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Draper Journal

Evil Scientist Summer Camps Make Science Fun

Jul 01, 2016 08:18AM ● By Kelly Cannon

Kids learn about aerospace using giant bubbles. —Rhett Ogden

By Kelly Cannon | [email protected]


Young kids are spending their summer vacation learning how much fun science can be during the Evil Scientist Summer Camps. Hosted by Draper City’s Recreation Department, the four-day camps teach science through exciting experiments and hands-on activities.

 According to Rhett Ogden, the recreation director for Draper City, the Evil Scientist Summer Camps are in their fourth year. Ogden was a spearhead in getting the science camp to be part of the plethora of camps offered by the recreation department.

 “I think it gives value to the department and to the residents to offer programs that are not always sports. We tried to be broad and during the summer, we want to keep kids engaged and learning and we do it in a fun way,” Ogden said. “I thought it was a fun thing.”

 The camps are geared for children ages six to 12 years old and all the camps were held at the either the Day Barn Indoor Pavilion or at the Draper Park North Pavilion.

 The first camp of the summer was the Minion Science Lab. Held June 6–9, the camp’s theme was based upon the movie “Despicable Me.” Activities included dry-ice freeze rays, annoying sound effects, melting metal in hot water, stinky fart blasters, exploding water bottles and super loud air horns.

 The second camp was held June 20–27. Titled Chemical Chaos Lab, the camp featured hands-on experiments and chemical reactions that helped students learn more about matter and chemistry. Activities included green fire tornados, bouncing fog bubbles, colorful soda geysers, gooey blue slime and huge monster bubbles.

 The last camp of the summer will be July 25–28: Aerospace Domination. Activities include flying toilet paper, riding a hover disk, remote-control air shank, chemical-powered space rockets, giant balloons and awesome paper plans. Registration deadline for the camp is July 21.

 The instructor of the camps has been hired by the Draper City Recreation Department for the last four years.

 “He’s put together a good curriculum. He’s come up with the lesson plans. His normal day job is a science teacher at one of the middle schools and he’s very well educated,” Ogden said. “He’s really imaginative and has put a lot of fun into learning.”

 While the number of students at the camps fluctuates, it generally hovers around 25 to 30 kids. Ogden said sometimes an assistant has to be hired when the number of kids per instructor gets too high. 

Ogden said he believes people are pleased with the camps and people seem to enjoy attending the camps. 

“We want to make Draper a good place to live,” Ogden said. “This is just one piece of that goal.”

 To learn more about the Evil Scientist Camps and other camps offered by the Draper City Recreation Department, visit draper.ut.us or call 801-576-6570.    λ