Bay Area Discovery Museum Blog

Although it seems like winter outside it is in fact summer as demonstrated by the happy, though chilly, campers havgin a blast at the Museum this week.  By all accounts the misty air has not hampered the happiness of children or staff, although they have been seen doing a little extra cardio to keep warm. This week at camp: In Treasure Hunt the campers have been finding all sorts of magical treasure in all sorts of secret locations. Our Art Dabblers are working hard to preapre for their open studio on Friday and had great fun with messy art day today. Those busy Carpenters have been keeping warm by working hard on their bridhouses, swords and treasure boxes. All though it's a bit moist for serious water play, our Water Wonders campers have been exploring water color and bubbles. And in Dramasaurus the children have written and rehearsed an original play as well as built their own sets. continue reading

This week has been full of wacky weather and happy campers as we welcomed back one of the Museum's calssic camps, Building Blocks of Architecture.  Kids in this camp have been working hard all week using real tools and unbridled creativity to create kid size structures.  Check out photos of this camp and others on our flickr page! In other camp news: The crew of Shipwrecked sailors have been fearlessly defending their treasure from the notorius pirate Blackbeard. Our friends in Water Wonders discvoered the properties of water through play and experimentation including bubbles, and tie dye! Tree Frog Treks joined us this week bringing along a small zoo of creatures such as a tarantula, snake, gecko and toads. The Art Dabblers utterly embodied the spirit of process based art exploring papier mache, collage, clay and water color. And in Jump Buzz Fly our young entomologisits developed their own whimiscal bug tales and made some startling insect discoveries in Lookout Cove. continue reading

We started off the week with a beautiful sunny day, only to be greeted by the more familiar wind and fog of Fort Baker today.  Despite the chilly temperatures the kids and staff have been enjoying all sorts of fun at camp: Ecological Arts campers built up their adobe fairy houses and started brewing some natural dyes using native plants. In Shipwrecked the sailors stowed their treasure  on their very own ship, and worked in the ship's logs. Our brave Super Heroes and Heroines invented their very own sidekick, and worked on their performance piece. And in Water Wonders the friends stayed relatively dry and built boats using corks, popsicle sticks and straws. Don't forget to check in on our flickr page to see photos from camp. continue reading

I have to warn you that this week there are definately some sneaky pirates, super villains and haunted rock stars hanging around the Museum.  Just ask our campers who have been having a blast excercising their creativity in Super Heroes and Heroines, Treasure Hunt, Summer Time Rock Out and Clay Play. This week: Treasure Hunters have been on a mission to discover Black Beard's treasure. Super Heroes and Heroines are on a mission to space and building their secret headquarters. The Summer Time Rock Out band has chosen a name, perfected their smash hit and are gearing up for their big performance. In Clay Play the budding sculptors made masks, built bird's nests and enjoyed the process of using clay. Make sure to visit our flickr page to see updated pictures from camps as the weeks go on. continue reading

Wow, what an exicting week it's been at camp!  (So busy in fact it's been hard to keep up with my blogging.)  Here's a little of what each camp has been up to today: On the Bay: Learned about plants and planted some seeds. Treasure Hunt: Became Archaeologists and hunted for artifacts. It's Yoga Kids: Practiced their Lion pose and roars. Summer Time Rock Out: Worked on perfomring their hit songs. Super Heroes and Heroines: Built their secret headquarters and made slime. continue reading

This year we have an all star staff of talented instructors at Discovery Camps; they are talented educators who are ready to lead treasure hunts, train super heroes or super stars, disect squid, or inspire scultptures.  They are experts in nurturing creativity across all disciplines and have a genuine love for working with young children.  Read bios and see photos of them if you haven't had a chance to meet them in person. Want to keep up with the campers?  Become our Facebook fan or follow along on flickr! continue reading

It's day number two of Discovery Camps here at the Museum and creativity abounds in every corner.  In Super Heroes and Heroines campers are working on costumes and writing up their Super Story. Our Ecological Arts kids have been making fairy houses and working on weaving using looms. The On the Bay bunch dissected owl pellets and went for some windy walks out in nature. In Clay Play the young artistis hit the beach for inspiration. The Summer Time Rockers are perfecting their moves and writing some songs. And those busy Treasure Hunters made treasure balls out of sand, flour, salt, and coffee.  Stay tuned to the blog for more exicitng summer camp exploits. continue reading