Youth Programs 2023

 

Photo by Dave Sabell

 

WMC offers youth programming with Geology Camp and Mountain Arts and Science for Youth (MASY). Many thanks to our partner and funder for MASY – the Blackburn Heritage Foundation!

Mountain Arts and science for Youth

Wednesdays from 1-4pm

DATES: 1-4pm, every Wednesday, starting June 14 and ending with the last program on August 2

The Mountain Arts & Science for Youth (MASY) is helping stitch together the social fabric for our local young people.

The MASY program’s mission is to provide a fun and educational way for kids to learn and connect with their peers

In 2022 we had three MASY programs: the kids combed McCarthy Creek for rocks that became a collage; they spent time picking pink petals and making Fireweed jam; and they spread out for an epic outdoor game of “Predator versus Prey” where they learned about the local food chain (and exhausted their adult chaperones)!

Special thanks to WMC staff Katina Leier and Caroline Diamond for their most excellent efforts in organizing 2022 MASY programming.

WMC Mountain Arts & Science (MASY) is for kids ages 5 and up!

*Fees for the MASY program are covered by a generous grant from the Blackburn Heritage Foundation. The programs are offered free of charge to local youth. Donations are welcome to help keep this program strong.

No pre-registration necessary. Just show up at the Old Hardware Store!

Photo by Dave Sabell

Our Mountain Arts for Youth programs invite school aged youth to join artists and naturalists for a series of summer arts workshops for kids designed to connect them with the natural world around them. All programs meet from 1-4 pm at Porphyry Place in McCarthy, unless otherwise specified.

Each summer features a mix of new offerings and familiar faces. The following is a sample of past programs:

  • Ecosystem Expedition - Science Illustrator Kristin Link shares her experience working with marine biologists and oceanographers studying zooplankton off the coast of Oregon and Northern California. Explore our local watershed and make artwork about the organisms that are so important to our ecosystem.

  • Kids Making History - For this popular session, the WMC partners with the McCarthy-Kennicott Historical Museum. Join a museum volunteer at the McCarthy-Kennicott Historical Museum to look at what kids did back when McCarthy was an active mining town. Back at the WMC, the group documents their own stories. This information will be archived at the museum--helping to create a living document of today’s Kennecott Kids. All ages of children are welcome to join us in learning about McCarthy while also documenting their own moments in history!

  • Nature’s Blueprints - Art Educator Robin Child utilizes one the earliest photographic processes, the cyanotype. Using both natural and manmade found objects, participants explore the physics of light and use negative space and shadow to create compositions to develop a field journal.

  • Archeological Intrigue - NPS archeologist Lee Reininghaus and Allyson Pease introduce fundamental concepts of archeology. Explore scientific field techniques used to identify and document past human culture.

  • Nature Mosaics - Join outdoor enthusiasts in the creation of natural mosaics. Use collected stones and twigs to paint and design your personal creation inspired by the Wrangell Mountains on a piece of weathered wood.

  • Geology - Have fun learning about geology with a geologist. Enjoy a range of interactive activities that will help bring to life the physical structure of the earth and its history.

  • Arctic Acrylics - Copper Basin artist Naomi Young shares techniques for painting with acrylics on canvas. Painting composition will include a polar bear in fireweed.

  • How do Animals use Electricity? - Join educator Cynthia Shidner to learn how different animals (including humans) naturally utilize electricity. Participants will conduct their own electrical experiments!

Photos by Dave Sabell

Youth Geology Camp

July 25-28, 2023

Kid’s Geology Camp, 2022. Photos by Dave Sabell

Robin Mayo and WISE (The Wrangell Institute for Science and Environment) team up with the WMC for Geology Camp!

There is a high demand for this program — and it’s easy to see why. Some of the Copper River Valley’s sharpest (and silliest) youth (ages 12 and up) come together to learn from geology experts and observe first-hand the dynamic geology of the area.

From taking a tour of the Kennecott Mill to sleeping next to a glacier, it’s four days packed with learning and fun. (And once again, the adult chaperones were exhausted!)

Big thank you’s to Katina Leier and Caroline Diamond for all of their work in organizing 2022 Geology Camp, and to our partner WISE.

Contact info@wrangells.org to learn more.



Banner Photo: Nathaniel Wilder