Camp Inquiry 2006-- A Review

[Ian David]

From: Barry Karr <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Date: Aug 28, 2006 12:11 PM
Subject: CSICOP Online: Camp Inquiry 2006 A Review


JULY 15TH - 21ST, 2007
CAMP INQUIRY
for children 7 - 16 years of age


REGISTRATION & DETAILS FOR 2007, COMING SOON

Camp Inquiry 2006
A Review by Amanda Chesworth and Sean Hulsman, Camp Counselors
http://www.campinquiry.org



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On July 12th, 2006, the Center for Inquiry's first summer camp program for young skeptics and freethinkers was launched. Camp Inquiry was held at a beautiful campground in Western New York where 20 people gathered for a week of adventure, discovery and exploration. In addition to standard camp programming, the children participated in activities specifically designed to promote critical thinking, human values and scientific inquiry.

In a classroom setting, lessons of this nature can often seem boring and difficult for young people. Students can be left uninspired to pursue the subjects further. The National Academy of Sciences encourages inquiry-based education as an effective way of developing real understanding among students. Consequently, we have adopted the NAS strategy in the educational materials we create through the Inquiring Minds program; a practice that is ideally suited to our mission of reason, skepticism and freedom of inquiry.

With the help of Bill Nye and many others we have learned how to show that science can be a lot of fun. With our additional focus on examining claims from the paranormal and supernatural realms, the level of enjoyment is even greater. Add the camp environment with enthusiastic and competent leaders and you have a recipe for active learning that is second to none.

Though young people may be more susceptible to belief in extraordinary claims, we have discovered that they enjoy investigating these ideas from a skeptical standpoint just as much, if not more, than from the position of a true believer. Detective work engages the imagination of a child, hence the popularity of Nancy Drew, Blues Clues, Dora the Explorer, the Hardy Boys, and other inquiring characters. It also has an empowering effect in challenging beliefs, ideas and claims that are paraded as true on the basis of little or no evidence. Young people are bombarded with information and it is often assumed that they will believe in whatever they are told, without question. From our experiences, however, children appreciate being given a choice and participating in discussions that challenge their minds. Sharing with others the knowledge and information they discover through their own endeavors, help to give children a feeling of being part of a community.

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The Lodge where Camp Inquiry was held is spectacular. The facility provides two sleeping wings and two restroom areas which we divided between boys and girls. Our kitchen was large with several tables, two ovens and lots of storage space for all the food. There was a very large room at the center where we could gather for discussion and where our indoor activities took place. We also had an education room for arts and crafts, games and research.


On the first day at camp, we decorated our camp hats and picked out our Camp Inquiry T-shirts. We also played some games so that campers could get to know one another. The craft room was also where we created voodoo dolls and tested them out on our partners. A camper would stick a needle in the leg of his voodoo doll that symbolized another camper. "Does your leg hurt?" he would ask as he viciously poked the doll over and over again. "Nope" the other replied.



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A major theme of Camp Inquiry this year had the children exploring the fact and the theory of evolution, and its conflict with creationism. We embarked on nature hikes and looked at adaptations of various plants and animals in terms of the survival value of particular traits. The campers had great fun playing a survival game in the woods where the prey tried to avoid predators and find enough food, water and shelter to survive. Disease (virtual) made an appearance and with a touch could render a species extinct. Near the end of the game a hunter was sent out and it only took eye contact for an animal to meet its end.




One of the great surprises to come out of Camp Inquiry was the creation of a dice-based role playing game on the subject of evolution. Several campers thought up the idea and created it on their own. Each player begins with the same small organism. They then choose how to disperse an equal number of points into "evolutionary developments" such as limbs, teeth, venom, and so on. As their organisms evolve, they get better at catching prey or finding plants to eat. They also improve at adapting to random climate changes. Inspired by the complexities of Dungeons and Dragons, the children spent hours playing and developing the game - we often had to tear them away to participate in other activities. Through e-mail several campers continue to fine tune the game and hope to build a web site where people can play online. We would also like to include the game in future camps, with the creators leading the show.

