CLEVELAND — Seven-year-old Felix Finn spends the holiday season exploring space, making engineering designs and even preparing for blastoff.
“Years ago, when I was little, I had a toy rocket,” Felix said.
Felix is now building his own rocket while he is a student at the Great Lakes Science Center. Camp Curiosity.
Winter break is exciting for most children, but it can pose challenges for many parents who must accommodate work schedules to care for their children. Camp helps relieve some of that pressure and allows their children to go beyond the traditional classroom setting.
“The most important thing is we need to make sure the air stays in the rocket, because that’s what makes it fly,” Victoria Joslin said.
Joslin helps manage the winter and summer camp programs at the center. She said hundreds of children get the chance to watch movies in the dome theater, get an exclusive sneak peek at new exhibits and learn new programs every day.
“They get to do a lot of the engineering process, a lot of design, testing, construction, and across all the themes it stays pretty consistent,” she said.
Still, she said all camp activities have one thing in common.
“So there’s a strong STEM focus, and we’re trying to bring everything back, even some of our themes that maybe don’t seem as STEM-focused,” Joslin said. “We really put it into practice in the activities we do every day.”
For science enthusiasts like Félix, the camp could be a first step.
“I’m still thinking about it, but I think I want to become a doctor,” Felix said.
As he and others aim high and work to achieve their big dreams.
“I made some tape and paper, and this thing, I don’t know what it is but it’s pretty good to look at,” Felix said. “And then I throw it.”