Full S.T.E.A.M. Ahead

• Instructor: Cassidy Deleplanque
• Duration: Half day, morning

Do you enjoy being creative, working with your hands, experimenting and solving problems? If you’ve answered “yes” to any of these questions then get ready to jump aboard and explore a variety of wonders, find solutions to structural challenges, code instructions and participate in a makerspace learning community. Primary aged passengers on the S.T.E.A.M train will conduct a variety of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics activities that involve teamwork, building structures, exploring forces and motion and learning about nature and animals. They will create a Rube Goldberg machine, rescue a superhero, build an egg parachute and make a snack with a solar oven.

Out of this World

• Instructor: Amanda Morgan
• Duration: Half day, afternoon

From our Earth’s atmosphere to the outer reaches of our solar system, this hands-on camp explores planets, spaceships, the lunar lander and constellations. Learn about the four forces of flight, the life cycle of a star, the phases of the moon and participate in a rocket launch that is out of this world!

Note: The material in this camp is very similar to that presented in previous Out of this World LEAP camps. Please consider that if retaking this camp.

Biology and Me!

• Instructor: Deanna Reinhart
• Duration: Full Day

Why is it called the “funny bone”? What makes you special? Why does our heart beat differently when we sleep? Did you actually get rid of the germs when you washed your hands? Explore the human body from head to toe and get to know yourself better! Extract DNA from peas, make edible (yes, edible!) models of DNA, and create a colourful model of the brain. Campers will create unique monsters with various genetic traits. Create slime to learn how the body defends against the invasion of germs. Discover what makes you – you, in Biology and Me!

Note: The material in this camp is very similar to that presented in previous Biology and Me LEAP camps. Please consider that if retaking this camp.

Earth Tunes Music and Drama Camp

• Instructor: Amber McKay and Wendy McKay
• Duration: Full Day

Explore the Arts through singing, instruments and drama. This week of hands-on fun will immerse your child in music and drama as we learn to play a variety of instruments, sing and compose songs about caring for the earth, and join in drama games and activities. As we play and practice together, we will work towards our Friday afternoon performance of "Earth Tunes," a short musical drama for our families to enjoy. Instrument exploration will include ukuleles, African djembe drums, boomwhackers and xylophones.

Wild Robots

• Instructor: Aaron Fewkes
• Duration: Full Day

Wild Robots is a quirky camp that has been specifically designed with the creative, scientific, and/or hands-on kid in mind. Over the course of the week, campers will explore, create, and code/program various types of robots, from LEGO to artistic, rolling and more. This camp may include a walking trip to the University of Waterloo and/or visits from local robotic gurus. Come and get a little wild about robots!

Note: The material in this camp is very similar to that presented in previous Wild Robots LEAP camps. Please consider that if retaking this camp. 

 Art Counts!

• Instructor: Sophia Godula
• Duration: Full Day

Think outside the box and put your imagination to work in this exciting camp! We will take campers on a journey unknown, where they will discover the co-dependence of math and art! We will build upon artistic and mathematical concepts such as value, texture, measurement, geometry and more. Join us as we explore the different ways in which math and art can come together to make our art count!

Note: The material in this camp is similar to that presented in previous Art Counts! LEAP camps. Please consider that if retaking this camp.

Drama-Rama

• Instructor: Brandon Smith
• Duration: Full day

Do you like to speak in funny voices and accents? Do you write plays or stories in your spare time? Do you like being the one in charge? Then join us at Drama-Rama this winter! Over the course of six mornings, we will give you a thirst for theatre, and the knack to act! Drama-rama will cover the basics of playwriting, character-building, directing, improvisation, puppetry and/or mask-making. Then we'll use those skills to create, rehearse and perform our very own dramatic productions! The dramatic arts are a powerful tool for developing self-confidence, creativity and empathy. By creating a safe and collaborative space that allows for maximum creative expression, children are able to explore their sense of identity and enhance their abilities of self-regulation and metacognition.

Full S.T.E.A.M. Ahead

• Instructor: Cassidy Deleplanque
• Duration: Full day

Do you enjoy being creative, working with your hands, experimenting and solving problems? If you’ve answered “yes” to any of these questions then get ready to jump aboard and explore a variety of wonders, find solutions to structural challenges, code instructions and participate in a makerspace learning community. Primary aged passengers on the S.T.E.A.M train will conduct a variety of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics activities that involve teamwork, building structures, exploring forces and motion and learning about nature and animals. They will create a Rube Goldberg machine, rescue a superhero, build an egg parachute and make a snack with a solar oven.

Note: The material in this camp is similar to that presented in the week one morning Full S.T.E.A.M. Ahead LEAP camp. Please consider that if retaking this camp.

