Rockets, Space Suits, and Microbes: What to Expect at Ci 4.0

Ci 4.0 is almost here! Are you curious to know what kind of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) activities you’ll be doing this summer? Well, don’t rely on what you did if you were with us last year—we change the activities each year (but there’s always our popular robotics program!). Here’s a sneak peek of what you can expect at Ci 4.0.

But first—a little bit about our system of how we decide what activities to include each summer. We start out by deciding on a theme to structure our activities around. This year’s theme is space exploration, an exciting area of research that brings all fields of STEM together. After we chose our theme, we ask questions we think are engaging and interesting to our campers. We then build activities around those questions to answer them and many more questions.

We then think through the relevant apologetics questions our campers will have. What are the questions young people today need biblical answers to, as they relate to the theme? For space exploration we will be answering questions like “what does it mean to be human?,” “could there be life on other planets?,” “is it okay for Christians to leave earth?,” and many more similar questions.

Okay, now that you know how we decide what activities and topics to cover, here’s the promised sneak peek at some of the varied activities you can expect this summer (however, please keep in mind this is a fluid process and there is the potential that some activities will change before everything is finalized for camp to begin).

• Rockets. What kind of vehicle do you need to get to space? Rockets! Campers will participate in various activities and will learn about rocket design, launch angles, and thrust by using the engineering process and various laws including Newton’s laws.
• Mars. So you want to go to Mars. When would be a good time to launch? How long is that launch window open? Campers will earn how to apply Newton’s fist law of motion and heliocentric longitude to figure out the best “time” to launch into space. They’ll also learn about laws of planetary motion, inertia, and gravity and how to apply laws and explain how planets move. 
• Water filtration. You are going to space. What do you do for your water supply? How much will you bring? How will you get water in space? Where do astronauts get their water? How much material would we need? Campers will design the best water filter using common materials to provide purified water. They will be predicting what would make the best filter and then experiment to discover if their prediction is correct.
• Communication. How do communication signals come from space travel – especially when they are too far away to hear? How are they decoded? Can you make a message that can be decoded by others? We’ll learn about satellites and discover how a geosynchronous satellite works and how satellites communicate. Campers will develop a solution for a communication problem.
• Life in space. Campers will design a “space suit” surface that will need to maintain proper temperature and protect from radiation and space debris.
• Microbes in space. Campers will design an experiment to safely study bacterial growth and virility in space.
• Bridge on Mars. Campers will build and test a spaghetti bridge. With the data they gather, they will create a graph and come up with an equation to explain what they are observing. They will then use the equation to predict the amount of materials they will need for a bridge to support a specified mass. They will then test their bridge to determine if the prediction was correct.
• Geocaching. Clues will introduce the topics discussed during the week.
• And more!

New this year! Campers will head 45 minutes south of the Creation Museum to visit Ark Encounter, a full-size reconstruction of Noah’s Ark. It’s the world’s largest free-standing timber frame structure and it’s three decks full of world-class exhibits contain answers to hundreds of questions folks have about the Flood, the Ark, the Bible, and, particularly, Genesis 1-11.

We hope you can join us for Ci 4.0 Learn more, and apply today, at CampInfinity.com.

Camp Infinity

Where Science & Technology Meet Truth