Congo Camp 2010

The suit some of our campers tried on.

As the firefighting visitors helped our campers learn more about the daily doings of a firefighter, they also let the campers experience some of their regular activities. 

One of these activities was putting on and taking off the firesuit.  The campers were able to get all of the suit on, but the "fitting" part was a little difficult. 

At the end of the day, our firefighters had a fire demo along with a tug-of-war.  We thank these firefighters for all they do and we appreciate them taking time to come visit us here at Congo Camp!

A picture of the "dead body".

Any good investigator knows that outlining the body is an important part of an investigation.  Our CSI Congo campers learned how to do this outlining today. 

These campers had a demonstrator come in and explain how the process is completed.  Following this demonstration, these campers then saw a fake body outlining. 

After the body was outlined, the pictures of what would happen to a dead body were placed atop of it.  These campers used their deduction skills during this first week of session 4 and we look forward to seeing them use those same skills next week. 

A few of the baskets the campers were working on.

Arts & Crafts specialty campers created baskets today as they finished up the first week of session 4. 

The process takes time, but these campers tried as hard as they could to make the pieces turn into a usable basket.

Our Arts & Crafts campers have enjoyed the various activities they have been completing this week, and we know that they are looking forward to the crafts of this coming week!

One of the Rockets that will be "rocketed" into the air!

No, not campers, but parachutes so these cardboard rockets could fall to the ground with painless ease.  These RC campers are excited to shoot off their rockets as soon as those safety 'chutes are set.

This morning, our Congo Camp had the ribbon cutting ceremony to open up our brand-new slides.  Since the slides started to be installed, everyone has been anxiously awaiting the chance to ride down them.

Ms. Ashley and Zippy were the first to cut the ropes and they were excited to see the first sliders fly into the pool. 

We hope our campers have fun the rest of the summer as they get to slip and slide into the pool!

Cutting the Ribbon.

Our first slider enjoys a spill into the pool!

Our competing teams swimming for the win!

Our Camp Staff had their first annual swim meet this morning to see just who would claim "bragging rights" for the summer.

The competing teams were the Admin staff, lifeguards, counselors, and CITs.  Each team brought their A-game in hopes of beating the competing teams.

They all swam their hardest, but the winners were: the Lifeguards.  We congratulate them on their victory at the meet. 

We also want to say great job to all of our competing teams!

Don't worrywhen you see a firetruck on our campus tomorrow!

Tomorrow, Friday the 30th, our Congo Camp will have a few special visitors.  The Seven Corners Fire Deparment will be coming onto campus to host a few activities for our campers.

A couple of the activities we already know will be occurring is Bucket Brigade and Telephone.  We have also heard that these Firefighters will be doing a special demo for our campers.

Also, to give a thanks to our community helpers, all of our campers will signing a "thank you" sign to show our appreciation of all that these firefighters do for our community.

We are looking forward to tomorrow and we will be posting photos as the day continues!

Examples of some of the artwork our day campers produced.

As the session moves forward, our arts and crafts counselors have been having our day campers learn about the various ways to create new art. 

Today, the campers started off with basic tissue paper and tore it into various shapes.  After these shapes were made, the campers then pasted them onto a sheet of paper to make designs. 

These designs then turned into colorful pamphlet-like books for the campers to enjoy.  They do have to dry overnight but once they are finished, these artists will be able to show-off their skills! 

The decorated masks from our Time Traveler campers.

We are glad to see our Time Traveling campers having fun on their trips throughout times and places!

A couple of the Subs with which our RC World campers played today.

Our RC World campers continued playing with the various remote control cars, trucks, and ships they have been constructing.

Today, they were controlling submarines which they actually placed into the pool.  Each submarine went quickly around in the water and you could definitely sense the fun the campers were having navigating these boats.

Yesterday, these campers also had a striker competition.  This competition was bracketed out and we are looking forward to finding out the champion.  Keep on constructing and remote controlling, RC World campers!

Preparing to sift the juice from the strawberries.

In the picture below, the DNA is the white strand within the liquid.  These campers have had their detective hats on these past three days and we look forward to them continuing their investigations. 

