Heroes, Giants, and Monsters Wrap Up

On Thursday, August 15, 2019, Red and Yellow group campers created their very own Greek inspired mask, learning about the masks used in ancient Greek theater productions. The campers in Blue and Green group were able to create their very own monsters, using many mythical creatures as references and making an original mashup of these creatures. Campers then recharged with pretzels and apple juice and were ready to start their next activity. The two groups then switched activities for the remaining time in the morning, allowing every camper to create a mask and original mythical monster. After lunch, there was outdoor recess time for the first time since Monday. Campers were relieved to play their favorite game and spend time outside in the fresh air. After recess time, everyone set to work on prepping for showcase. Everyone is very engaged in their projects and are excited for a successful showcase at the end of the week.

On Friday August 16th, campers spent the morning exploring the galleries before snack. After snack, campers spent time working on showcase before lunch. During afternoon free time, campers were given a choice to go outside and play gaga or head to the auditorium to finish watching Percy Jackson, which we had started earlier in the week. After free time campers had to start setting up their showcase and get ready for the parent’s arrival at 2:30! All of the groups put together a fantastic showcase today! It was a great way to end the 2019 summer camp season!

-week 8 CITs

Heroes and Giants and Monsters, oh my!

Monday, August 12, began with a review of the standard camp rules. All campers participated in contributing their interpretations of good behavior in the museum. Next, they attended their respective gallery talks in the museum’s exhibits, as this week’s theme is Heroes, Giants, and Monsters. Yellow and Red groups attended a lecture in the classroom concerning giants, while Blue and Green groups went on a gallery walk to expand their knowledge on monsters and heroes. After a snack of Goldfish and our limited supply of apple juice, the Yellow and Red groups crafted pottery influenced by ancient Greek artifacts. Simultaneously, the Green and Blue groups artfully sketched their own comic book designs while incorporating themes of monsters and heroes. Lunch was followed by a competitive Gaga tournament and some relaxing indoor board games. Later on, each group began their art building challenge for the day by working together. At the completion of their displays, they presented their works and received hand crafted awards (made by the CITs).

Tuesday, August 13, the purple group started off their day by watching Moana in the auditorium. The Yellow and Red groups went to a talk about the heroes of ancient Greek myths and the Blue and Green groups talked about giants in the Greek gallery. The snack for the day was pretzels and apple juice. Group A, consisting of the yellow and red groups, participated drawing their own comic books, as the Green and Blue groups (otherwise known as Group B) had done the previous day. The Green and Blue groups sculpted their own bowls. Lunch was nutritious and relaxing as usual. As a result of the rain the camper enjoyed their choice of an  indoor recess or watching a movie. The remainder of the day was spent preparing for the Friday showcase.

 On Wednesday, August 14, the campers in Blue and Green groups talked about heroes and constellations in several exhibits while the Red and Yellow groups listened to a talk on monsters. After a snack of Goldfish and apple juice, a story teller and musician, Ms. TAHIRA, educated the campers on the importance of working together and the large impact of small actions, and following one’s passions through stories. After lunch, while Yellow and Red groups had an indoor recess (due to the rain), the Green and Blue groups decorated the bowls they had constructed on Tuesday and learned about the various symbols used to ward off evil spirits, taught by an expert at the museum, Katy Blanchard.

Katy Blachard teaches campers about incantation bowls during our weekly Expert Talk. 

Then, the Yellow and Red groups prepared their showcase projects and the Blue and Green groups had their indoor recess. As their last activity before returning home, the Yellow and Red groups decorated their bowls in the expert talk and the Blue and Green groups conducted research for their showcase projects.

-written by week 8 CITs

Wrapping Up Life in Ancient Egypt

On Thursday, Group A (Red and Yellow Groups) attended a gallery talk about Egyptian Royalty presented by Ms. Allyn. Then group B (Green and Blue Groups) attended a gallery talk on the daily life in ancient Egypt presented by Ms. Jillian. After snack time, Group A worked on showcase prep, while Group B did the Tomb Mural Activity. After lunch and Gaga, Group A did the Tomb Mural Activity, while Group B did showcase prep.

On Thursday, the Purple Group read a book called Sailing Down the Nile. They learned about Egyptian geography in the book. They then went to the Egypt gallery to learn about jobs in ancient Egypt such as scribes, soldiers, and priests/priestesses. They also learned about daily tools in Egyptian life. After lunch time (and Gaga), they went to make papyrus, and actually use it! They then worked on showcase.    

