The Westminster College Preschool Lab will host its Summer Science Camp for Kids June 16-20.

Designed for children aged four to six, the camp provides opportunities to learn basic science concepts through investigation, data collection, sensory exploration, and visiting guest speakers.

Dr. Stephanie Corrette-Bennett, mobile educator with the Westminster Science in Motion program, will kick off the week with a demonstration of the properties of air through experiments and terminology. Children will make and launch their own balloon rockets, create parachutes, and blow colored paints with various "wind" machines.

Day two will feature Westminster College assistant professor of physics Dr. Douglas Armstead, who will show simple properties of mechanics and lead campers in pulley exploration, gear play, and a giant pendulum project.

Owen Wagner, director of the Westminster College physical plant, will discuss construction on day three. The day's activities include a walking field trip to a construction site and campers' original straw constructions and junk inventions.

Dr. Marosh Furimsky, Westminster assistant professor of biology, will show several "critters" from the biology department and discuss their characteristics on day four. Follow-up activities include investigating earthworms, creating fish prints, and walking to Brittain Lake.

The week concludes with a field trip to the outdoor biology lab, where Dr. Ann Throckmorton, Westminster associate professor of biology, will demonstrate compost making and describe many species of plants and trees.

The Summer Science Camp fro Kids is sponsored by the Grable Foundation of Pittsburgh and the Westminster College Drinko Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.

Contact Westminster Preschool teachers Debi Roud and Diana Reed at (724) 946-7174 for additional information and registration forms or visit www.psych.westminster.edu/preschool/index.html. Deadline for registration is May 30. 

Preschool information