If you look closely, you can see the white sliver of DNA to the left of the stirrer.

Some of the pot holders before they were finished.

Arts & Crafts camp started off their morning by using elastic loops and a loom to create pot holders that could be used by any chef. 

Each crafter selected their colors and then started to loop and weave the elastic loops through the others.  As they looped and weaved, the pot holder designs started to form.

Some campers selected four colors while others only selected two--deciding to keep their woven pattern simple. 

As they finished the weaving, the pot holders quickly came together as they freed the elastic loops from the loom.  Excellent job, Campers!

The minimal light the campers had during the ghost stories.

Drama camp had the chance to enjoy just this, as they explored their storytelling skills by reciting ghost stories.

The first few days of this session, they learned what helps a storyteller tell a good story and they were surely using these skills as they told their bone-chilling tales.

These campers have been learning all of the finer points of acting as they recite monologues, dialogues, and skits.  We can't wait to see more of this thespians in action! 

The pregame huddle.

A major aspect of Sports is knowing the rules before playing the game.  Our Sports counselors help to ensure that our campers know the rules by having a pregame rules "huddle" before they get onto the field. 

Each camper has to learn the basics of the game by listening to the way it is played and then responding to a few questions about what is going to happen. 

It's great to hear our campers' knowledge on the various sports that they play in Sports and we hope they have fun playing those sports. 

The entrance at the National Zoo.

Our EcoQuesters are getting some hands-on experience with habitats and animals as they make their way to the Zoo today. 

After three days of learning where animals live and how they survive in the wilderness, these EcoQuesters are going to put their knowledge to use as they walk around and explore the zoo.

We hope they have fun on their quest and bring back even more information on the various animals that inhabit our planet!

Drama campers have been seeing what it is like to be part of the theater by not only acting but also props designing.

Today, the Drama campers had to develop masks that they could wear to cover their character's face. 

These campers have been practicing multiple other skills such as anunciation.  Try saying this a few times, "I saw Esau kissing Kate. He saw me. She saw I saw Esau." 

Well, our Drama campers conquered this tongue twister and soon will be conquering other written verses in scripts. 

We hope these campers have been enjoying the first few days of camp and we can't wait to see them perform later this week!

Or, our campers and counselors really caught the crazy hair and wacky hats fever today. 

As you may have noticed during drop-off (or, you may notice during pick-up), our campers have colored their hair, made it into different styles, and slid on colorful, crazy hats. 

We are happy to see our campers catching that Congo Spirit and below are a few of the hats worn throughout the day:

Criminalogists at work.

Almost every murder-mystery show includes such a line, and then the full- or partial fingerprint ends up cluing us in to the criminal. 

Well, while so many of us merely watch, our CSI Congo campers got to experience the various ways that one can obtain fingerprints. 

Some lifted the print by simply dusting the image, while others used more advanced methods, such as iodine, to show the print. 

These campers have been doing excellent work in the field of Forensic studies these past three days and we know that they can't wait to continue advancing their skills! 

The Arts & Crafts campers worked with clay today as they formed pinch pot animals. 

Some of the Gak that the campers made.

Cracker Barrel counselors led day campers in making Gak today.  Similar to silly putty, Gak is a gummy substance that a camper can mold, flatten, and remold into new shapes. 

The basic ingredients were placed together and the campers helped to mix and mix.  After the Gak was ready to be used, the campers selected which color they wanted theirs to be.

All colors of the rainbow were used and the gak that was created definitely came out nicely.  We hope these campers enjoy the creation they made today!

A few of the masks that our Time Traveling Campers created!

Our Time Travelers started off their day by decorating masks for the acting they are doing this afternoon. 

Over the course of this session, these time traveling campers will be learning all about the various items that have been made throughout history.

They will be studying hieroglyphs, making pyramids, and even creating sun-dried bricks.  Earlier this week, they made passports that they decorated to prepare for the traveling they would be doing. 

We hope that these Time Traveling campers have been enjoying their first two days of world travels and that they are prepared for the many travels they will complete over the rest of the sessions!

A few of the Rock Pets our campers created.

The arts & crafts counselors had our day campers painting rock pets today. 