We had a special treat for Friday: we went to the Rainey Auditorium for a video call with an Egyptologist and PhD student that is currently excavating in Abydos, Egypt named Paul Verhelst. Mr. Paul answered several questions asked by the campers about what kind of work he was doing in Egypt, what the weather was like, how many artifacts he’s found, and why he loves archaeology.

Mr. Paul answers camper’s questions about excavation in Egypt via video conference on Friday morning.

After that exciting presentation, the Purple Group went to work on Canopic Jars, and made their very own jars! While Red, Yellow, Blue, and Green groups finished their projects for the Friday Showcase. Afterward, we had lunch before playing a few games of Gaga.  After Gaga, we set up for our favorite activity of the week – Showcase!

-Written by Week 7 Counselors-in-Training (CITs)

           

 

                    

 

           

 

                     

 

 

Life in Ancient Egypt, Days 1-3

Monday was the first day of Week 7: Life in Ancient Egypt. The day started with everyone learning the camp rules and making new rules for the camp too. After that Group A, which is Yellow and Red group, went on a gallery talk with Danni to learn about mummification.

Campers take some time to explore the new exhibit Ancient Egypt: From Discovery to Display.

At the same time Group B (Blue and Green Group) went on a gallery talk with Adrienne and learned about Egyptian Religion and Mythology. Hungry after all of that learning the campers went to get snack. After snack was art activities with Group A painting their own mummy portraits and Group B writing with Hieroglyphics. Then everyone went to lunch. After lunch people got to play their favorite game, Gaga, with others having indoor free-time. Then was the art building challenge with Green winning “Most Creative”, Blue winning “Most Accurate”, Red winning “Most Colorful”, and Yellow winning “Most Interesting”. Finally, the day was over with parent pick-up.  

Monday was also the first day of Daily Life in Ancient Egypt for Purple group! The day began by reading a book called Mummy Cat to the campers, and then having the kids create their own mummy cat. We then discussed mummification and walked through the Ancient Egypt galleries and saw a mummy cat. After lunch the Kids went outside for a break and played Gaga–which is a fun ball game that the campers like to play. Towards the end of the day, purple group did an art challenge based on the book that we read earlier. Finally, the day was over with parent pick-up.

 On Tuesday the campers arrived and began the day as usual with the playing of board games and card games. After the campers arrived the day had “officially” begun with a continuation of gallery talks. Group A assumed the position of group B and vice versa and learned about mummification and even had the chance to see a real mummy and see some of the artifacts that would have been buried with said mummies. Group A meanwhile learned about the story of Osiris, Seth, Horus, and Isis.

Group A listens to Ms. Adrienne’s Gallery Talk in the Egypt (Mummies) Gallery.

They learned about how Seth tricked Osiris at a party into getting into a sarcophagus before then locking him in said sarcophagus. They learned how Seth threw his brother Osiris into the Nile and how its Isis who would save her husband more than once before giving birth to Horus who would avenge his father. The two groups switched again and group B this time would make portraits of mummies this time while group A would make bookmarks. Then lunch would commence the campers would watch the Princess and the Frog.

Once all the campers arrived, Purple group transitioned down to our classroom and started off with story time. We read The Voyage of Osiris Egypt. After the reading we discussed what happened, and then we took a little trip through the museum to the Egypt (Mummies) Gallery. The kids got to look at the mummies and Osiris who was a character in the book! Purple group also worked on Egyptian collars using all different colors of paint.

Purple Group campers check out the Ancient Egypt: From Discovery to Display exhibit with Ms. Olivia.

After that fun and messy activity, everyone headed upstairs for lunch. After lunch, the campers weren’t able to play Gaga due to the weather. Instead we all watched “The Princess and the Frog.” Lastly, Purple group started on their project for the showcase on Friday!  

On Wednesday, the Group B went to the Egypt (Mummies) Gallery for their gallery talk. The counselor explained the importance about the gods and goddesses that lived during Ancient Egypt. In addition, the gallery talks with Ms. Allyn taught the blue and green groups what the goddesses and gods did when they are in power. The campers sat in front of multiple artifacts while listening to the counselor to understand the meaning behind the history of pharaohs. While group B was learning about hieroglyphics, gods, and pharaohs, A group was learning about the daily life in ancient Egypt. Ms. Jillian gave a lesson about ancient Egyptians living in many cities along The Nile. Purple group read The Little Hippo and learned some facts about Egyptian animals and what the animals meant to the ancient Egyptians. They then went to the Egyptian gallery to do a scavenger hunt; they were answering several questions related to animals in ancient Egypt.  

