When the Powerhouse Science Center closed abruptly May 9, one casualty was the planned summer camps. About 130 campers were refunded, and parents found themselves scrambling for summer enrichment programs for their children.
A new collaboration has formed to fill that void.
“Powerhouse educators have teamed up with the Durango Maker Club and the iOiO (pronounced yo-yo) Spark Shop to bring summer science camp opportunities to local youth this summer,” said Sarah Margoles, former education director at the Powerhouse. “Seeing the great need for science programming in our community, Durango 9-R School District has decided to sponsor our new camp program this summer.”
Former Powerhouse educators Jennifer Lokey, who was already planning to leave to teach at Mountain Middle School, and Hannah Hendry, who is teaching at Durango Early Learning Center, will not participate in the camps. But Margoles, Leisha Lawson and Ashley King will handle camp duties, along with five students who had planned to be interns this summer for the Powerhouse, Margoles said.
“Where else is an intern encouraged to make smoke bombs?” she said. “We are trying to raise money so we can pay them, but they’ve already committed.”
Also assisting in the design of the camps are Ryan Finnigan, coordinator of the Durango Maker Club, and Alexii Carey, owner of iOiO, a supplier of e-bikes, drones and electronic supplies, which is in Mancos. Having 9-R as a sponsor has also given them a location for the camps – Durango High School – as well as lab and robotics equipment.
Students can learn to use science as a tool in “McGyver meets Mythbusters meets Rube Goldberg” week, also known as Science to the Rescue, or bake cookies in a homemade solar oven in Lab Coats in the Kitchen!
All camps run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at DHS and cost $250, except for Animas River: Unplugged, which is $275, and Techie Dragon Tracking, which is $200. Visit www.durangomaker.com for complete camp descriptions and to register. For more information, including scholarship requests, email Margoles at sarahmargoles@gmail.com or call her at (952) 250-8687.
The Robotics Camp has only five slots left, and the other camps are filling up, Margoles said.
abutler@durangoherald.com
Science summer camp flier (PDF)