We explored the field of cryptozoology via the claims for Bigfoot. We asked the question: from our understanding of genetics and environmental pressures, could an animal like Bigfoot survive in our world? We made Bigfoot casts out of plaster and we examined a picture of the latest "evidence" used to back up the claim that Bigfoot exists. The enlarged photo was placed on the kitchen wall and during meals children were challenged to guess what it was. It was a near impossible quest; many hints were provided. By a great leap of the imagination one participant recognized it as the impression of a bum. A very large bum! Lots of laughter ensued.

Campers created masks molded to the shapes of their faces and decorated to represent one of many mythological or legendary monsters. One of the posters we had hanging in the grand room was entitled "Monsters from around the World" and is where the children chose the monster they would depict on their mask. One camper made an excellent Abominable Snowman mask out of cotton balls and another camper made a fabulous mask of Medusa with a chaotic mess of pipe cleaners shooting out from her head to represent the snakes.



We welcomed many special visitors to the camp. Paul Kurtz, the founder and chairman of the Center for Inquiry, stopped by to say hello with Community Leaders from Florida. Everyone was thrilled that we realized our dream of starting a camp program.

D.J. Grothe, who is the Director of Campus and Community programs at the Center for Inquiry and a professional magician, dropped in to entertain and enlighten campers. D.J. did an hour-long magic show for the campers, and then followed it up with another hour of discussion on how magic and sleight of hand tricks are performed. D.J. discussed how magic and illusion can help teach critical thinking not least by showing how our minds can be bamboozled. With perception playing a large role in beliefs, learning how we can be fooled can help us to examine skeptically the phenomena we encounter, and to look for alternative, natural explanations, for what may be going on. All of the campers learned how to do a few tricks including disappearing coin and pencil illusions and this became a favorite activity. D.J. is already working on an enhanced program for next year.

Another day we had a visit from Skeptical Inquirer Managing Editor, Ben Radford. Ben came to teach us about media literacy and engaged the children in many critical thinking exercises that involved the close reading of news stories. Ben also continued our explorations into cryptozoology by talking about the many "monsters" he has investigated around the world. His latest book, co-authored with Joe Nickell, CSICOP’s Senior Research Fellow, is entitled Lake Monster Mysteries. Ben told us some interesting stories about Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster, as well as Champ, the sea serpent of Lake Champlain.

We enjoyed a Thinkathalon (renamed to Thinkathon) that included both mental and physical activities in groups. For example, we examined many beliefs in the supernatural through a Superstition Obstacle Course, and had a wonderful time with scavenger hunts. One particular hunt focusing on nature, asked the children to bring back something that reminded them of themselves. The findings were fascinating. One camper brought back a multi-faceted plant and explained that, like him, it was complex. Another camper found a metallic piece of litter and told us how her personality resembled it in being shiny and bright. In the context of a discussion of personal qualities and character, it was a very positive experience and fitted well with our efforts to build confidence and self-esteem among campers.

The weather was surprisingly good throughout the duration of the camp though we did experience two overcast days and had the occasional thunderstorm at night. On one overcast day we decided to take some fake UFO photos. We first designed and built flying saucers using a variety of materials from our craft room. By means of almost invisible fishing line, we suspended them from a branch or dangled them in the air with the sky as our background. The end result was that we learned how easy it is to create a UFO photo that resembles the many that are touted as real. We emphasized the actual meaning of the acronym U.F.O. and how there is a large variety of sky phenomena that can be mistaken for alien spacecraft. Some of the mysteries have been solved but some UFOs remain unexplained. Rather than jump to a paranormal explanation, we concluded that it is okay to leave the file open and to investigate further. Human knowledge has proceeded stepwise for thousands of years, and many of the questions we have rational answers for must have seemed baffling to our distant ancestors. An added lesson we all learn from the kind of experiments just described is that we can safely leave questions that baffle us now, for future generations to solve.



We didn't have time to create our fake ghost photos but we will schedule this activity for next year along with so many others we have thought of since first developing the camp program. This first year taught us so much and we look forward to continued improvement at future events.

