Prince Edward Island, by Nicholas Lamacchia This year has been a unique and unprecedented experience for us all. The challenges of delivering hands on and practical experiences to our campers has been something Brilliant Labs has tackled with efficiency and compassion. With the current situation of a global pandemic each camper is coming from a different situation in their home, as such, it is integral that we as mentors have a great deal of empathy and compassion for the students' positions. I have seen many of my peers come to camps ready to take on the project of the day to end up in intellectual conversations about how this topic is reflected in the world's current situation. It is with this empathy that we as mentors can teach students and still allow them to thrive in the learning environment we have created. Many of the projects we have created this year are unique fun learning experiences that truly emphasize the idea of STEAM. Each lesson encompasses the idea of crosscurricular learning as well as incorporates real world problems and solutions. One particular project that has been a shining example of STEAM
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Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs
and project based learning was the creation of a two part water filtration system. Students created both a particulate filter as well as a solar oven out of recycled household materials and those found in their neighbourhood. Students and mentors alike loved this project as it was a fun and exciting way to create a solution to solve some issues we face in our world today. Of course a cardboard box solar oven is not going to solve the world's fresh water problem however the science and engineering experienced will propel them to think about these problems and be pioneers in the science world. The use of these critical thinking and problem solving skills students learn in these camps will propel students forward. This year has been a challenging experience for mentors and students alike at BL however I am nothing but impressed with the call to action and the effectiveness of each mentor on the team. Things look a lot different this year, but many of our mentors have seen this as an opportunity rather than a hindrance and have improved their skills and adapted their content delivery in so many unique and interesting ways. Overall I have nothing but positive responses to my peers and their amazing abilities they have used to instil quality education this summer.
Charlottetown Outdoor InPerson Camps, by Carron McCabe This summer was full of virtual camp experiences for Island youth. Not only were our Summer STEAM Mentors having fun online
BioMaking virtual summer camp participant designing project & bioplastic mixture. Submitted/Twitter
with campers, they also got to meet some awesome kids at two different events through The Adventure Group. The Adventure Group, Inc. is a registered charitable, non-profit, experiential educational and training organization incorporated in 1992 to address the needs of young people and their parents. The goal of the Adventure Group is to offer opportunities for learning as well as personal and skill development using experiential, service learning and adventure based curriculum.