You may remember the original "Pet Rock" that came out in the 70s, but our arts & crafts rock pets are definitely a unique pet.

After our campers received their rocks, they decided what colors they wanted to use to paint and then named their pet rock.

Tonight, these rocks will be drying and tomorrow we will get to see our new owners enjoying their pets.

Each day our Sports counselors keep our day campers moving and energized with various games and activities.

Take a glance at the Sports field any day and see our day campers throwing balls, hitting pins, and avoiding capture. 

The campers love trying to score goals and make points for their groups, while simultaneously trying to prevent the other groups from scoring on them.

We hope our campers enjoy their time at Sports as much as we like watching them make goals during the games!

Our day campers playing a group game at Sports.

The American Indian Museum in DC.

Our Travel Campers will be heading out for their trips today.  The following is to where they will be adventuring:

Teen Travel will be making their way to The Cereal Bowl in DC and then jetting to the past as they enjoy the Museum of Natural History.

Congo Explorers will learn about American Indians as they make their way to the American Indian Museum. 

Our Summer Adventurers will be riding through DC on a duck tour. We hope our travelers enjoy their journeys today! 

Central Park Funland at where our Summer Adventurers enjoyed their day!

The travel campers had a full day today as they journeyed out on various treks:

Our Congo Explorers bounced their way through the day at the House of Bounce and then enjoyed burning some energy at the Cub Run Rec Center.

While the Explorers bounced, the Teen Travelers splashed.   Teen Travel spent the day enjoying some time at the Bohrer Water Park.  We hope they kept cool as they swam around in the pool.

Finally, our Summer Adventurers explored the many activities that are at Central Park Funland. 

We hope our Travel Campers enjoyed their day trips today and are already looking forward to their outings that are planned for tomorrow!

RC World campers have been working hard (well, playing hard) during the first two days of camp. 

Today, they started to build remote control cars.  These cars showed the skill these campers have in constructing items. 

Starting from scratch, the campers connected wires, built the frame, and connected parts to form the car.  Tomorrow, we will have pictures of their completed cars, but, until then, please enjoy this video of the campers racing cars. 

During arts & crafts, the day campers learned the art technique of weaving.

They first cut a large sheet of paper in such a way that smaller strips of paper could be woven through it.  After the paper was cut, they started going in and out with the smaller strips of paper.

After they finished, one could see the varying designs some of the campers selected to do.  Below are a couple examples of the campers excellent art work. 

Beware: The Seniors warn us all!

Congo Camp seniors are always showing the Congo Camp spirit.  With the energy and enthusiasm that they display each day for camp, they definitely deserve some time for fun, rest, and relaxation.

Thus, the seniors have the Senior Room!  Exactly as it sounds, the Senior Room is for seniors only and allows them time to play games and enjoy some extra downtime to connect with each other.

Today, we had the chance to peek into the Senior Room and see some of the awesome activities they get to do during Senior time. 

One activity is Rock Band, while some of the others are board games and Wii. 

We appreciate how our Seniors keep the Congo Camp spirit flowing and we hope they enjoy the time they get in the Senior Room!

One of the targets after a camper practiced a shot.

Day campers had the chance to work with archery these past two days to start building the foundation for their archery skills.

Each day these counselors convey new approaches to aiming and shooting properly with a bow and arrow.

The counselors started to get excited this week as they ordered new materials with which the campers will practice. 

Archery is many campers favorite time as they learn effective ways to hit the target. 

CSI Congo campers taking prints.

These campers "captured" their own prints by using some ink and a mapping out their hand on a piece of a paper.  Seeing some of the skillful prints, we can easily tell how well these campers will be at the forensics they are studying.

The animals before being made.

In EcoQuest, our campers continued to learn about animals and their habitats.  To advance their learning today, the campers had to make more animals to hone in on their understanding of habitats.

The EcoQuesters each selected the animal that they wanted to make (Lions, or Tigers, or Bears . . .) and began to glue the pieces together.

As they make each of these animals, their discussions really amplify how much they know about the natural world.  It is not simply gluing the eyes on, but how the eyes help the animal in the wild. 

