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Mad Scientist
The idea of making simple materials magical by combining them in different ways has fascinated us humans for centuries. In Medieval times, alchemists tried to transform basic metals into silver or gold. In folklore, our tales are full of cackling witches cooking up powerful, bubbling brews. And in fantasy, wizards like Severus Snape create arcane potions that can do extraordinary things. Today, people around the world still mix up magical new creations, but we use different words to describe them—words like "scientist," "chemist," or even..."chef".
This week at Camp Kinda, it's your turn to let your inner mad scientist loose. By the end of the week, you'll understand what everything in the universe is made of and start to see how different materials and substances interact. Along the way, you'll mix up some potions of your own, meet real-life mad scientists, and explore cool stuff like slime, plasma, and Oobleck. So grab your wands, goggles, aprons, and jars, because we feel some chemical wizardry coming on!
what you’ll need
- Your Camp Kinda toolkit
- Water
- Yeast
- Food coloring
- Hydrogen peroxide (3% or 6%)
- Dish soap
- An empty plastic bottle
- A bottle of diet cola
- A package of Mentos
- A large clear jar
- Tape
- Vegetable oil
- Salt
- White glue (like Elmers)
- Baking soda
- Shaving cream
- Food coloring (optional)
- A funnel (optional)
- Ice (optional)
weekly family activity
Bring this week's theme to life by making your own chemical reaction—in the form of ice cream! You can find all the ingredients at your local grocery store. We're sure this week's family activity won't disappoint your brain or your taste buds. Here's how to do it. Need another option? Check out the movie Flubber and watch what happens when a quirky chemist allows his creativity to run wild.
this week’s content builder:
Raven Foster
Raven Foster is a proud New Orleanian and former 5th grade science teacher who currently serves as a director at OneGoal, an organization dedicated to closing the degree divide by providing resources and support to increase post-secondary enrollment and completion.
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Humans have been dancing for at least 9,000 years. (Whew, that's a lot of popping and locking.) And if you think about it, it's kinda... weird. We have a lot of questions about dance, and this week at Camp Kinda, we're sliding our way into some answers. Join us as we step into a few flash mobs, master some viral dance moves, and explore dances, rhythms, and music from around the world.
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