Up: Turn your creativity on as you investigate the conductivity of play dough and slimes, explore unusual switches, test fruit and veggie circuits, build your own circuit board components and more.
   
• 12 - 15 yrs. Seams Sew Material: Fabric will be the foundation for this multimedia art workshop. Print, paint and transfer images to make your own unique textiles. You'll also manipulate fabric, plaster and wax as well as add LEDs to make one-of-a-kind sculptures and sewn creations.

July 23 - 27
Afternoon Classes 1 pm - 4 pm

• 5 - 6 yrs. What's that Sound? Feel the vibrations as you explore sound waves, observe how they travel through water and air, experiment with tin can telephones, make quackers and more.
   
• 7 - 9 yrs. Smoke and Mirrors: Investigate optical illusions and deceptive perceptions that use light and shadows. You'll experiment with reflection, refraction, translucence, scattering and focus, as well as explore how the brain 'sees' objects.
   
• 9 - 12 yrs. Blast off: Explore inertia, action/reaction, thrust, propulsion and aerodynamics as you design and test water-powered and air-powered rockets that soar.
   
• 12 - 15 yrs. Teen Screens: Fuse art and science using computer applications and graphic design techniques. You'll discover basic HTML programming and experiment with light, color, and composition as you capture images and videos to create multi-media designs for web pages and screen savers.

July 30 - August 3
Morning Classes 9 am - 12 pm

• 5 - 6 yrs. What's Cooking in Chemistry? Become a kitchen chemist. You'll experiment with household materials, investigate reactions in a variety of foods, make ice cream and more.
   
• 7 - 9 yrs. Wind Up: Discover the possibilities of rubberband propulsion and learn more about potential and kinetic energy as you build toys that fly, float and roll.
   
• 9 - 12 años Conexiones científicas: Explora la ciencia que te rodea y cómo se conecta con las matemáticas, la tecnología y el arte, mientras experimentas con pelotas y pistas, objetos voladores y mini túneles de viento, hielo seco, burbujas y más.
   
• 9 - 12 yrs. What's Your Wavelength? Experiment with polarized light, luminescence, as well as infrared and ultraviolet light. Explore refraction, build a telescope and participate in laser challenges. You'll also take a field trip to the observatory at Kirtland Air Force Base to see telescopes up close.

July 20 - August 3
Afternoon Classes 1 pm - 4 pm

• 5 - 6 yrs. Light and Shadow: Discover different ways to make shadows as you investigate light by bouncing it and bending it. You'll explore shadow shapes, experiment with colored shadows and use shadows to measure time.
• 7 - 9 yrs. Energy Transformation: Put your energy to good use as you experiment with wind turbines, tap into the energy of the sun and explore how chemical reactions can make things go forward.
• 9 - 12 años Curso básico de diseño de casas: Descubre los principios arquitectónicos al experimentar con el software arquitectónico 3-D SketchUp y usar una variedad de materiales para construir tu propia maqueta de una casa. También explorarás la electricidad y el uso de interruptores mientras cableas tu casa con luces, timbres y algo más.
• 9 - 12 yrs. Cardboard Architects: Experiment with the art and science of architecture as you design and build various structures using cardboard and other materials. You'll also use failure analysis to test for strength and stability!

For more information about these programs contact:

  Reservations Coordinator
  505.224.8341
  Para Español, llame al
  505.224.8323