The W Science Camp 2025

Activities from previous years have included:

Dr. Davida Crossley, an Assistant Professor of Microbiology, led an activity investigating how life exists in water and soil, which would be analogous to how future scientists could find life on another planet. Students collected soil samples from around Plymouth Bluff to investigate what bacteria and fungi are present.

Dr. Bonnie Oppenheimer, Professor of Mathematics and the Chair of the Department of Sciences and Mathematics, led a discussion about why we count in base ten and how to count if we met aliens with a different number of fingers that use a different base system.

Activities about the physics and engineering of space travel were led by Dr. Travis Hagey, an Assistant Professor of Biology. Student built jet powered paper airplanes using straws and measured flight distances. Students also investigated deceleration and material properties, designing protective enclosures from cardboard, foam, and pipe cleaners, to hold a raw chicken egg. These enclosures were dropped from different heights to evaluate how well their designs protected their fragile cargo.

As part of our planetary science and geology day, students made their own fossil impressions using plaster of Paris, led by Michael Dodson, Instructor of Biology. Students also observed locally collected marine fossils. Plymouth Bluff has easily accessible fossil beds containing a rich supply of marine bivalve fossils.