Science camp has all the elements for fun, learning
— Photo by MARY MALONE Josie Gaber, 11, left, assists 10-year-old Mya Vorhies, right, with a project involving the chemical reaction of vinegar and baking soda Thursday at Lakeview Park. The experiment was one of many at the “All About Elements Outdoor Science Camp” held throughout the week.
— Photo by MARY MALONE Thirteen kids attended "All About Elements Outdoor Science Camp" this week at Lakeview Park in Sandpoint.
— Josie Gaber, 11, of Pullman, left, helps 8-year-old Tristan Mackaben of Sandpoint, right, with a project involving the chemical reaction of vinegar and baking soda Thursday during the "All About Elements Outdoor Science Camp" at Lakeview Park in Sandpoint.
— Photo by MARY MALONE Josie Gaber, 11, of Pullman, left, and Katelyn Owens, 10, of Sandpoint, right, show off their balloons Thursday, which were blown up through a chemical reaction between vinegar and baking soda. The experiment was one of many at the "All About Elements Outdoor Science Camp" held throughout the week at Lakeview Park.
— Photo by MARY MALONE Jamie Gaber, left, of Pullman taught "All About Elements Out Science Camp" this week at Lakeview Park in Sandpoint. She is checking out Thursday's experiment with 8-year-old Tristan Mackaban of Sandpoint, center, and 9-year-old Mason Howard of Laclede, right.
— Photo by MARY MALONE Colton Ackerman, 12, of Sandpoint, left, tries out a double mixture of vinegar and baking soda in hopes of blowing his balloon up a bit bigger than before. He is helped by Gavin Miles, 10, of Kootenai. The experiment was held at Lakeview Park Thursday as part of the "All About Elements Outdoor Science Camp."
SANDPOINT — Baking soda mixed with vinegar creates carbon dioxide gas with the ability to blow up a balloon.
That is just one of many experiments performed by the 13 kids who participated in the "All About Elements Outdoor Science Camp" this week.
"It's been a really fun class," said 10-year-old Katelyn Owens, adding that she learned a lot about science throughout the week and particularly enjoyed the different experiments.
Jamie Gaber is a research scientist for Pullman Parks and Recreation. She regularly hosts after school programs and summer camps for kids on the Palouse, so she partnered up with Sandpoint Parks and Recreation to hold a week-long program at Lakeview Park. When asked what brought her to Sandpoint to teach about science this week she said it was the "gorgeous" forest as well as the lake.
"It's mostly the forest though," she said. "This is a dream setting. You have the arboretum, things are labeled, you can talk to the kids about those specific things."
The kids met at the park each day, Monday through Friday, from 1 to 5 p.m. where they used the periodic table to learn all about the elements — earth, air, water and fire. From there, they used the scientific method to do a variety of experiments, Gaber said. The experiments focused on chemical reactions, such as the balloon experiment, and an emphasis on botany, going through the vascular structure of plants and identification of plants in the arboretum.
Gaber said she was allowed to use the dirt at the arboretum to do an experiment with sprouting seeds — alfalfa, broccoli, wheat — to determine which would sprout faster in the sun or shade. She told the kids about plants requiring nitrogen and asked them to bring sources of nitrogen. Some brought moose and deer pellets, one went to an exotic hobby farm and another tried to get some goose droppings, but was unsuccessful. Apparently the goose is not friendly.
"It's a fun way to kind of get them out like that," Gaber said. "Now we are doing a nitrogen experiment where they take one of the seeds they already planted and we're putting all of those in the sun with nitrogen to see if they will sprout faster."
Gaber is neuroscientist, but after working in a lab for years she decided she wanted to do something where she could still do science, but could also incorporate her four children as well.
The age range for the class is 8 to 14, but her 5-year-old daughter participated as well, so the 13 kids who participated ranged from 5 to 12 years old.
Her 11-year-old daughter, Josie, had some Madagascar hissing cockroaches, about which she was quite knowledgeable. There were two adults and one had babies about a month ago.
As Josie pointed out, the babies resemble pill bugs. She said it takes about a year before they fully mature. She said they eat fruit and are fairly easy to care for.
Because of her knowledge of science, Josie was able to assist the other kids with experiments.
"We do this in the summer and after school," she said. "I always help my mom and it's a lot of fun."