Valley Parents Fall 2023

CONTENT S

4 TURNING TECH INTO REALITY

At The Space on Main in Bradford, Vt., a dozen youngsters, ages 8 to 12, were getting a taste of STEM at a July camp.

CHILDREN’S CHOICE

For those who claim children need electronic stimuli to have fun, a day at a TimberNook camp might change their minds.

12

NATURE INSPIRED CREATIVIT Y

At the Earth and Arts Camp at Star Mountain in Sharon, the camp experience mixes art and nature in a quiet setting of fields and woods.

: ON THE COVER

Josephine Schumacher, 6, of Strafford, left, and Lexi Wipfler, 6, of Sharon, take a break from building forts in the woods at the Earth & Arts Kids Camp in Sharon, on July 20.

Valley News —Jennifer Hauck

VALLEY NEWS —JENNIFER HAUCK

EthanBurbidge, 10,of Grantham,runs forshelterafter takinga spinonthe beachduring ahard rainstormlastmonth inHanover. Burbidgeattends TimberNook, a day camp held at Storrs Recreation Area in Hanover.

Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth Fall Family Calendar

FALL OPENING EVENT

28 September, Thursday, 5:00–7:00 pm

Explore the galleries, meet the curators, and discover a one-night-only pop-up exhibition celebrating Latinx Heritage Month. Enjoy live music, refreshments, and giveaways for the whole family!

COMMUNITY DAY

30 September, Saturday, 1:00–4:00 pm

For all ages! Join us for this free drop-in program to learn about historic and contemporary artworks by African and African diaspora artists exploring home and family. Engage in art activities related to textiles and mending, explore the galleries with our interactive family guide, and enter a free raffle to win surprise goodies. No registration required.

STORYTIME IN THE GALLERIES

4 November, Saturday, 1:00–1:45 pm

Introduce your little ones to the museum with stories and play in the galleries. Look at art together and engage in hands-on activities inspired by abstract expressionism. For children ages 4–5 and their adult companions. Space is limited; scan the QR code to register for free online.

FAMILY WORKSHOP

4 November, Saturday, 2:30–4:00 pm

Explore the world of abstract art! Together, children and their adult caregivers will learn about abstraction and mark-making in the exhibition The Painter’s Hand, then go to the studio to make their own abstract acrylic paintings using unexpected techniques. For children ages 6–9 and their adult companions. Space is limited; register for free online.

Family programming at the Hood Museum combines play, exploration, and creativity through games, conversation, and art making. Learn together through interactive programs inspired by the exhibitions for kids of all ages and their parents/caregivers. Explore diverse works of art across cultures and time right here in the heart of the Upper Valley.

6 E Wheelock Street, Hanover, NH • hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu

‘Off the computer, into the real world’

STEM camp encourages children to create designs, turn them into finished products

By PATRICK O’GR ADY Valley News Correspondent

BRADFORD, Vt.—Interest in summercamps thatoffereducationaland artscomponents —insteadof purerecreation —has grown significantly over the years.

Camps featuring science, technology, engineering and math, known as STEM, havebecome morepopular for different agegroups, camp organizers say.

MoniquePriestley, executivedi-

rectorofThe SpaceonMain,said they offered one-day camps last year, but thisyear were able tofund four, one-week camps, which have proven very popular.

“They are all waitlisted,”Priestley said. “This week is digital fabrication, then next week it is robotics, then we doa weekof webdesignand thelast week is game design.”

AtTheSpace onMain,acommunity resourcecenter for peopleof all agesonMain StreetinBradford,Vt., adozenyoungsters, ages8to12, were gettinga taste of STEMat a one-week camp in July.

Camp materials include small laptops, softwareand a 3Dprinter for campers to transformtheir designs

into finished products.

“One thing I wantthem to be thinking about is how something they designedona computerisgoingto change and have different considerationsdepending onhowit isfabricated,”camp instructor Molly Morin said. “It getsthem thinkingabout takingthings offthe computerinto the real world.”

STEM campsare designedto be interactiveand engagingwiththe goal ofpiquing interest inthe four disciplines. The levelof the material depends on the age of the attendees.

Microcomputers,coding, datascienceandmachine learningareincorporated intothe camps aswell as the center’s afterschool programs.

The offerings arefor elementary, middle andhigh schoolstudents. STEAM programs, whichadd the arts, are available to older students.

MicahPeters, 10,of Bradford,Vt., first designed and thenused a 3D printer to produce a pickaxe from the popular computer game Minecraft.

“I’ve learnedhow todo alot by trial anderror,”Micahsaid, ashe focused on reattaching apiece of his creation that had comeloose. “It can be hardto place the blocksin exactly the right place. Thefirst time I did this the handle here was too short.”

