July 29, 2015.
The week of July 20-24, Tony Staubach and his two student workers, Max and Sammie, launched the first ever 4H Agri-Science in the City summer day camp in Over-the-Rhine. The camp was originally offered to students of Rothenberg Preparatory Academy, and was to be provided without any cost to the students or their families. Ten students between the ages of seven and eleven were signed up for the camp. With many scientific water-related activities planned long in advance for 25 hours of excitement and exploration, the 2015 4H2O camp was officially ready to go!
On Monday morning, the camp crew arrived early and awaited the students’ arrival in the Eco Garden, across the street from Rothenberg. They were anxious, as they did not know what to anticipate from the students or how many students would show up that day. Three students arrived around half-past nine, so the day began with nametag making and getting to know the students. Monday’s theme was “Properties of Water” and the campers enjoyed several activities that taught them about surface tension, capillary action, and density. Following lunch, the campers explored hidden treasures of the city, with Nature BINGO, where the goal was to see as many pieces of nature as possible; examples included an apple tree, a squirrel eating a nut, and ivy crawling up a building. Though at times the campers expressed exhaustion from the hot sun and frustration with the lack of ease in finding nature, at the end of the day, the Nature BINGO was their favorite part.
The water-filled week of science adventures continued with Tuesday’s theme of “The Water Cycle.” The campers investigated evaporation, condensation, and precipitation as well as what a watershed is and the negative impacts of erosion. They were provided with the opportunity to build their own watershed and learn all about the connection of water bodies within it. In the afternoon, the group trekked across Cincinnati all the way to the new Smale Park by the Ohio River. The campers ran, climbed, and played around the park until it was time to venture back to the Eco Garden for dismissal.
The next day was “The Importance of Water Quality,” and to the surprise of Tony, Sammie, and Max, three new students showed up. They weren’t Rothenberg students—nor were they even in elementary school—but they were ready to discover the interesting agri-science concepts the 4H camp had to offer. Activities on this day involved discussion of pH and working together to test the pH of many household substances to investigate the differences between acids and bases. The students expressed enjoyment in using both phenol red drops and pH indicator strips to compare substances. They even got to travel to Washington Park and test the pH of the fountain water. That afternoon, the campers visited the rooftop garden of Rothenberg Academy and set up desalination kits and cleaned dirty water through handmade water filters.
Day four was all about appreciating the community. The students had the opportunity to discuss community service and to provide a service through creating birdfeeders to hang in the garden, and the afternoon included a walking tour of the Pendleton, Over-the-Rhine, and Race Street community gardens. It was clear that the campers most enjoyed picking numerous apples from the Race Street garden’s apple tree.
On the fifth and final day, the theme was “Wacky Water Fun.” The campers created artwork, built a fountain, and investigated with a leak-proof bag experiment. That afternoon, the 4H campers ventured to Washington Park to take part in the Cincinnati Parks Nature Next Door camp, with a craft, game, and guest speaker all about birds. Following that program, the campers rested for a quick lunch in the park and then spent much of the afternoon cooling off in the park’s fountains.
Over the course of the week of the first 4H Agri-Science in the City summer day camp, days were precisely planned yet unpredictable and exhausting yet full of worthwhile exploration and excitement. Tony and his workers are looking forward to next week, August 3-7, where they will host the camp one last time for the summer.