Roman Aqueduct Challenge

This week’s theme is National Geographic and Discovery Channel at Comanche

This week we learned how Romans got their water. As Roman towns got bigger, it became difficult for people who lived in towns to get drinking water. Because raw sewage was draining into the rivers, people who drank river water often got very sick or died. First in Rome and then elsewhere, Romans decided to build long stone channels or aqueducts to carry clean water from nearby hills to the towns.  The first Roman aqueducts were build in 312 BC.

This week Rebekah challenged the kids to build their own CC aqueducts. The challenge was to build an aqueduct to transport water from a short hose to a small kiddie pool using any resources they could find. After inventorying their supplies and brainstorming the team created a long snake like aqueduct consisting of pool noodles, flimsy cardboard tubes, duct tape and saran wrap. They quickly realized that wasn't enough, they needed gravity to assist them, so they spread out and used their various heights as part of the structure itself to ensure a slight downward gradient. Triumphantly, they celebrated by splashing into the pool.

By Josh Rosenquest

Sam the Worm: A Teambuilding Activity

August was all about getting to know each other, the staff and our environment. One of our favorite activities was Saving Sam!

The Challenge:
Sam is our friendly neighborhood gummy worm.



While on an ocean adventure, Sam's boat (the plastic cup) capsized and his life jacket (the Lifesaver Candy) is floating underneath it. Working as a team, the kids had to get Sam and his life jacket in the boat without touching him. The only tool they could use/touch was a straw.

Oh, and Sam can't fall in the water at any time because he CAN'T SWIM!

But Sam had no need to worry, because our team of bright engineers put their heads together and found a way to save the day. They had to use some very important tools to accomplish this goal: listening, patience, teamwork, cooperation and above all they had to remember that it was OK to make a mistake, start over, and learn from their peers.