Micahsaid thathe andother campers have been designing 3D

VALLEY NEWS - JENNIFER HAUCK

Camp instructor Molly Morin helps camper Izzy Hatch, 9, of Groton, Vt., with her 3D model on the last day of camp at The Space on Main in Bradford, Vt., on July 21, 2023. Campers learned digital fabrication techniques including 3D modeling, 3D printing, 2D design and laser cutting.

Science and technology summer camps grow in popularity

STEM CAMP FROM 4

printssince thefirstdayof camp.On thetable nexttoMicahwas a3D printercreatinganother piecehedesigned.

Morin, thecamp instructor,explained the week’s focus.

“This is digital fabrication week so wehave beenlearning softwarefor CNC (computer numerical control) cutting andbuilding,”Morin said. “We’vedone3D printingandlaser cutting.”

Izzy Hatch, 12, ofGroton, Vt., held agreen-coloredobject thatshedesigned and printed.

“I have to break off some of the extra pieces,”Hatch said, while using a small tool to accomplish the task.

Atanother table,9-year-oldAven Dyke, of Orford, was at his computer working onhis planedesign. Ashe isolatedcertain sectionsof theplane and easilyflipped theimages around to see it fromall angles, Aven explained his work.

“I am looking at it to see that everything is good,”Avensaid. “I need toselect andunselect, whichis hard.”

Avensaidhe hasdonethesesorts of designsbefore anduses somethinghecalled “slicing software”to place missiles under the wings.

Next to Aven was Bowen Clawson, 9,ofPiermont, whowasattempting to replicateAven’s design.He hada portionof theplaneput together,but was trying to figure out a few things.

“I am not surehow he did this,” Bowen said.

The summer camp allows the children touse Tinkercad,an appfor 3D design.

“Theyhave beendesigningthe plasticpieces themselves,”Morin said.

On the final day, the children each did a demonstration ona big screen ofsomeof thedesignstheyhad worked on during the week.

“Theyare playingwith 3Dmodelingusing aphysicsengine thatlets 3Dobjectsinteract witheachother,” Priestley said.

Micah was demonstrating his design beforethe group,explaining how thedifferent shapes,including a ball on a longslide rolled down and knocked over several dominoes.

Others createdlogos frompopular companiesincluding Nike,Apple and Spotify.Ten-year-old Archer Pushee, ofBradford, Vt.,explained how hepulled shapesfrom aside panel onthe screen ontohis work

area and reformed them to appear as the actual logos.

Priestleysummed uptheSTEM camps as places thattry to foster “technological literacy,innovation, creativity, andproblem-solving skills”and encourageexperimentation with everything from 3D printers

to microcomputers and more.

“Thesecamps provideasolid foundation for futureSTEM learning while emphasizing theenjoyment of

science, technology,engineering and mathematics,”Priestley said.

Patrick O’Gradycan bereached at pogclmt@gmail.com.

VALLEY NEWS - JENNIFER HAUCK PHOTOS

Above: Collin Massey, 11, of Newbury, Vt., applies a sticker to his face that another camper made at camp during the show and tell part of the day at the digital fabrication camp at The Space on Main in Bradford, Vt., last month. Belowleft: Acamper’s keychainmade duringtheir weekat TheSpace onMain digitalfabrication camp. Below right: Faolan Beaton, 9, of Groton, Vt., left, Antonio Del Pozzo, 9, of Piermont, Collin Massey, 11, of Newbury, Vt., and Archer Pushee, 9, of Bradford, Vt., listen during their digital fabrication camp at The Space on Main. Campers participated in 3D modeling, 3D printing, 2D design and laser cutting activities.

how to do it’

Children create their own experiences at TimberNook camp

By PATRICK O’GR ADY Valley News Correspondent

HANOVER —Forthose whoclaim childrenneed their phones, video games and other electronic stimuli to have fun,a day ata TimberNook campmight change their minds.

Maybe a downpour on a beach at a Hanover pond with a fewbuckets andshovels is enoughfor anafternoon of entertainment.

On a hot mid-July afternoon during a one-week TimberNook camp titled “Inthe Wild,”a group of 20 youngsterswasgatheredunderthe ByrnePavilionnexttoa

Right: GemmaSweeney, 6, ofGrantham, catches crayfishalongStorrsPond onJuly18inHanover. Sweeneyand hersisters attendedTimberNook, aday camp located at Storrs Pond Recreation Area.

‘It is not them telling us

VALLEY NEWS - JENNIFER HAUCK PHOTOS

Above: Aftera rainstorm,TimberNook campersJack Finley,10ofGrantham, andWyattSmith,12,of Hanover, build dams in the mud and sand along Storrs Pond in Hanover last month.

