Wild World Session 1 Day 4

After archery and running the obstacle course, we did Gratitude Circle. Before we did some more organic gardening, we tiptoed over to see a fawn sleeping by a tree. Can you see her in the picture? Then, we planted pumpkin seeds and watered them. Ms. Melissa watered some of the explorers too! ;) Then we planted strawberry plants and harvested Bok choy. Afterwards, we hiked up to the white house and had snack while learning about Rube Goldberg and some of his funny machines he drew. We also looked at examples of simple machines (lever, pulley, inclined plane, screw, wheel and axle). Then the explorers challenged themselves to create a "Rube Goldberg" machine that included at least 2 simple machines and 5 steps with the end goal of getting a ping pong ball in a container. Some wanted to work on their own and others worked as a team. First, they brainstormed and planned some ideas out on paper. Then they got to work building. Most ended up with at least 3 steps and 1 simple machine. At the end, we shared what we made and voted for our favorite one- Eli's won. He built an awesome pulley for part of his machine that worked perfectly on the first try! There were many creative, interesting ideas to get the ping pong ball into a final container. Then we ate lunch and headed to the "waterfall" creek to explore and play. Some explorers made creek clay creations and others cleaned their wands and raced them down the stream. We saw a little watersnake tucked up under the​ rocks. Can you see his head in the picture?