A Day in the Life of an EPIC Camper

On a warm Tuesday morning, students from across Eden Prairie gathered for the second day of that week’s EPIC Camps, an eight-week-long series of themed summer camps designed for kindergartners through eighth graders and held in Eden Prairie Schools. In previous weeks, campers had built glow-in-the-dark STEAM [science, technology, engineering, arts and math] projects, played volleyball and esports, danced, learned babysitting basics and more. This week would include three new camps, among others: Chess Club, Robotic Builders: Marine Explorers and EPIC Chefs: State Fair Favorites. We caught up with some campers to hear more about what they were learning!

Studying strategy in Chess Club (Grades 6-8)

“Is this checkmate?!” a student exclaimed excitedly. The whole class — six other students, plus a teacher — gathered around to investigate. Could the king evade capture? Was there any hope for the opponent? It didn’t look like it. The two middle schoolers rose from their seats on either side of the chessboard and shook hands. It was a fair and square match. Minutes later, they were already onto the next one.

Chess Club was an EPIC Camp for students interested in chess to learn more about the game and practice their skill. For soon-to-be eighth grader Vedant Ganapathy, it had been “really fun.” The CMS Eagle has been playing since sixth grade, teaching himself online. He liked that it was a “creative game” with countless tactics. And he appreciated that Chess Club was not just about sitting down to learn strategy — it was also a chance to play games with other students to put their learning into practice. “When I first signed up, I wasn’t sure how it was going to be, but [the teacher is] giving us a lot of individual time to play games.”

Meanwhile, other students were making “genius move[s],” as one middle schooler put it, in their own games. Before long, the instructor paused them to demonstrate the Scholar’s Mate pattern, a strategy for capturing the king. The students were due for a break, but not before a back-and-forth discussion on whether the better move was always to “en passant” the opponent’s pawn. They were in for a week of learning moves and practicing their game, plus a lot of bonding (including over a favorite snack, Takis!)

Programming play in Robotic Builders: Marine Explorers (Grades K-2)

In a sunny classroom at Prairie View Elementary, soon-to-be second grader Griffin Dobson and soon-to-be first grader Kieran Holtzman worked together to dismantle their robotic LEGO fish. They were building a sea lion next. Griffin, who attends Eagle Heights, and Kieran, who goes to Forest Hills, had constructed their colorful fish with a computer-powered motor which, when programmed, would flick its tail back and forth. This camp was all about building LEGO creatures — specifically marine animals — with robotic parts and learning how to program them to move and perform other tasks.

Kieran “just wanted to build,” he said, intently focused on his work. It’s why he’d wanted to do this camp, though he loves playing on the computer, too; it was a nice surprise to learn that computers would be involved that week. For Griffin, the best part was the clam creature they built the day before, which was “chomping” when programmed. Griffin had done computer programming before and liked building things too. Next to the duo sat another pair of soon-to-be kindergarten girls, alternating between moving their fish’s tail and building whatever they could with their LEGOs.

Cooking up fun in EPIC Chefs: State Fair Favorites (Grades 1-5)

Soon-to-be third grader Sloan Hamelbeck sat at a cafeteria table in Prairie View Elementary eating a cinnamon-topped churro. The Eden Lake student was enjoying her homemade treat, but she was saving the second one for her twin brother. The aroma of other baking churros filled the room as the students ate their creations and wrote the recipe down in their own recipe book for the week. It was going to be a fun few days of learning to make some favorite items from the State Fair.

Just a few hours before, Sloan had been in a basketball camp. Her favorite part about her days this week? “Half of the day being able to release my energy and the other half of the day, I get to rest,” she said matter-of-factly, scooping up the leftover caramel sauce on her plate. Other students in the cafeteria were beginning to wash their hands in anticipation of making lemonade, the next item on their menu for the week. A bowl of lemons sat on a nearby table, looking inviting in the summer heat.

Sloan remembered going to a fair when she was younger and having strawberry watermelon crushed ice. It was a good memory. She had made a great memory during the camp, too: meeting a new friend also going to Eden Lake in the fall. The camp would only last a few days, but she’d take this new connection with her into the new school year and beyond.