Camp offers freedom to explore

smallbeach atStorrs Pond.With “RobinHood andthe GoldenArrow” asthe day’s theme, participants spent therainy morningmaking bows and quivers under the pavilion.

Afterlunch, theybegan afriendly competition to see who could land their two arrows closest to the center of threestring circles laid outon the concretefloor fromabout 15feet away.

About half waythrough the first round, a cloudburst pelted the pond’s surface before movingonto the beach. Bows andarrows were dropped immediately: There were no thunder and lightning, somost of the childrenraced outinto thedownpour.

The heavyrain carvedsmall rivulets down to the beach, providing anidealsetting forbuildingsmall dams wherewater pooledup and drainedunderthe damsthrougha plastic tub.

“We were making dams and dumping water down to see if they would hold,”said WyattSmith, 12,of Hanover, taking a briefbreak in the pavilion.

As the sun returned, teams of children worked together in different areas of the beach. When one small damwasbreached withafreshflow of water, a boy moved quickly to pack in more sand while another dumped a shovelful on top to shore it up.

Camp directorWendy Sanchez watched withdelight asthe impromptu change in activities was a beautiful example of the freedom and loose structurethat shewants inher TimberNookcamp. Sheoffersthree weeks of camp: one forages 7 to 12, one for ages 5 to 8, and one for ages 6 to 11.

“They ditchedthe arrowsto run out in thetorrential rain,”laughed Sanchez, watching thechildren run around.

Colin Fraser,11, takinga break under the pavilion, summed up his feelings on the afternoon.

“I get to be in the woods, hang out withfriends,get messyandcatch crayfish,”Colin, of Lebanon, said.

The TimberNook camp concept was started by New Hampshire resident Angela Hanscom from her book

VALLEY NEWS - JENNIFER HAUCK

CamperAdamHuyck, 12,ofHanover,letshis homemadearrowflywhen atTimberNook,adaycamp heldatthe Storrs Pond Recreation Area in Hanover earlier this month.

TimberNook camp’s loose structure is by design

T IMBERNOOK FROM 10

titled “Barefoot and Buckets.”

“Therearea lotofdifferentcurriculums to choosefrom,”Sanchez said. “We useacurriculumas abase andadaptto ourownoutdoorenvironment.We basicallyprovidethem with the environment,the materials and alittle bit of inspirationand the experience is what they create themselves.

“Insteadof adultsalwaystelling the kids how to do it, the gist of it is to let them figure it out.”

TimberNook camps areheld in the U.S.and severalother countries including England and Australia.

“It isall basedon child-ledplay,” said Sanchez,who held thefirst TimberNookcampin 2017aftertraining to be a director the previous year.

Sanchezis assistedbyfive toseven counselors. Registrationfor the threesessionsfills upalmostimmediately after itopens around February andSanchez givespriority toattendees from the previous year.

The “In the Wild”theme was basedonRobin Hood.Inadditionto making bowsand quivers,there was fortbuilding oneday in“Sher wood Forest”thatincluded findinghidden gems to buy and trade for materials for a fort.

Before the rainarrived, 10-yearold John Stone, of West Lebanon, had the best results in the first round of bowandarrow shooting.Hetwice landedhis arrowinthe inner,and smallest, circleof stringlaid outon thepavilionfloor, whichwasgoodfor six points.

John explainedhow theyhad to

bendthesticksand tieoffthestring at eachend toget theright tension for their bows. The arrow was actually a wooden dowel with a slit on one end for the string.

“Ihave areal bowand arrowat home but I didpractice a lot,”John said, explaining his score.

John alsosaid helikes thefreedom to be creative.

“I like making forts and other stuff and we get to do it,”he said. “It is not them telling us how to do it.”

Adam Huyck,12, ofHanover, has attended TimberNookeach year since it began.

“It is nice that it is not as structuredasother camps,”Adam said, whileworkingon hisquiverunder the pavilion.

TimberNook isdescribed asa “sensational experience”for chil-

drenthatis “designed as the vehicle to get children outdoors in a sensoryrichexperience toinspire,restore andchallengethe mindandbody,” accordingto theorganization’s website.

Sanchez said attimes during the day, the kids are given possibilities of things todo —but nothingis mandatory.

“Whenwe areoutinthe woodsI always ask that the kids listen to whatis beingofferedandif youdon’t want to doit, you do nothave to. You can work on your fort.”

At theend ofeach day,Sanchez, who sendsemails and photosto parents of the day’sactivities, has the campersgatherto talkabouttheir highlight of the day.

“I am sure today it will be running out in the rain,”Sanchez said.

VALLEY NEWS - JENNIFER HAUCK

Harper Turner, 9, of Hanover, practices with the bow and arrow she made at TimberNook, a day camp held at Storrs Recreation Area in Hanover.