Summer Knights in the Middle Ages

• Instructor: Jessica Picassinos
• Duration: Full day

Do you think castles, dragons and knights were the coolest things before sliced bread? Join us as we travel back in time to live like the knights and ladies of old! In this camp, you will create your own ancient artifact out of clay, construct a catapult, do an archeological dig, and more! This hands-on camp will be filled with fun activities to make you feel like you’ve really gone back in time. Huzzah!

Drama Rama

• Instructor: Brandon Smith
• Duration: Full day

Do you like to speak in funny voices and accents? Do you write plays or stories in your spare time? Do you like being the one in charge? Then join us at Drama-rama this summer! Over the course of five mornings, we will give you a thirst for theatre, and the knack to act! Drama-rama will cover the basics of playwriting, character-building, directing, improvisation, puppetry, and/or mask-making. Then we'll use those skills to create, rehearse and perform our very own dramatic productions! The dramatic arts are a powerful tool for developing self-confidence, creativity, and empathy. By creating a safe and collaborative space that allows for maximum creative expression, children are able to explore their sense of identity and enhance their abilities of self-regulation and metacognition.

Note: Campers who attended this camp previously are welcome to retake it if they want to further their adventures in drama.

Electricity in Action

• Instructor: Dave Harrington
• Duration: Full day

Ready for some super charged learning? You’re in the right camp! What is that “snap” that you experience with static electricity? Learn secrets of the electricians and the history of electricity through the years. Compare parallel and series circuits and get the inside story of the light bulb. Ask your parents about the power blackout of 2003 and find out how it affected your family. Solar power, wind farms, “green” energy – learn more about the electricity of yesterday, today and tomorrow!

Note: This camp includes an additional $10 materials fee; campers will receive an assortment of tools and materials to take home and continue their learning.

Green Space

• Instructor: Erin Fox
• Duration: Full day

Green Space campers are seriously into nature! Green Space is a program that encourages campers to use their creativity, curiosity and love for the world around them to explore environmental issues that have an impact on our community, all while honing their nature observation and identification skills. Over five days, students will explore five different topics including pollinators, water, recycling, growing your own food and insects in our community. Field trips, including regular trips to Waterloo Park and community organizations, along with hands-on activities (planting your own herbs, making biodegradable plastic, designing water filters, building a "seed bomb" and much more!) help make the learning in this camp fun and applicable to the real world.

The Shark Tank

• Instructor: Mark McQuade
• Duration: Full day

When you hear “I’m lovin’ it”, what do you think of? It’s crazy how advertising affects our daily lives! But just how do you take an idea for a new product, design it, manufacture it, find people to buy it and convince people to buy it? Sometimes companies are sneaky, sometimes they have good intentions. In the Shark Tank we’ll design our own innovative new products, come up with an advertising plan, calculate costs, create unique selling proposition, then pitch the finished product to a panel of “sharks”. Can you imagine presenting your innovative product to Kevin O’Leary or Mark Cuban? We’ll be our own CEOs but also take a hard look at the dark side of the advertising world. Don’t worry though, we won’t make you wear a suit and tie.

Genes to Germs

• Instructor: Deanna Reinhart
• Duration: Full day

What makes you unique? How does a diaper help explain what happens when we digest food? Why does your heart beat differently than a mouse's heart? Explore the human body from genes to germs and get to know yourself better! Extract DNA from peas, make edible (yes, edible!) models of DNA, conduct an experiment to pull iron filings out of cereal, and create a model of the lungs. Campers will learn about the nutritional value of their daily diet and determine if you really “are what you eat.” Create slime to learn how the body defends against the invasion of germs. All aboard for a scientific journey from Genes to Germs!

Note: The material in this camp is very similar to that presented in previous Genes to Germs and Biology and Me LEAP camps. Please consider that if retaking this camp.

Inventor’s Workshop

• Instructor: Anne Dahmer
• Duration: Full day

Calling all inventors! Looking for a chance to get busy and build? To go crazy and create? To get daring with design? Then join us for a week of busy building and creating fantastic inventions! From the Great Ping Pong Catapult to Tin Foil Cars, we’ll explore zany Rube Goldberg devices and design our own pet transportation systems. Inventors will have the opportunity to solve a real-life problem with an invention of their own design- and present these prototypes to our very own Dragon’s Den! For the big finale, we’ll top off the week with an Inventors Fair to show off our wonderful inventions to the world!

Note: The material in this camp is very similar to that presented in previous Inventor’s Workshop LEAP camps. Please consider that if retaking this camp.