Once the morning lessons were over, all the campers attended a Mummy Makers presentation in Rainey Auditorium as part of the World Wonders series. During Mummy Makers, campers learned how mummification worked in ancient Egypt. Once World Wonders was over, the campers ate lunch and began to work on showcase for the weekly presentation on Friday!

-Kayla, VJ, Joseph

Engineering in the Mediterranean Wrap Up!

On Thursday August 1, 2019 campers began the day with preparation for the weekly showcase. After the showcase prep the young anthropologists ate Goldfish and drank apple juice. They then attended an expert talk with Josh Lessard, an architect at the museum, concerning the various building materials in ancient and modern architecture such as wood, stone, and concrete. After the talk campers designed their own unique structures based on those evident in the architecture of ancient Mediterranean cities. They concluded the lesson with exploring the aspects that are still shown in the museum such as columns and arches.  In the afternoon, the Red and Yellow groups engaged in a column design workshop where they collaborated to construct and identify the different types and parts of a column. Meanwhile the Blue and Green groups individually crafted clay models of their own interpretations of the Coliseum in Rome, Italy.

Green Group campers with their finished work

Blue Group’s final showcase

On Friday August 2, 2019, the children began the day by embarking on a scavenger hunt throughout the museum, that allowed the color groups to explore various parts of the building and the artifacts on display. After each group completed their quests, they returned to group dining for pretzels and apple juice. Next, all the campers proceeded to working on their specific showcase projects before eating lunch and playing Gaga. To conclude the day, the campers finalized their projects for the showcase and set up displays to inform the parents about what they learned this week. The showcase was a successful and informative end to Week 6: Engineering the Mediterranean!

— Grace and Helena

Welcome to Engineering the Mediterranean

On Monday, July 29, the campers began Week 6: Engineering the Mediterranean with an overview of the standard camp rules. Shortly after, they journeyed off to the first talks of the week. The Yellow and Red groups attended Mr. Joe’s discussion concerning the specific professions in the ancient cities surrounding the Mediterranean. He explained how societies developed from a network of various jobs, and how these jobs contributed to the formation of a civilization. Ms. Allyn informed the Blue and Green groups about the different structures built to honor Greek and Roman gods. They also learned about diverse methods of connecting with their deities, focusing on the Oracle of Delphi. They concluded their exploration with a brief trivia activity and reviewed the pertinent vocabulary and details of the morning. After an exciting start to the day, the campers feasted on Goldfish and apple juice. It was then time for the art activity! The Red and Yellow groups crafted colorful and creative mosaics inspired by the iconic artworks of the Mediterranean.

Blue Group campers during the column building workshop.

Meanwhile, the Blue and Green groups assembled in the classroom to investigate a few of the most common classical column orders. They identified the differences between Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns and matched fragments of each accordingly. Then they congregated outside to construct columns of cardboard and paper, adding details as desired.

Blue Group campers during the column building workshop.

 

After a substantial lunch, the campers explored several of the many galleries offered by the museum. As an invigorating conclusion to a busy day, each color group was given a prompt and created an art display relating to structures of the Mediterranean. Their efforts were rewarded with hand-crafted awards by the CIT volunteers.

Tuesday, July 30, started with the campers joining a few counselors in the galleries for their morning presentations. Mr. Jarred took the Yellow and Red groups to the classroom for a talk about the golden ratio and how ancient buildings affected architecture in the more contemporary world, with examples such as columns, arches, and domes. They continued to the China exhibit where the campers discovered examples of the golden ratio within the artifacts. The Blue and Green groups listened to Mr. Joe’s in-depth description of society’s first jobs, before all the campers met for the snack of the day, which was pretzels and apple juice. The Red and Yellow groups sculpted their own clay models of the Coliseum as the Blue and Green groups participated in the mosaic craft. They ate and engaged in a competitive outdoor game of Gaga. After, they rejoined in an auditorium and were introduced to the showcase assignment for the week. They explored the galleries to conduct research on their designated topics and began their projects’ construction.

