10 • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
WEDNESDAY,JULY 9,2003
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It's Sci-Fi July!
Science Fiction & Fantasy Booksigning in conjunction with the Campbell Conference and Science Fiction Writers Workshop, presenting the authors:
Robin Wayne Bailey James Gunn·Kij Johnson Frederik Pohl·Leslie What Kate Wilhelm
AND the 2003 recipient of the John W. Campbell Award for best SF novel of the year.
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Workshop teaches kids the science of having fun
SUMMER CAMPS
By Brandon Baker bbaker@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
On the sidewalk outside the University of Kansas' Natural History Museum, 4- and 5-year-old children dance and shake their wet arms in the sun learning about the science of evaporation.
Zach Straus/Kansan
When asked what happens to water in the hot sun, a little girl chimes in "it dries."
During the Summer Workshop for Young People 2003, children learn about nature and science at the Natural History Museum.
Scott McKenzie, Salina senior, corrals students outside Dyche Hall as part of the Summer Workshop for Young People 2003. McKenzie assisted with the science program Monday afternoon.
Teachers like Dena Podrebarac, Interim Education Director at the museum, teach children about the process of evaporation and other science-related themes in a language children can comprehend. Podrebarac teaches students about the neighborhoods and towns where plants and animals thrive in the session on animal communities.
McKenzie will graduate with an environmental studies degree and thinks working at the Natural History Museum is a good way to earn extra cash during the summer.
Podrebarac devotes most of her time in the summer to the hands-on learning process and planning for fall sessions.She said she created the curriculum for her classes over the eight years she had been involved with the program. She adapted her program with videos and experiments to involve children directly with the learning process.
"I'm into nature and the environment and I like teaching kids,"McKenzie said.
Scott McKenzie, Salina senior, assists Podrebarac this summer. Last week, he worked with the adolescent age group on a canoeing trip down the Kansas River. They stopped for lunch and bits of education about the banks along the way.
Monday during class children sat cross-legged, or "crisscross applesauce" as Podrebarac called it, on carpet squares attentively watching a video about desert bio-domes. She would confirm the children's inquiries when they
Teachers manage up to 16 children per session with the help of one aide.
Though employees involved with the summer sessions are paid, tuition costs from students subsidize the expenses of the camp because the sessions receive no state funding Podrebarac said. Tuition costs for 4 to 7-year-olds is $65 for five days.The price increases for 8 to 14-yearolds to $75 for five days.
The cost of tuition is worth it to parents like Holly Ostlund, Lawrence resident. Ostlund's 5-year-old daughter, Olivia Quinn, enrolled for this weeks' session.
"I like that the kids are not inside all day, that they take hikes and work hands on," Ostlund said. "The teachers aren't just some high school students. They know what they're talking about."
This summer 104 children enrolled in the summer session. Podrebarac said the numbers were down because of a decrease in advertisement of the session and campus construction.
shouted about an animal or plant they saw in the video.
—Edited by Annie Bernethy
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