Congo Camp 2010

Some of the butterflies the campers saw on the field trip.

We hope these campers are enjoying their final day and learned a lot these past two weeks about animals, habitats, and ecology!

A butterfly and caterpillar that an EcoQuest camper made.

EcoQuest campers are leaving this morning on their trip to the Butterfly exhibit at the Maryland Botanical Gardens.  These campers prepared yesterday by making their own butterflies.

They didn't only make butterflies, though, but they actually made cocoons and caterpillars.  Talking with these campers, one can easily learn about all of the various stages of a butterfly and how exactly a caterpillar makes that transition. 

We know these campers will have fun on their trip today, and we are excited to see the many pictures they take of the many butterflies they see. 

The pieces of the butterflies spread out before they were finished.

EcoQuest is starting to prepare for their butterfly exhibit by learning about and making butterflies today.

Our little, flitting friends are great fun to watch fly around flowers, and to understand more about butterflies our EcoQuesters started off with a video on them.

After the video, they then had the chance to decorate their own butterflies after coloring them.  These campers are quite excited for their field trip tomorrow and we hope they have fun exploring the wonderful world of butterflies!

A view of the Aquarium.

Our EcoQuest campers explored even more about habitat by getting to learn first-hand about our underwater friends.

Today, these campers enjoyed a trip to the Baltimore Aquarium.  At the aquarium, these campers will be learning about how fish and other such underwater wildlife survive.

They left bright and early to get to the aquarium and will definitely have many stories to tell when they return.  We hope they have a good trip and we look forward to all the information about the underwater world they will have. 

A few of the Zippy's our campers painted.

The EcoQuest campers worked on staining glass this morning as they decorated the various animals about which they have been learning.

Quite a few of the campers selected blowfish to paint, but some campers decided to paint turtles.  After they were finished, the campers were proud to show their turtles and were happy that they looked like Zippy.

We hope these EcoQuest campers are looking forward to the many activities that are planned for them this coming week of Congo Camp.

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!

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!

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!