On Wednesday, July 31, the day commenced with Ms. Allyn’s talk about structures for the gods for the Yellow and Red groups and Mr. Jarred’s presentation on the relationship between ancient and modern architecture, as well as the golden ratio, for the Blue and Green groups. After a quick break of Cheez-its for the daily snack, the campers attended a World Wonders science demonstration from the Franklin Institute on Newton’s laws of motion and their influence on machines.

The Franklin Institute joined us for Wednesday’s World Wonders presentation.

It focused on the physics of simple machines and included many fun and interactive activities to further illustrate the concepts. They left the auditorium to eat lunch, during which a heavy rain had begun. Due to this, the campers watched the film Hercules as a Gaga alternative. The day ended with a one-hour period of preparation for Friday’s showcase. Hope to see you there!

-tHelena and Cate

Designing the Museum: Final Days and Showcase

Thursday, July 25^th was the fourth day of Week 5 of the Anthropologists in the Making summer camp. Showcase was just one day away, and excitement was in the air as the campers gathered in Group Dining. The day started with a complicated set of offerings. Yellow and red groupers attended an expert talk with Jess Bicknell, a museum employee, in the Native American Voices gallery, in which they discussed some of the work that went into the exhibit and campers gave feedback on how it could be even better.

Yellow Groups and Red Groups meet with Jess Bicknell on Thursday morning.

Then, yellow and red groupers had snack, before moving into showcase prep. Blue and green groupers started off the day with showcase prep, before having snack and then attending Ms. Bicknell’s talk. Then, in the hour before lunch, all the campers continued working feverishly on their showcase projects. After lunch, for an unprecedented third day in a row, the entire camp was able to play Gaga. Mother Nature had smiled upon the Penn Museum once again. After Gaga, all the campers completed a label-writing activity for several museum objects, continuing the theme of learning about everything that goes into making an amazing museum.

Friday, July 26^th was the culmination of Week 5, and it was very, very busy. The day started with an hour of gallery exploration, in which campers in the different groups went to different galleries to continue their research for their showcase projects. After the exploration, the campers had snack, and then more showcase prep before lunch. In a miracle that shall forever be etched in history, an earth-shattering fourth straight day with Gaga was perhaps the most entertaining one yet. Finally, it was time to set up for showcase, and then family and friends piled in the doors of the museum. The event was a smashing success, a fitting end to a lively, informative, and enjoyable week.

-Evan

Learning How to Design a Museum

Monday, July 22^nd, 2019 was the start of Week 5 of the Anthropologists in the Making summer camp. This week, campers learned all about museums—their origins, contents, and roles. This week started off with a quick rule review, before moving into the first gallery talks of the new week. Campers in yellow and red groups listened to an amazing talk from Mr. Jarred entitled “What is a Museum?” He discussed how modern museums grew out of cabinets of curiosity, where rulers kept objects from around the world. While these cabinets were to show wealth and impress the ruler’s audience, today’s museums educate and inform the public. Campers in blue and green groups listened to Ms. AR’s talk about all the different types of people who work in modern museums. The campers explored the museum behind the scenes, meeting people integral to its operation. After a quick snack, the campers moved into their morning art activity. Campers in red and yellow groups created their own museum dioramas, while campers in blue and green groups repaired pottery, simulating the work of actual museum employees. After lunch, some rain ruined the camp’s hopes to play gaga, but instead the campers explored the galleries. The always-fun art-building challenge was the last activity of the day, and a rousing presentation of awards concluded a successful first day of Week 5. 

Tuesday, July 23^rd was the second day of Week 5, and campers continued their exploration of all things museums. The day led off with gallery talks. Yellow and red groupers listened to Ms. Danni’s talk about telling stories through objects, while blue and green groupers listened to Mr. Jarred’s talk, “What is a museum,” about cabinets of curiosity, (which, as Ben from blue group pointed out, were owned by ‘flexing hoarders’). After snack, the morning art activities were flipped from the previous day: yellow and red groupers repaired pottery, while blue and green groupers created their own museum dioramas. Then, after lunch, it was finally time for Gaga, for just the third time this summer! The campers and counselors clearly enjoyed this rare occurrence. After gaga, it was time for an introduction to showcase, and the day ended with the campers working hard on brainstorming ideas for their end-of-week projects. 

