Sarah's Science E-news

It's hard to be Velma entering first grade. Everyone has marvelous memories of her two older sisters, who were practically perfect first graders, and no one even notices Velma. But all that changes on a class trip to the butterfly conservatory, a place neither of her sisters has been. When a monarch roosts on Velma's finger and won't budge for days - no one will ever forget it . . . or her!

Kids will enjoy reading about butterflies, from migration to metamorphosis, as they follow Velma's own transformation.

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Summer Camp

THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND Summer Day Camp blends the exciting science and nature studies developed by Sarah Shaffer, with art, music, hiking, swimming, and outdoor games. Our goal is for every child to have a summer filled with outrageous fun in a beautiful, wild, natural setting. We say, "No child left indoors!"

Nature and science work together. The weird and wonderful world of nature provides a great way to "hook" kids on science. In turn, hands-on science and art activities connect children to the natural world, increasing environmental awareness and instilling a deep caring for our world.

WEEKLY THEMES

Every day your child will work on hands-on science projects related to our weekly themes.

Oakland and Berkeley themes include:

■ Catapults and Castles

- Medieval Science
■ Crazy Color Contraptions
■ Terrific Transformers
■ Batty about Bats
■ The Science of Snooping

San Ramon themes include:

■ All Wired Up!
■ Coyotes and their

Canine Kin
■ Crazy Contraptions
■ Rockin' Robots
■ Kaboom! Pop, Burst

& Bubble

CAMP DATES:

Oakland and Berkeley
June 16 - August 29, 2008
San Ramon
July 7 - August 15, 2008

HOURS:
9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Extended care available
8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. (until 6:00 p.m. in San Ramon)

LOCATIONS:
Roberts Regional Park
Our Oakland site is located in beautiful Roberts Regional Park off Skyline Boulevard in the Oakland Hills. This site is known for its lush second-growth redwood forest. It also has a pool, grassy playing fields, and play structures.

Tilden Park
Our Berkeley site is located at the Buckeye and Orchard Picnic Areas; lovely wooded sites below the Carousel. We are surrounded by great paths and streams, and we hike to Lake Anza to swim once a week.

Little Hills Ranch
San Ramon
Our newest site is located at beautiful Little Hills Ranch on Bollinger Canyon Road in San Ramon. Although it's a mere ten minute drive from the I-680 freeway, Little Hills Ranch is a secluded, peaceful oasis removed from the hectic everyday world. This lovely, rejuvenating location next to Las Trampas Regional Park features 100 acres of open grassy areas and large shade trees, a fenced swimming pool, play structures and hiking trails.

For more information call (510) 581-3739

or visit our website: www.sarahscience.com

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Cool Links

Lindsay Wildlife Museum
A unique natural history and environmental education center.

The Randall Museum

A unique haven where children and adults can explore the creative aspects of art and science.

See lots of other cool links at our website:

Sarah's Science Resources & Links

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Shop Amazon.com

Shop at Amazon.com and support This Land Is Your Land Summer Day Camp scholarships. All purchases made at Amazon.com through the above link will generate 4%-10% referral fees, which will be used by Sarah's Science to provide scholarships to children who would otherwise be unable to attend. Thank you.

� 2008 Sarah's Science.
All Rights Reserved.

Greetings!

We had a great time at our Spring Camps in Oakland, Berkeley, and our new site in Dublin. We built some fantastic projects focusing on our theme of Oceans, and our field trip to the Marin Headlands was full of adventure and fun. Check out our Spring Camp Scrapbook below.

If you have enjoyed attending Sarah's Science day camps, I'd like to ask you to participate in the Bay Area Parent survey (see link below). A vote for Sarah's Science and This Land Is Your Land as Best Day Camp would be a big vote of confidence from you that we are providing your family with the kinds of quality programs you want and appreciate.

Our Mother/Daughter Science program on April 5th was a very special experience, and I've tried to capture some of the essential points we explored in my article below. Our battery-powered light-up jewelry was a big hit, and while the mothers met for a lively discussion, our daughters surprised us by building an optical illusion top. I hope to continue to expand on the themes we touched on this year:providing support for girls to experience the joy of science and helping mothers nurture their daughters' pursuit of science.

On a personal note, I'm very pleased to announce that my son Saul, who many of you know as the Director of This Land Is Your Land Summer Day Camp in Berkeley, was married on April 12th to Melissa Castello. The celebration of their union was a joyous event for all.