‘Celebrating nature and ourselves’

expansive vistasto thewest. There were stories, games, theater, puppetsandmore involvingEarthand elements like fire, water and air.

By PATRICK O’GR ADY Valley News Correspondent

SHARON —Combine the creative imaginationof childrenwitha loveof nature and youhave the ingredients for a week of summer camp fun.

Leaves become tortoises. Sticks morphintoinstruments, aclumpof moss a beach and tree bark a boat.

At theEarth andArts Campat Star Mountainin Sharon,the camp experiencemixesart andnatureina quiet setting of fieldsand woods with

“I like to give the land a voice and thatiswhyI dothis,”said Carol Langstaff, whoconducts three,oneweekcampson herproperty.“This empowers thekids tomake things, becauseif youcanmake thingsyou can make the world better and not just follow along. So that is my goal.”

Thethemefor thecampinmidJuly was sticks. One afternoon under bright sunshine, 14 children ages 6 to 12, brought their creativity to bear on objectstheyhad collectedinthe woodsthat morning,including

leaves,ferns,moss, pineconesand acorns.

The aim, Langstaffsaid, was to use their imagination to create “their story.”

“Thisis dancing,music andart,” said11-year-old AdisonFeezell,of White River Junction, pointing to the pinecone, leafandtiny wildapple she had collected for her story.

The stories were laid out on large paper bagsthat hadbeen openedup and cut to a desired square size.

Dolphins, music,sunglasses, a lakeformed partsofthe storyof Maddie Wipfler, 6, of Sharon.

Julia Elizalde,8, ofWhite River Junction,usedwhat shecollectedin

the woods for earth,water, fire and air.

“And this is my tortoise and the elements arethe things heneeds to sur vive,”Julia said.

Nearby Josephine Schumacher, 6, ofSouthStrafford, craftedastory thatincludedapiece ofbirchbarkas aboat witha tinypine cone,representing her,seated inthe middle, with a lake around her.

“The little floweris happiness,” she said.

The week included making “sun tea,”smelling, hearingandseeing fire;and howit canchange thetaste

Imagination, arts, outdoors centerpiece of Sharon camp

VALLEY NEWS - JENNIFER HAUCK

Head assistant Anna Dixon, of Thetford, a helper at the Earth & Arts Kid Camp in Sharon, builds forts in the woods with campers Norah Stewart-Ross, of Hanover, left, and Ruby Shen, 10, of South Royalton, last month.

Creative camp draws inspiration from the natural world

CRE ATIVE FROM 12

of and transformobjects. The children went on quests and were encouraged toask questionsand make observations about what they saw and heard in nature.

“We goon aquest everyday,” Langstaff said. “Yesterday itwaswater and today it is fire.”

The developmentof perception and self-expression throughthe arts aregoals ofthecampand natureis full of symbols for those purposes.

“By interweaving thearts, we will extend our paths of expression and discover newways ofcelebrating natureand ourselves,”Langstaff said

she tells potential campers.

Halilee Greenleaf, 8, of Hanover, said she enjoyed findinga stick to paint,learning howtomake astar and something called “brook tuning.”

“We gotto goto astream andin the streamwe tried tochange the sound bymoving aroundthe rocks and sticks,”Halilee said.

While a groupof campers created their stories,others werein the woods collectingsticks andbuilding forts. Later, the groups switched activities.

Following thestories andfort building,thechildren movedinsidea largebarn andsplit upin pairswith

thesticksthey hadfoundand painted.

The activityinvolved somebrief, slow-motion one-on-one combat which was non-contact and was more dance than fight. (Langstaff also is a longtime danceinstructor.) Under Langstaff ’s steadydrumbeat, each pair used theirsticks as make-believe weaponswith somechildren tumbling to the floor. When finished, their creative mindsturned the weaponsinto instruments,including trumpets, flutes,a piano,a saxophone anda guitarfor someimaginary performing.

The other two weeksof the Earth and Arts Campevolve around sound

and ropes.

Langstaff said she held the camps for a number of years then discontinued it until last year when her grandchildren were ready to go to camp.

“Idecided toresurrectit,” Langstaffsaid,adding thatshelikes toworkwith largergroupsofchildren.

Ruby Shen,10, ofSouth Royalton, said the camp’s focuson nature was perfectly suited to her interests.

“I love nature andI love water, air and fire,”Rubysaid,after helpingto buildafortand gettingreadytocreate her story.

Patrick O’Gradycan bereached at pogclmt@gmail.com.

VALLEY NEWS - JENNIFER HAUCK

Halilee Greenleaf, 7, of Hanover, builds a story out of a brown paper bag and items collected in nature last month in Sharon. Greenleaf was attending Earth & Arts Kids Camp for the week.

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