2015 Trip to Camp Fraser

In an effort to expand and enhance their STEM education, the 5th grade students took a trip to Camp Fraser located in Great Falls, Virginia.

They left on a Wednesday with high hopes of seeing owls, roasting marshmallows, and telling ghost stories at night time.

After a long bus ride, we were excited to finally make it to the Camp site (which is operated by Living Classrooms).

After learning about invasive species and the survival skills of Blue Jays, we enjoyed making s’mores around a campfire!

After s’mores we went on a night hike where we learned about how bats use echolocation to find food, the chemical that builds up in your eyes so that you can see slightly better at nighttime, and how the shape of ears can help you hear better!

The next day we went on a hike and learned about photosynthesis, the structure of trees, runoff in a watershed, and the importance of

each organism in a food web.

Food Webs represent how energy is

transferred in an ecosystem. If one

organism is removed, then the entire food

web can collapse!

We went Rock Climbing!

We had to learn how to

communicate and work together to

solve problems on the low ropes

course!

Our Camp Fraser Teachers did a great job of explaining the symbiotic relationships that organisms form. They were able to teach us a lot about

the natural habitats of organisms! We found a

salamander and worms living under the tree bark! We even

got to hold them!

We got a little wet when we were testing the water quality of the stream. We found that the water was very clean and

healthy, it had an almost neutral (7) pH! We found many macro invertebrates with our

nets…worms…bugs… !

We played a very cool game to learn about the water cycle

and how water droplets travel all over the world in different forms. Did you know that the

majority of the fresh water that we can use is locked up in

glaciers?

Camp Fraser was an amazing experience for our 5th grade students. They worked together to solve problems, got a taste of the outdoors, and bonded over memories that they will keep for the rest of their lives. It was a rewarding experience that we can’t wait to have again next year! Thank you to Living Classrooms for giving us this amazing opportunity! Thank you to our wonderful Camp Fraser teachers for pushing our students to the next level!

Our students received high praise on their behavior, social skills, and team work while at the camp, but we were most proud of the abundance of knowledge that they brought with them. The camp educators were highly impressed with the level of information that our students knew. This means our STEM Program works! Camp Fraser Rocks!