Annual Science Camp Brings Smiles to Students

Last week Terrace View Elementary School held their annual Science Camp. The annual all-week adventure for the sixth grade classes is designed to teach kids through experience and peer interaction. Terrace View’s sixth grade students took off for Arrowhead Ranch Outdoor Science School, nearly 30 miles from Grand Terrace near Big Bear, on Tuesday, April 7, and returned Friday, April 10. According to sixth grade teacher Rebecca Hastings, who has been teaching at Terrace View for 17 years, roughly 100 students attended this year’s camp. “The camp is a big deal in grade 6; almost all of our students attend… They look forward to it all year,” she said. Terrace View Elementary School sixth grader Camryn Dillingham shared, “We went on a lot of hikes and even played games while we were on the hikes.” While getting exercise and discovering the nature that surrounded them, they would engage in small side activities. “On each hike the naturalist leads discussions, tells stories, or plays games that illustrate concepts of predator/prey, edible plants, astronomy, observation, plate tectonics, the solar system, animal adaptations…” Hastings explained. “The goal of the camp is to cover most of the science standards in sixth grade as well as interpersonal skills.” An excited Dillingham explained, “We played a lot of games… there was one while we were on hikes, if someone would say ‘camouflage’, you’d have ten seconds to go hide.” There was also another game called “Predator vs. Prey” that, in a nutshell, involved counting down and chasing the opponent while hiking. “My favorite part was probably going on the hike to Strawberry Peak… it’s 1,000 feet up,” he shared. The students stayed in various cabins, ranging from about 11-13 people per cabin, according to Dillingham. The lights turned off for bedtime at 9:45 p.m. while rise-n-shine time was bright and early at 7 a.m. According to Dillingham, his school wasn’t the only one to attend the Science Camp. “I think there were students from Smiley Elementary there too,” he explained. “The students from other schools made it more fun, I got to meet new people.” “At first I was nervous about going, but it was really fun actually,” Dillingham added. “My big brother Joseph went to the camp before and he would always say how fun it was.”