junior program summer site : conversations : first session



	Katya from Connecticut (7/2) Katya is going into the 5th grade and is here for her first summer at Explo. Staying as a residential student, she says it's easy to meet new people, and that Explo has been nothing but fun. According to Katya, if Explo were an ice cream sundae, it would include every flavor ever made. So what has today been like? In our first workshop I did yoga. It was very relaxing. It's very hard, because you have to stretch and you have to relax. When we were doing our deep relaxation we were supposed to clear our mind of thoughts. Also, it turns out that our yoga teacher was the answer to the Daily Challenge. What's the Daily Challenge? It's like a puzzle and a clue. There's one with each Explorer and the answer is always one of the staff members. So today's clue was like, "I have seven siblings and I studied classical Indian dance for 13 years." Our teacher mentioned she had seven brothers and sisters, so we knew it was her! That sounds awesome! So tell me about the classes you're taking. I'm taking Magic for Muggles and Lights, Camera, Action. Magic for Muggles is really cool, we did a beaker project yesterday. Basically, we had all of these different things like honey, juice, milk, water, and oil. We dyed each one a special color and looked at where they settled in the beaker. In the end, we learned that each substance has a different density. Like, oil was the least dense, and honey was the most. And what about Lights, Cameras, Action? In that class, basically we come up with a movie idea, and in the end we're going to try to make the movie. So we started filming a movie called “When Pigs Fly.” It's really funny. It's about this 5 year-old girl who wants to become the President, but her mom (which is me) says, “When pigs fly, honey.” But when the girl is looking out the window, some of the boys in the class will run by, dressed as pigs. Then we're going to have a flash-forward for 2 years and the girl is giving a speech as President! Are the classes here like the classes in school? In school, the classes are much more boring because you don't get to do hands-on activities. Like, in music class at school you don't get to film things and play instruments and sing, but we do here, and that's one thing I love to do. Is there one thing you're most excited about for the summer? I would probably have to say I'm most excited for the Water Country trip. I really love swimming and diving, so I think it'll be a lot of fun. The toboggan ride looks especially fun! So what made you want to come to Explo in the first place? I wanted to do something with my summer, and so my mom started looking at a bunch of different summer programs and one of them was Explo. She was like, “This sounds really cool, Katya. Why don't we go to the convention?” We went to the convention and it was really cool and I got really psyched for it. So I came here, and it's lots of fun! What would you say to someone who was thinking about coming to Explo but wasn't sure? I would say that you should definitely come here. The classes get to be really cool really quickly and it's just a lot of fun. As a first-time student, was it hard getting to know people? No! You can just walk up to a person and start talking to them and you've found a new friend. If Explo were an ice cream sundae, what would its flavors be and what would be its toppings? It would probably be a really big sundae! All of the ice cream scoops would be good, like chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and all those other flavors anyone likes. Every single flavor in the world, and every single topping in the world, because Explo is fun. You get to try so many things here that you can't do anywhere else. Everything is an option. more conversations > first session \| second session