It’s here! We are so close to the end.

Today was a BIG day. We went to the cadaver lab where the girls were able to be hands-on with cadavers, organs, and even a 100 year old fetus! IT is certainly THE highlight of the trip.

The rest of the day was dedicated to practicing, rehearsing, and preparing the final touches for tomorrow’s presentation. The girls have worked so hard on these and I am proud of all that they have accomplished this past week.

Remember to be here at 9am tomorrow for check-out. Presentations will begin promptly at 10AM as promised.

Your daugther knows where to go and we will have our JCs help you get there. See below for the presentation area that your daughter will be in (just in case).

Sorry- no pictures today. You’ll just have to wait for tomorrow!

Villalobos is where the parent orientation was held. Hoover Hall is off of Philadelphia and Painter. See the map below:

Well, we wrapped up core clasess with making neuroscience T-shirts, dry ice bubbles and boats, water bottle rockets, making a digestive system for food to pass through, finalized our Android apps, and created bird beaks to identify which would be best for collecting food.

Then the girls were challenged with constructing a Rube Goldberg machine which is an over-complicated machine that accomplishes a simple task. Talk about learning from our mistakes- this lesson truly embodies the concept that one is not successful without many failures. These girls are so impressive! Their creations are implementing a wide range of scientific concepts and solutions. I am so proud to see them put what they are learning from their core classes into practice.

Following this we were honored to meet several Professional Women who work in the field of STEM. They presented their profession and shared how they got to be where they are today with the girls. This was truly an inspirational evening.

At the end of the day we continued to work on our final presentations, journal about the day, and participated in the Dorm Mom activities.

……and the pictures:  https://albumizr.com/a/OmqS

What a fun day! Core classes are going great! Today they built and flew planes (both paper airplaes and an online simulation), finished engineering oreo towers, discovered food-borne illnesses (indirectly, don’t worry no campers were harmed during this learning segment), investigated brain disorders, implementing their plans for apps to be used on mobile devices, and were challenged to retain heat in sub zero conditions.

Following lunch we then rotated through 4 different workshops where the girls used chemistry lotion, created roller coasters, had to complete relay races/activities that demonstrated renewable energy, and completed cup rhythms to show that algebra is the language of patterns.

Then we laughed out loud with Virginia during math night where she showed us some fun math tricks and a whole lot of math jokes! It was hysterical!!! After this, we returned to the dorms for a Breakout Babylonian Geometric adventure. Similar to an escape room, girls had to collect clues that were set up around the dorms to find the lock codes to break into the box to get the Babylonian artifacts (AKA candy!).

Lots of fun today, here are the pictures:

https://albumizr.com/a/nBzL

Field Trip Day!!! But first, we had our core classes in the morning where the girls experienced the impact of forces in the physical world, built towers, researched careers, began to understand the functions of the brain, and more.  

We visited Cal Poly and saw the sustainable Lyle Regenerative Center where they rely on native plants, predators, prey, and natural resources to produce their food. Amazing how nature has it all figured out. We also went down to the AGRIscapes section at Cal Poly and visited the petting zoo (the goats are just so cute!)and learned a bit about animal sciences, the vegetable and fruit garden to learn about the importance of nutrition and food science, and then got to go home with freshly picked strawberries from the farm.

Oh, it didn’t stop there! We continued with our day by learning about Cyber Security. You’re welcome parents, I’m pretty sure I deterred them from ever using any internet-connected device again (Haha, just kidding)! We discussed the importance of safeguarding your infromation and being careful of what you put on the internet. I promised the girls I would make that presentation available to them here, so here it is as promised!

Cyber Security Pear Deck Presentation

OR go to joinpd.com  and enter code pdcsk

Then we continued to our dorm groups where the girls worked on the Problem of the Day, wrote in their journals, and continued to work on their final presentations that will be delivered to you this coming Saturday!

Finally, the time to sleep came. I think we were successful in wearing them out today. All lights were out promptly at 10pm! Now for the good stuff….pictures!

https://albumizr.com/a/nBzL

What a fantastic group of girls! Boy, are they starting to break out their shell and enjoy themselves 🙂

Today we had our first core classes where hot air balloons were made, density columns, introductions were made, nutrition analyses were done, and so much more. After our class time, we continued on with the rest of the day’s events where the girls learned all about what it takes to get into College/University and the financial aid options that are available to them. I promised that I would post the essential information here for them- so here it is!

However, you’re probably here for the pictures so here are just a few from the day’s activities:

Monday Pictures

Scholarship research

Tech Trek A-G Requirements for College

FInancial Aid for College

Thank you for taking your time today to check in your daughter and joining us for the orientation. We are already having such a good time!

Today we took our group photo, enjoyed a delicious meal where everyone had to eat something green (lots of salads and a yummy green sauce on tri-tip!), then we enjoyed an inspirational TED Talk video about the importance of failing so that we can learn and continue to move forward towards success. Following this we went over some of the features of the presentation they will be working on for you for the closing ceremony (remember, that’s Saturday and starts PROMPTLY at 10AM), and then spent the rest of the evening getting to know one another. Lots of smiles and laughter already- we’ve got a great group of girls and we are so excited for what’s to come!

Here are just a few photos from today!

Sunday Pictures

Make sure you have your paperwork turned in! Contact your branch coordinator if you are unsure if you have everything submitted.

This year’s camp is quickly approaching! We are so excited. This year we have 6 core classes and a week filled with fun, engaging activities and new field experiences. We are busy at work getting everything in order for you.

We look forward to meeting you! Don’t forget to bring your walking shoes and sunscreen!