We had so much fun with Mantis Mania last month that we're offering it again in Oakland on Saturday, April 26th. During this expanded program we'll learn the life cyle and natural history of the fascinating praying mantis, and supply you with all the materials you'll need to raise your very own pet praying mantis. If you already attended the previous class, I invite you to come back for a refresher and to collect more baby mantids and drosophila. Returning attendees will pay only $25.

Enrollments for This Land Is Your Land Summer Day Camp continue to pour in, so I encourage you to check your summer schedule and book your camp weeks as soon as possible. Remember you save $20/week off the walk-in rate if you register in advance.

If you have friends in the Tri-Valley area, please let them know about our new summer camp at Little Hills Ranch in San Ramon. See our special offer below - refer a family to register at Little Hills and receive a free camp t-shirt!

I hope you are all taking advantage of the wonderful weather to explore our many local parks and regional wilderness areas. The great outdoors is bursting with new life of all varieties and is a wonderful way to encourage an appreciation of nature in our children.

Happy Spring!

Sarah

Photo of Sarah courtesy of SF Chronicle
Photo of Saul and Melissa courtesy of Susan Adler Photography

Click Here to

vote for Sarah's Science This Land Is Your Land Summer Day Camp in the Bay Area Parent 2008 Family Favorites Survey.

Refer A Family

to our new summer day camp at Little Hills Ranch in San Ramon and receive a free 2008 summer camp t-shirt!

Ask your referred family to mention your name when registering, and we will contact you to determine all the details, including t-shirt size.

One t-shirt will be awarded for each referred family who registers for This Land Is Your Land Summer Day Camp 2008 at Little Hills Ranch in San Ramon (regardless of number of children or number of weeks registered).

Spring Camp Scrapbook

Field trip to the Marin Headlands

Making magnetic ocean aquariums is a fun way to explore this amazing underwater world.

Mother/Daughter Science

Nurturing our daughters' interest in science

We had another fun and enlightening Mother/Daughter Science program on April 5th, and I promised the mothers that I would share some of the ideas and concerns that we discussed in our breakout session.

A primary concern raised by all of the moms was how to keep girls involved and interested in math and science as they grow up. Many of the mothers said that their 3 to 5 year olds delighted in watching insects, reptiles and nature in general. All too often, this initial interest wanes as girls enter school, particularly when they reach the middle grades. One mother told us that when her daughter brought an insect poster to share with her pre-school class, the teacher shouted out, "Gross!" You can imagine how that made the daughter feel.

Several mothers expressed concern that they cannot find female protagonists and role-models in fictional literature or science texts. One mother recommended the book, "Girls Who Looked Under Rocks: The Lives of Six Pioneering Naturalists", by Jeannine Atkins, with illustrations by Paula Conner. For younger girls, I particularly enjoy our featured book in this month's E-news, "Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly", by Alan Madison and illustrated by Kevin Hawkes. Please e-mail us with your suggestions for other good children's books with female protagonists.

We identified a number of other ways to encourage young girls in science, including family field trips to places like the Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek, the Randall Museum in San Francisco, California Carnivores in Sebastopol, Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley, and the Exploratorium in San Francisco. We also talked about enrolling girls in science classes and day camps at Sarah's Science, Lawrence Hall of Science, and the Exploratorium. Another suggestion was to feature science activities at birthday parties. In our next E-news, we will discuss great projects for science birthday parties.

Issues girls face with science and math are incredibly complex and have been going on for a long time. I speak from personal experience. Under the current educational policies, the study of science has been virtually eliminated in many elementary schools. This hurts all of our children, boys and girls alike.

You meet the best bugs at-

Bug of the
Month Club�

"Calling all Bugsters!"
(Ages 4 - 12)

In monthly classes, children explore the bizarre and fascinating world of insects. Each class features a different insect, its habitat and its unique role in our world.

MANTIS MANIA EXTRAVAGANZA!

Two exciting classes in one! Learn the life cycle and natural history of this most fascinating insect and raise your own pet praying mantis. From breeding drosophila (baby mantis food) to watching mantids emerge from their egg cases-experience nature's wonders up close.

You will take home:

two vials of drosophila

growing medium

fruit fly booklets

two praying mantis egg cases (50-500 baby mantids will emerge)

two hatchery containers

praying mantis booklet