The ENCOUNTER Program

The Lost Treasure™

In The Lost Treasure module, Professor Ivana Digit has gone missing just when she is about to unearth her most important discovery – the lost treasure. Children are asked to search for the lost treasure on a faraway island, which features an active volcano, friendly island dwellers, and pieces of a valuable treasure note! Throughout the week, children must overcome a multitude of obstacles to retrieve the lost treasure.

Children will discover that they only have days to locate the hidden treasure! Using creative problem solving, children build shelters and tool holders to use on their expedition. Children find themselves assessing relevant data to create protective clothing and gear that will help them survive on the island. Then, they discover a part of Ivanna’s treasure note across a stream of hot lava, which they can only claim by constructing a device that will reach across the molten lava flow. Children encounter a friendly island dweller and must entice the inhabitant to hand over another piece of the professor’s note in exchange for island fruit. Children create a map to find the booby-trapped treasure and complete their mission!

Fair Games™

In the Fair Games module, its carnival time as children work with the famous Captain Sam Dabble to create new and amazing games to challenge carnival-goers across the globe! Using the concepts of equivalence, probability, and estimation, children design and build carnival games guaranteed to both fool and delight the senses and surprise the eccentric Captain Dabble!

Children make balance scales to arrange objects by weight. Then younger children create catapults that send clown prototypes flying through the air, while older children modify the traditional Hi Striker carnival game to explore the principle of equivalence. They experiment with probability as they build a ball-rolling game. Then, children build a miniature golf course for the Captain Sam Dabble Golf Classic that helps them visualize the concept of estimation. Participants brainstorm ideas for exciting, new carnival games and begin creating their own versions of these games based on the math concepts they’ve learned. Finally, children finish creating their games and take part in the ultimate carnival, where they play each other’s games and challenge others to play theirs!

 

I Can Invent: Balloon Burst™

In the I Can Invent: Balloon Burst module, children invent fantastical machines. Using science, creative problem solving, and hands-on applications, children advance their creative and critical-thinking skills. Working in teams, younger children focus on building inventions that burst water balloons, while older children create multi-step, balloon bursting Rube Goldberg-type machines, signifying their success.

Children will enter the workshop, receive their challenge, and begin taking apart broken machines while learning about machines and tool safety as they work. The older children learn about Rube Goldberg and complicated ways to solve simple problems! The excitement builds when children continue to dismantle broken machines and investigate how the gears, motors, magnets, and springs inside the machines work. Using this knowledge, children begin planning their balloon bursting inventions and Rube Goldberg-type machines. Children investigate intellectual property tools, including the patent system, and put their invention plans into action as they immerse themselves in full-on construction of their machines. The younger children complete their balloon-bursting inventions and design a marketing campaign. The week ends with the older children enhancing their Rube Goldberg machines using the engineering design process by testing, retesting, and making any necessary adjustments, preparing to set them into motion and documenting the work with a drawing and description of the final machine.

Action and Adventure Games™

The Action and Adventure Games module scores a home run by combining physical activity and creativity. Children practice teamwork, cooperation, coordination, and creative problem solving processes during fun, energetic games. Action and Adventure Games activities are based on the premise that traditional games can be modified using nontraditional approaches. Employing the concept of upcycling, children use available materials to create completely new games.

Unlike competitive games or sports, this module stresses creative problem solving, rather than winning or losing, and encourages active physical participation while boosting self-confidence. In this module, each day features new and exciting challenges that vary based on children's ages and abilities. All activities are designed to converge the functions of mind and body while children work collaboratively in diverse teams. These games facilitate inventive and inquisitive-thinking skills while incorporating 21st century learning skills such as collaboration, communication, and whole-systems thinking. Children play approximately four games per day that sometimes feature nontraditional sporting equipment such as recyclable items, water balloons, and other unconventional materials. Children's curiosity is sparked with a new line-up of wild and wet games that are sure to enrich and energize!