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June 15, 2009

Psychedelic science

Corbin Middle School holds Science camp this week

By Ronnie Ellis / CNHI News Writer

The T-shirts worn by students at the Corbin Middle School Science camp this week said it all:

“Scientists — Just normal people — Who are way smarter than you!”

Jared Burke, 10, one of 150 local students who participated in this year’s week-long camp at Corbin Middle School, was asked if that is true. Perhaps proving the point, Jared’s buddy, Drew Carter, 10, quipped:

“He thinks he is,” Drew interjected before Jared had a chance to respond to the question.

“No,” Jared responded. “Well kind of — a little bit.”

The two were engaged in determining who murdered “Felix,” an imaginary victim and wealthy man who made the mistake of telling those named as beneficiaries in his will they stood to inherit his money. Felix was found “murdered” at a house warming party. The science campers visited the crime scene, conducted forensic tests, including taking DNA and fingerprint samples, and then held a trial presided over by sixth-grade science teacher Jimmy Hendrickson.

Volunteer high school students played the roles of suspects, witnesses and trial attorneys while Hendrickson served as judge. Proving there is merit to the slogan on their camp T-shirts, nearly all of the elementary school campers correctly identified Felix’s killers when they were asked to serve as jurors.

Jared was one of the jurors who got it right. But his favorite part of the forensics activity was visiting the murder scene.

The annual camp for local elementary school students from grades two through six costs $50, according to Andrea Broyles, a fourth grade science teacher at Corbin Elementary. But there are scholarships for children who can’t afford the fee, subsidized by the Corbin Board of Education.

Among this year’s activities were dissection of a crayfish, tree identification, forensics, insect investigation, tie-dying T-shirts and an astronomy class taught by Dr. Larry Newquist from the University of the Cumberlands, who brought along an inflatable planetarium.

Some of the campers, like Madison Davis, 10, are repeat participants. That’s why the camp alternates the schedule of activities each year, Broyles said, although Madison — proving she’s at least a smarter politician than most, even if she doesn’t consider herself a scientist — said she came back this year “to see my favorite teacher,” smiling at Broyles.

“That’s why she got an A,” laughed Broyles. “But we do have a lot of kids who have attended for several years.”

Madison spoke as she prepared a T-shirt for tie-dying, helped by volunteers from Wal-Mart who provided the dye and the technique. Students rolled up the shirts and banded them with rubber bands, then used squeeze bottles of multi-colored dye to color the shirts. They were then placed in plastic baggies to dry over night.

Saryn Davis, a 10-year-old who “just now graduated from fourth grade” knew more than a little about tie-dying. She said her mother has a book about the sixties counter-culture.

“I already have like three of them in my closet,” Saryn said. “I went to one of my friends’ birthday parties and they taught me.”

So, did Saryn have a method to her tie-dying, a preconceived design?

“No, I’m just mixing and matching colors,” she said.

The campers couldn’t see their finished product Friday — they had to dry over night. But Broyles was impressed with one aspect of Saryn’s tie-dying. All the dye was on the shirt in the bag and none on the shirt Saryn wore.

But then, as Saryn’s T-shirt proclaimed — scientists are way smarter than the rest of us.

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