Westfield Area YMCA
Young Science Young Science

Hands On Art

Entering grades K-5: Engage your imagination and natural creativity! Campers-turned-artists work with a variety of materials such as paint, clay, sand, pastels and natural materials from the surrounding environment to create and develop fun projects, acquire new skills and express personal style. This is the camp where creativity thrives!

Young Scientists

Entering grades K-5: Gain a better understanding of how basic scientific properties affect the world around us! Fun discoveries and hands-on learning are in store as we mix Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math into this creative and exploratory camp. Kids work both individually and as teams to tackle complex challenges with science, engineering and design. 

Chess

Entering grades 1-5: Develop critical thinking skills, improve academic performance, and build sportsmanship, self-confidence and discipline. Experience a fun mix of formal instruction, practical exercises, and playing opportunities. Beginners learn the basic moves and strategies of the game. Intermediate and advanced players take their games to the next level by learning more complex strategies, practicing tactics, and preparing for and participating in chess tournaments.

 

The curriculum and instruction for the following camps are provided by the Montclair Learning Center:

NEW! CSI STEM

Entering grades 1-5: You are the detective! Use your problem-solving skills and explore forensic science to solve a mystery. Campers will engage in hands-on science experiments to analyze finger prints, DNA and clues using chromatography macro and microscopic fiber analysis, and chemistry and toxicology to identify unknown substances and liquids.

NEW! Star Wars STEM

Entering grades 1-5: The Force is strong with you. This interactive class gets campers engaged in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math through a fun and exciting Star Wars theme. Campers will be introduced to Jedi engineering by building a Droid and pieces of the Star Wars Galaxy, using coding. Help a Droid pickup scrap metal on Tatoonie, get a chance to race Droid robots, and engage in science experiments to create Star Wars landscapes. 

NEW! Tinker Lab

Entering grades 1-2: You are the engineer. Explore engineering through hands-on projects using the engineering design process on the following topics: electrical engineering, civil engineering, and mechanical engineering. You will explore circuity, build bridges, build a robot, and more!

Robotics

Entering grades 3-5: Build your own remote control car, animal bot or electric guitar using the LEGO® Mindstorms® NXT Robotics Construction Set. Build and program robots using motors and external inputs such as touch, sound and light sensors. Use your new skills to meet challenges such as following lines, processing sound or navigating a maze.

3D Video Game Maker

Entering grades 1-5: Learn the basics of game development. Create games using visual programming language software designed to be used by children. Its various capabilities enable campers to develop and program a wide range of inventive and visually interesting games that are played in a 3-D world. Draw on these capabilities to design and create single-player and multi-player games.

NEW! Nature Science

Entering grades 1-2: Explore plants, insects, and weather through fun science experiments. Build a bird model and bird feeder for your feathered friends. Learn the life cycle of plants and butterflies. Learn so much more about the world around us through study and experiments. 

NEW! Architecture and Design

Entering grades 3-5: You are the architect and designer! You will create the blueprint of your dream house or skyscraper, then design it in 3D online. Before building and decorating it, you will use engineering skills to add some electricity to you creation. 

NEW! 3D Design/3D Printing

Entering grades 1-5: Campers experience the fun of creating 3D designs using 3D modeling software. SketchUp lets campers push and pull surfaces to turn them into 3D forms. They then can stretch, copy, rotate, and paint these forms to create their own customized structures. These structures can range from buildings to various forms of transportation. Campers use basic shapes as building blocks to piece together and form all sorts of designs. 

Questions? Contact:

Amanda McCaskill

Director of Camp & Mountainside SACC

Phone: 908-301-9622 ext. 265

Marty Collett

Senior Director of Child Care Services, Camps & Teens

Phone: 908-301-9622 ext. 223

Tarajee Russell

Assistant Director of Camp and School Age Childcare

Phone: 908-301-9622 ext. 271