Today at camp the Explorers are hiking Mt. Holyoke, a geological wonder of the Pioneer Valley. To prepare for the experience, we had a visitor: Hitchcock Center naturalist Ted Watt. Ted began with a world map, explaining the breaking apart of the Pangaea supercontinent 300 million years ago. Two campers volunteered to draw the continents of Africa and South America on one large piece of paper, then did a demonstration of what happens when two continents collide. When the two continents were pushed together, a "mountain range" of paper formed! Then Ted pulled out a map of Lake Hitchcock, the huge body of water that covered the valley after the glacier melted. Campers were very enthusiastic about these geologic events, especially the parts involving lava and earthquakes. They also got to handle basalt, a kind of rock that can be found all over Mount Holyoke, which makes a cool sound when you hit two pieces together! Below: here they are after reaching the summit!
Yesterday the Young Naturalists kicked off the camp session with lots of get to know you games and a Hitchcock favorite: Animal Who Am I? In this game, campers try to guess what animal picture they have on the back. They go around the room, asking each other yes or no questions about their animal such as: Do I have fur? Can I fly? Do I eat meat? It is great fun and also a great ice-breaker!
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