Cade Camp fun spreads out into the community as the museum bolsters its ongoing outreach

Press release from the Cade Museum

As kids go on summer vacation, the Cade Museum’s education team will get to work with the Gainesville Housing Authority (GHA) to bring Cade Camp programming to children and teens who wouldn’t usually have an opportunity to participate in recreational programs outside their communities.

Youth in GHA communities can partake in hands-on fun that will take place just a walk or bike ride away from home. The Cade’s GHA Community Visits will include a sampling of projects and games offered in the museum’s signature summer camps. Activities are for ages 5-11, but kids and adults of all ages can participate.

The visits reflect themes explored during this summer’s Cade Camp series:

In June, the Cade will give a peek inside “The Amazing Human Machine,” challenging kids to put on their thinking caps — both literally and figuratively — to learn about the brain. Activities will include Memory Game Cards as well as “Brain Hats,” “Eyes at Work,” “Smell and Taste Olympics,” “Make a Squishy Cell,” and “Hear This! Tuning Forks, Vibrations and Your Ear!”

They’ll have a blast with Camp Kaboom! activities this July, encountering science at its messiest fun. Experiments with “Aroma Stress Dough” and extracting DNA from strawberries will stretch kids’ imaginations while experimenting with primary colors and making sidewalk chalk and “Bing Bang Putty” will expand minds with lessons that cross disciplines and challenge kids to ponder our ever-expanding universe.

In August, The Science that makes ART! will fire up creativity with activities like “Magnet Game Tessellations,” “Nature’s Stamp,” “Negative and Positive Space Painting,” and “Zentagles.”

Locations and dates for the GHA Community Visits include: Lake Terrace on June 24, July 22, Aug. 21, and Aug. 28; Pine Meadows on July 1 and July 29; Eastwood Meadows on July 8 and Aug. 12; Woodland Park on July 15 and Aug. 19, and Forest Pines on Aug. 5.

“With the Cade’s summer camps, we’re offering things to do that are both fun and educational—what we call sneaking in the veggies,” said Patty Lipka, Director of Experiential Education. “The best part is that kids don’t even know they’re getting the veggies. Activities are hands-on, messy, and creative—a total blast. Plus, all the science they’ve learned stays fresh in their minds while they’re out of school because the tasks employ all the senses; they’re experimental and experiential, which is great for recall and helping kids see the world from a new perspective.”

While GHA visits offer these communities expanded access to Cade Camp activities, it is important to note that Cade Camp scholarships are available to the museum’s in-house programs. The slots sell out quickly, however, and it is recommended that interested parents inquire months in advance. The Cade’s 2021 summer camp series is sold out.

Bringing summer camp activities to GHA communities is a part of the Cade’s ongoing effort to develop partnerships between the Cade and community organizations.

Over the past school year, the museum participated in the GHA’s Health and Wealth Expo and hosted activities in its Maker Space at the Lake Terrace Community. The Cade has also worked to tailor activities to Alachua County Schools’ Scope and Sequence, the planning chart teachers use for documenting what students are learning when.

“Synching our activities with Scope and Sequence is great for recall because it reinforces what students are learning in school,” Lipka added. “Because our activities are fun, experimental, and hands-on, they offer great ways to see a subject or a problem in a different way. In doing so, we help students see their coursework from different perspectives, which adds layers to their learning.”

Industry leaders across Gainesville have lent support to Cade’s ongoing community partnerships, including Infotech, which is sponsoring the Cade’s activities with GHA.

“The outreach that the Cade Museum and Gainesville Housing Authority are doing in East Gainesville is some of the most important work in our community — investing in young people, their families, and their futures,” said Lacey Jones, Infotech Chief Communications Officer. “Infotech is truly honored to support this collaboration, and we’re grateful to the amazing team that is making this possible. We’re passionate about children having fun experiences learning about science and technology, and this program is doing that and so much more.”

The Cade and GHA are also continuing their vital work on the Invent Possible Project. The Cade-driven initiative provides internet access to Gainesville Housing Authority (GHA) residents, giving children invaluable access to online learning resources. The Cade and GHA are partnering with COX to bring internet to residents using COX’s Connect2Compete discounted service program. Funding is provided in part by the Community Foundation of North Central Florida.

For more information about Cade Camps, visit www.cademuseum.org/camps.html and for more information about the Cade’s work with GHA, visit https://www.cademuseum.org/impact.html