It's great to hear and see these campers exploring just how important nature is to our daily lives!

In the Arts & Crafts camp, our artists were painting the birdhouses they made yesterday.  Each group of campers selected the colors they wanted to use and, then, developed a design.
After developing their design, the campers delved into painting their birdhouses.  Each camper approached each birdhouse with a unique plan.

A few campers selected solid-colored sides, while other campers did stripes or similar patterns.  We are anxiously anticipating the final painted products!

There are a few activities to look forward to this coming week, so get ready!

On Wednesday, July 28th, Congo Camp will be hosting a Hat Day & Crazy Hair Day.  You are welcome to wear any hat or make your hair wacky for Wednesday.  **Don't forget to write your name in your hats!**

Then, we keep our campers energized with a "Chillin' Out in July" overnight on Thursday, July 29th.  Our Younger Campers (1st and 2nd graders) will be allowed to stay until 8 o'clock, while our Older Campers (3rd-9th graders) may stay overnight.  The cost is $60 for the overnight and $40 for the 8 o'clock pickup.  The attached flyer has more information and is the RSVP form. 

We hope to see your hats and wacky hair on Wednesday and some excited and energetic faces of campers in the evening on Thursday!

One of our Drama campers showing their acting skills.

The best part of Congo Camp is seeing the many abilities and talents that our campers bring to camp. 
Drama campers will be demonstrating their acting talents over the next two weeks by practicing and performing various skits and scenes. 

To start off the week, these campers had to act as their exact opposites.  This activity showed just how versatile these actors are. 

We know that these campers will be showing just how talented they are over the session and we can't wait to see some of their performances. 

The CSI Congo Campers investigate a crime!

These campers will be solving mysteries all week and they have already started off on their forensic journey. 

One of the animals created by an EcoQuest camper.

Our EcoQuest campers started off their session by exploring the habitat of different animals.  Before delving into creating an animal, the ecoquesters had to figure out what the habitiat of their animal would be. 

Once the habitat was determined, the animal creation started.  With feathers and styrofoam, the campers made animals that were not only lifelike but also colorful.

These ecoquesters will be doing various activities during the week and, also, getting to take a trip out to the aquarium.  We know these campers will be learning about and teaching us a lot this week about animals, plants, and the habitats that surround us! 

The first day is always exciting, but it's also a bit nerveracking to connect with your fellow campers.  No worries, though, our Cracker Barrel counselors are coming to the rescue!

In Cracker Barrel, today, the counselors led day camp groups in activities to learn each others' names and to get to know each other. 

Within moments, our day campers were talking and laughing with each other as if they had known each other for years!  We know these friendships will not only last during the rest of camp, but also after the summer. 

A few of the bands the campers have made!

In Arts and Crafts Camp, these creative campers started the week by decorating slap bands.  These bands curl around the wrist when pressed (or, smacked) against it. 

The crafty campers drew their names and other designs onto the bands to show their personality and to learn about each other.

There are many events planned for the campers this week so be on the lookout for these young artists at work!

Constructing a Solar car in RC world.

RC (Remote Control) World is occurring this session and these campers are already off to a great start. This morning they started to assemble some of the RC sets they have.

One of the ones all the campers are excited to see are the solar-powered cars.  These cars actually have a panel that soaks up the sunlight and turns it into energy.

A few of the other campers are looking forward to the rockets that will be set off this week. Stay tuned to see some of the exciting RC cars, boats, and rockets that will be going off this week!

A few silly bandz that one camper selected to use.

In Arts & Crafts today, the campers started off the session using one of their favorite items: Silly Bandz. 

How do you create art out of Silly Bandz? Well, our Arts & Crafts counselors showed everyone how easy it is.

Firstly, you select your favorite bands.  Then, you select a color with which to outline them.  And, finally, you don't just lay them out flat, but set them up as a design.

Our day campers had lots of fun starting off their session with this activity and we can't wait to see some of the other arts & crafts they will be doing this week!

Teen Travel and Congo Explorers have a full day ahead of them as they start off Session 4 with a tour of Nationals Stadium.

Welcome, everyone! We hope you all are getting excited for session 4.