Local News - June 2003

Campers immersed in water

93 students attend Science and Technology camp

By JEREMY ASHTON, LTN Staff Writer

Lincoln County has seemingly been soaked with enough rain in recent weeks to provide water for a while.

But how much of it is safe to drink?

A group of 93 students is trying to answer that and several other wet questions this week at the annual Science and Technology Camp at S. Ray Lowder Elementary School.

Each year, the week-long camp gives first- through sixth-graders a chance to learn more about a specific scientific theme. This time around, campers are studying sources of water, ways to purify it and animals that need clean water to survive.

“They won’t see a book this week; it’s all hands-on,” said Jim Harkey, camp director and an assistant principal at West Lincoln Middle School.

Students rotate between two science classes and one technology class for the first part of the week. The camp also provides time for physical education and team-building exercises.

On Thursday and Friday, the campers will take field trips to the Lincoln County Water Treatment Plant and the North Mecklenburg Waste Treatment Plant. At those sites, the students will get to see practical applications of the concepts they are learning about.

Laura Chapman, 11, a rising seventh-grader at Lincolnton Middle, enjoyed doing a somewhat messy experiment on water pressure Tuesday with Megan Harris, 10, and Josh Friday, 12.

Laura was interested in enough in this year’s topic to do some research on her own before camp.

“The reason why it’s not safe for us to drink is because the ground pollution is so bad and the soil is messing up the creeks and streams,” she said.

Maddy Carlson, 11, liked an experiment with filters her group did Tuesday.

The students took 2-liter bottles, cut off the top and added rocks, pebbles, sand and charcoal. They then poured dirty water through the mixture that came out through a straw cleaner.

For Sawyer Simpson, 8, the best part of camp has been the computers.

In the computer lab, Sawyer and other rising third-graders played a game meant to teach them about the food chain. The goal was to get a crab to eat as many clams as possible before being carried off by a seagull.

Makenzie West, 9, of Battleground Elementary was wearing her favorite part of the camp Tuesday — a T-shirt with turtles on it and a name tag with the nickname “Turtle Lover.”

Makenzie has seen several turtles this week, and she likes them so much she even has two at home named Romeo and Juliet.

“I’m bringing them tomorrow,” she said.

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Staff Writer Jeremy Ashton can be reached at 704-735-3031 or jashton@ltnews.com.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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