Wednesday, July 24^th was the third day of Week 5, and the campers led off with gallery talks. Yellow and red groupers listened to Ms. AR’s talk about people who work in museums, while blue and green groupers listened to Ms. Danni’s talk about telling stories with objects. After a snack, the campers were treated to a special performance as part of the World Wonders series. An Indian dance troupe came to perform for the campers, who were riveted by the performance’s amazing intricacy and complexity. After lunch, for the second day in a row, Gaga fever swept over the camp, and a joyful hour of play ensued. Showcase prep was the last activity of the day, as the campers continued working hard on their projects. Friday’s big event was getting closer and closer.

-Evan

Wrapping up Dig Week

On Thursday, we began the day with free time before gallery talks. The blue and green groups went to Ms. Dani’s talk about gourds as well as protective figures in Egypt. Meanwhile, red and yellow groups went to a talk led by Ms. Katelyn about the Wampanoag tribes of North America. After that, everyone convened in group dining and had goldfish and apple juice for snack. Later, both teams made art projects based on stratigraphy, which is the analysis of the order and position of layers of archaeological remains. They used lots of different materials, including sand, sand paper, cork paper, and model magic. Then they ate lunch and had some free time. For the rest of the day, groups rotated from working on showcase and visiting the artifact lab.

Green Group campers at the Artifact Lab.

At the artifact lab the kids got a fascinating presentation about how conservators work and what kind of tools they use for their job, some of the older groups even got a closer look at one of the artifacts they were working on. Then the main camp ended, and after-camp began where the kids had more snack and watched Mary Poppins Returns.

 On Friday, the groups had some time in the morning to explore the galleries, seeking inspiration for the afternoon’s showcase.  After that, they came back and applied some of their new ideas while preparing for the afternoon presentations. Snack for the day was pretzels and juice, and with their newfound energy, they got back to work on showcase with enthusiasm. Since it was really hot today, the campers finished watching Kronk’s New Groove down in the Rainey Auditorium. After finishing the movie, they campers did final preparations for the showcase and set it up for the grown-ups’ arrivals. The showcase started at 2:30 and the kids demonstrated all of the artifacts that they excavated. The purple and blue groups’ artifacts were from Greece. Yellow and green groups’ artifacts were from China, and the red group had artifacts from Meso-America.

 The children had so much fun this week and their showcase demonstrated all their enthusiasm and work! 

-Yemisi, Claudia, and Wyatt

 

 

 

Dig Week has Arrived!

Monday the 15^th was the beginning of one of the most popular weeks: Dig Week! It started off with all the groups meeting in group dining and writing some camp rules for them to follow. Then Team A, composed of the Red and Yellow groups, went on a fascinating gallery talk by the green group counselor A.R. In this talk they learned about the differences between archeology and paleontology. Team B, which is comprised of Blue and Green groups, went on a talk led by our other green group counselor Joe. His talk focused on different the categories of anthropology: linguistic, cultural, and physical/biological. During this time Purple group made a culture chart and read a book about archaeology. After a snack of Cheez-Its, they went outside to start to uncover the artifacts in their dig boxes while Purple Group had some free time. After an hour of digging, recording and sifting, the kids went inside to wash their hands. Then they ate lunch. After lunch, they had free time and the opportunity to explore different galleries. Then they had an art building challenge. The yellow group won most colorful, red won most accurate, blue won best use of materials, and green won most creative.

On Tuesday the Team A went on Joe’s gallery talk while Team B went with A.R. Following this they had a snack of Chex-Mix and went outside to finish digging. After lunch they watched a movie in the auditorium. Following this the campers were able to work at stations and clean the artifacts they found during their digs. They used paintbrushes along with buckets of water to clean off the dirt and sand.

On Wednesday Team A went with Ms. Danni where they traveled to the Jamaican gallery and learned about gourd dolls and then went to Upper Egypt to learn about warriors. Team B went with Ms. Katelyn to learn about Native American artifacts and objects where they watched a short video about Native American traditions and then went to the Native American Voices gallery to explore different artifacts. While this happened, the Purple group did a pottery matching activity. After a snack of goldfish, the campers went to the auditorium to see a World Wonders presentation. During this, the World of Music with Daria played different songs from around the world while the campers got a chance to use some of the instruments and learn about what they were and where they came from. After lunch Team A and B took turns playing gaga. Then, for the last hour of camp the campers began to work on their showcase presentations, doing things such as piecing together the artifacts they cleaned the previous day.

-Yemisi and Zoe