Camp Spotlight: Flight is Fun
Camp Spotlight: Flight is Fun
It’s not easy being a 12-year old. Sometimes children at that age want to play and imagine and “just be kids.” Other times they are becoming young adults who can’t wait to solve the problems of the world. At Pearson Field Education Center (PFEC) we love teaching and learning with middle school students and offer summer camp programs that are designed to meet their developmental and learning needs, and we have fun doing it!
Young adolescence is an interesting time of life as kids navigate their transition from childhood to adulthood. The Flight is Fun camp experience encourages tweens to play and create while developing the habits and attitude that prepare them for future success.
Flight is Fun offers opportunities to:
Experience engineering – Children design, build and fly multiple different flying technologies. Some engineering challenges are open ended to encourage creativity while others require campers to follow step-by-step instructions, as both approaches are needed in professional engineering. Building projects individually, in pairs, and in small groups develops campers’ independent thinking and collaboration and communication skills.
Play – Play is part of every engineering activity at camp. Campers are encouraged to play with the items they’ve created, which often results in damaged kites and gliders. However, kids learn from the experience and are empowered to use household items to repair and reengineer their creations. Campers have used wooden craft sticks as splints for broken glider wings or paperclips to make tail hooks on a paper airplane. Fifteen-foot long streamers might be added to a kite simply because they look beautiful.
Build confidence – Campers are taught to work through challenges and accept that mistakes are inevitable. “Do-overs are okay! Kids are also given an opportunity to try something extraordinary. This summer all Flight is Fun campers will have an opportunity to pilot a small aircraft under the tutelage of a certified flight instructor. That’s right…we’re letting 12 year olds fly real planes!
Spaces are still available for Flight is Fun and other PFEC summer camps. Register on our website at: https://www.pearsonfieldeducation.org/programs/camps/summer-camps/
