Summer Science Bash ends MOSI's summer camp season with a bang

Summer Science Bash ends MOSI's summer camp season with a bang

MOSI's final week of summer camp takes some of best elements of the previous nine weeks.

TAMPA - The Museum of Science and Industry saves the best for last with their Summer Science Bash. 

"We're squeezing the best of the previous nine weeks," MOSI Youth & Academic Programs Manager Ian Reed said. 

For an hour on Tuesday, kids from kindergarten to second grade built and tested straw rockets, using paper wings and clay tops. The goal was to hit a bullseye across the room. 

What they're saying:

"As an engineer explained, when they're sending satellites and rovers to these different places, if we were playing basketball, it has to be a swish. You can't hit the backboard. It can't roll around. It has to go completely through," Reed said. "So, they're learning how hard it is just to do that, just to hit the red dot."

The kids fired their rockets using an air-powered launcher. They have to adjust the angle of the launch and then decide how hard to push the air launcher. 

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"Some were paying attention to see what the other person had done," Reed said "So, it's all of that collaborative knowledge that they're getting."

The long-time instructor loves it when kids apply critical thinking. One kid decided to shorten the straw of his rocket. 

"It makes me feel great because they are innovating. I'm just giving them the basics, so now what we're doing is taking that learning to the next step," Reed said. "Let's see what happens. Let's see how the rocket responds."

What's next:

MOSI will have a handful of kid-friendly activities on select Saturdays during the fall. The next week-long camp will be during Thanksgiving break.