The first thing that we did was talk about different ways that we could figure out which way is North if we were outside. Of course we could use a compass, but we also talked about how to find Polaris (the North Star) in the night sky, how the sun moves from East to West as the day continues, and how moss usually grows on the North side of a tree. We then did our first science project of the day, in which we made our own compass using a sewing needle, a bowl of water, a small scrap of paper, and a magnet:
All you need to do is fill a bowl with water. Then float a small piece of paper in the water in the middle of the bowl. The next step is to magnetize your needle. Just about any magnet should do - I used a particularly strong refrigerator magnet. Drag your needle across the magnet, always moving in the same direction on the same pole of the magnet. Do this 10-20 times, though more is just fine too. Carefully place your needle on top of the floating piece of paper. The needle should turn to point North! To do this activity I broke the kids into groups. One person from each group filled the bowl with water, another floated the paper in the water, and everyone had a chance to magnetize the needle.
After making our compasses we prepared to "spend the night in the woods" by building shelters to protect us from the wind, rain, and cold. I set out some supplies including sticks, blankets, die-cut leaves, and boxes (you could in theory use just about any scrap materials you have lying around if you do this activity indoors like we did) and asked each group to use the materials to build a shelter where they could in theory sleep. This was a great exercise for fostering team-building skills as it forced the kids to work cooperatively as a group. I did find it helpful, especially with the younger group, to have one grown-up staff person or volunteer helping each group to help them brainstorm and organize their ideas.
Next on the agenda was a craft project where we made something that would be useful while camping: Sit-upons! This craft is a common Girl Scout project, but is really useful for kids and adults of all kinds. The idea is to make a cushion to sit on while camping to protect your bottom from the dirt and moisture on the ground. To make the sit-upons I first purchased several vinyl tablecloths (two of the three patterns I purchased are pictured below) and cut them into 15x25" rectangles. I folded each rectangle in half and punched holes around the outside edges ahead of time. Then I gave each kid a section of tablecloth, a small stack of newspapers, and a long piece of yarn. The kids would then stuff their tablecloth with the newspaper and use the yarn to lace it shut. Most of the kids had an easy time with the lacing but I found, especially with the younger group, that this was also a really good opportunity to teach kids how to tie a good, strong double knot.
After completing the sit-upons we made a quick snack for the kids to take home. And what better camping snack is there than s'mores! Obviously we couldn't build a fire and roast marshmallows inside the library, but we made s'mores trail mix by combining Golden Grahams cereal, chocolate chips, and mini marshmallows. I found that using a Dixie Cup as a scoop worked very well for serving individual portions. I gave each kid slighly less than a full scoop of cereal, slighly less than half a scoop of chocolate chips and half a scoop of marshmallows in a plastic baggie and asked them to shake the bag to mix up the ingredients.
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