Wild Robots

• Instructor: Aaron Fewkes
• Duration: Full day

“Wild Robots” is a quirky camp that has been specifically designed with the creative, scientific, and/or hands-on kid in mind. Over the course of the week, campers will explore, create, and code/program various types of robots, from flying to artistic, rolling and more! This camp may include a walking trip to the University of Waterloo and/or visits from local robotic gurus. Come and get a little wild about robots!

Note: The material in this camp is very similar to that presented in previous Wild Robots LEAP camps. Please consider that if retaking this camp.

Draw It, Prove It: An Introduction to Euclidean Geometry

• Instructor: Adriana Karagiozova
• Duration: Half day, morning

What can you draw if you are given just a compass and an unmarked ruler? Can you copy a picture made of straight lines and arcs without measuring any distances or angles? In this camp for math enthusiasts, we will introduce basic concepts from Euclidean geometry and learn how to draw a variety of geometric constructions the way the ancient Greek mathematicians did. Armed with the knowledge of constructions, we will explore the congruence rules for triangles and use them to rigorously solve planar geometry problems.

Slide into Animation

• Instructor: Kasia Niewiadomski
• Duration: Half day, morning

In this exciting new camp, bring your creative ideas to life by learning how to animate using Google Slides. Even if you aren’t the most incredible visual artist, you will learn to design and use online images to create amazing stop-animations right in the program. Be prepared to entertain your friends and family with creative stories, and wow your teachers and classmates with fun presentations and creations.

Note: Campers who attended this camp previously are welcome to retake it if they want to further their adventures in animation.

Artists Unite!

• Instructor: Margo Delaine
• Duration: Half day, afternoon

Join us on a creative journey of unlocking your inner artist! Learn the secrets of the various elements of art with hands-on projects, games and challenges. We will explore art through history and study the works of some of the most talented artists of the past. We will build our classroom gallery so that others can come view the week’s creations. Whether you are an experienced artist or you don’t yet know the difference between shape and line, come join the journey!

Note: Campers who attended this camp previously are welcome to retake it if they want to further their adventures in art.

Paper Roller Coaster Construction

• Instructor: Kasia Niewiadomski
• Duration: Half day, afternoon

Have you ever ridden a roller coaster and wanted to design your own? Using simple materials like cardstock, scissors and tape, you can enjoy the thrills of engineering your own design and explore the physics of roller coasters. Learn how to make fun designs to share with your friends and family at home. Keep your feet on the ground but let your imagination soar!

Calling All Gamers: Unplugged!

• Instructor: Anne Dahmer
• Duration: Full day

Attention makers, builders, creators! Design your own cardboard arcade games in a fantastic Makerspace Lab! Create your own foosball table, pinball machine, marble maze or pool table! Explore the design process; build Rube Goldberg machines, catapults and tin foil cars. End the week by hosting an Arcade Alley to show off your great games!

Note: The material in this camp has some similar components as Inventor’s Workshop and Maker Mania LEAP camps; campers are welcome to retake it if they want to further their adventures in making.

Micro:bits: Code and Create!

• Instructor: Carolyn Pugh
• Duration: Full day

Come and explore the world of coding with micro:bits! Students will learn how to think like programmers through a combination of thought experiments, coding activities and hands-on robotics testing. We will explore design thinking and what it means to think algorithmically. Students will then turn this thinking into language that a computer can understand, exploring computer programming through the use of block coding. The programs will come alive with micro:bits and micro:bots; robotic cars that students will build to act out the algorithms. This camp is suitable for campers who are new to micro:bits, as well as campers who have experience with them. Extensions and advanced projects will be available for campers with experience.

Programming in Real Life

• Instructor: Kevin Watt
• Duration: Full day

Have you heard of a Raspberry Pi? No, not the kind you eat, the kind you program! How about lego robotics? Join us on a journey of discovery using the Raspberry Pi (a mini, credit-card-sized computer) and Lego Robotics (programmable Lego sensors and motors) to learn the basics of computer programming. Each day campers will make a program using these technologies to perform actions in real life.

Note: The material in this camp is very similar to that presented in previous Programming in Real Life LEAP camps. Please consider that if retaking this camp.

Survival Camp

• Instructor: Heather Fellows
• Duration: Full day

It’s 2029 and it’s finally happened: We are living in a post-apocalyptic society. The modern luxuries you are used to, like clean running water, electricity, organized societies and technology are a thing of the past. Would you be able to survive? Join us at survival camp to learn how to build stills to purify your own water, how to find and prepare unlikely plants for food and medicine, how to make medical equipment from items in nature, and how to make a strong shelter that can withstand the cold, windy winters in Ontario. Survival and orienteering games will present a variety of challenges that you will encounter in a post-apocalyptic world, helping to prepare you to be a survivor!