The final day of Camp Inquiry was dubbed Diversity Day. Campers interviewed one another to discover five similarities they shared and five differences between them. They explored these differences further in order to gain an appreciation for them and to be introduced to new cultures, beliefs, and lifestyles. We celebrated the rich diversity of choices that our world has to offer and how we can enrich our lives by exploring this variety and becoming well-rounded people. We explored the harmful nature of prejudice and how we could challenge and hopefully rid ourselves of our own. We spoke about tolerance, human values and much more. During our discussions on diversity and alternate beliefs we touched on the cultural beliefs and superstitions around the globe and through history.

Due to weather and atmospheric constraints, we were unable to do much star-gazing during the camp; then when all seemed lost, we were saved. On our final evening we had a visit from the parents of two of our campers. We discovered to our good fortune that the father is a knowledgeable sky watcher. He graciously agreed to lead us in a discussion of the night sky, and what a job he did! We stood spellbound while we learned about constellations, the movement of planets across the sky and the history of astronomy. Naturally, as true skeptics, we also touched upon astrology. He had one of those really cool laser pointers and it significantly helped to find the constellations. At the end of the evening we were all able to view Jupiter through a high powered telescope and were even able to see three of her moons. It was a fitting end to our camping adventure.

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The question now is why was this camp an important event and why do we hope to cement it as an annual program of the Center for Inquiry.

In today's world where we are easily seduced by the passive entertainment on offer from TV, radio, CD players and computer games, we are in danger of leaving our critical faculties in park and accepting any information that comes our way, unquestioningly. Brains can atrophy that way, and we need to keep them sharp so that we are not fooled by all the ads for miracle-cure herbs, copper and magnetic bracelets, super diet pills, and so on, that flood from our television stations. People spend millions of dollars a year on quackery of this kind, without ever getting the promised results. Another kind of quackery has gradually invaded our political institutions. Religion, which undoubtedly brings psychological comfort to some, should not be allowed to influence the science curriculum in our schools. Ideas concerning the evolution of life, the origin of the universe, are issues that should be taught in terms of a critical examination of the scientific evidence, unadulterated by dogma. We all make our own decisions, consonant with values we are comfortable with, but we need to avoid prejudice and the misconceptions that come from our demon-haunted past. Camp Inquiry emphatically does not teach children what to believe. Instead we help to prepare our children to use their magnificent brains so as to navigate effectively through the minefield and make choices that are reasonable and safe. They are provided with the tools to reach their own conclusions. Ultimately the skepticism and independent thinking promoted within our organization may help our children to lead fuller, happier lives, based on their realization that they have developed the intellectual backbone to resist the outrageous claims and messages that, 200 years after the "Age of Enlightenment", we are still prey to.

The young are the future of civilization. We need to nurture the flame of curiosity and imagination and encourage young people to flourish. We share Carl Sagan's belief that science is our candle in the dark, a candle to light our children's future.

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Camp Inquiry is an investment. To realize our dream we had to make a significant financial sacrifice this year. We would like to ask our supporters to help us in continuing the Camp Inquiry Program. If you are able to make a donation, no matter how small, we would appreciate your help.


To make a donation to Camp Inquiry we offer several options:

1. Follow this link to make a secure donation online:

2. Send a donation through postal mail, to:

Camp Inquiry
P.O. Box 741
Amherst NY 14228

3. Call our toll-free number to donate with a credit card or to speak with a Development Officer:

1-800-818-7071 extension: 427

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If you have questions or would like further information, you can contact Educational Director Amanda Chesworth through e-mail at [e-mail] or CFI Executive Director Barry Karr at [phone] ext. 217; e-mail: [e-mail]

Camp Inquiry is sponsored by the Center for Inquiry and its Affiliate Organizations - © 2006
CENTER FOR INQUIRY - CSICOP - CSH - INQUIRING MINDS - SECULAR FAMILY NETWORK - CAMPUS INQUIRERS


Camp Inquiry is currently undergoing the accreditation process of the
American Camp Association


More:
http://www.campusinquirers.org/