Gift of the Nile Day 1

Today was the beginning of the week themed “Gift of the Nile”. After all of the campers had arrived, an icebreaker activity was played. Each camper introduced themselves and named an item they would theoretically bring were they to go on a cruise on the Nile river. Some items included a goat, a canoe, video games, a bathing suit, and a chicken. Those items would make for an interesting cruise! The red and yellow groups then went into the classroom to learn about the traditional ancient Egyptian social structure. The ideas of a hierarchical social system and various occupations of people in different classes were discussed.

Then, the yellow and red group walked to the upper Egyptian gallery where many statues, mummies, and other ancient Egyptian artifacts were on display. The campers participated in a scavenger hunt throughout the exhibit as they tried to decipher the clues and then find the object. Some objects included a portion of the Egyptian book of the dead, a death mask, and a statue. After being stumped on the very first question, the campers eventually figured it out and cleverly figured out the rest. At the conclusion of the hunt, the campers returned to the group dining area and ate a snack. Then, the yellow and red groups learned how to play the ancient Egyptian board game Senet. Senet is thought to be one of the earliest board games ever made, if not the first. The campers then got into pairs and played against each other. After the campers had lunch, all of the groups walked to the Highline field for some games. When the campers returned, they started to work on their showcase for Friday. For more information about that, however, you will have to come and see!