Vanderbilt Register:Vanderbilt students mix fun, learning at summer camp in Oklahoma

Vanderbilt students mix fun, learning at summer camp in Oklahoma

by: Staci I. Shipp

Camp leader and Ingram scholar Jon Zeiders admits it's not every day that kids are encouraged to drop eggs off a 100-foot-high tower. With that in mind, the 50 to 60 elementary and middle school students who participated in such an event at Camp Big Cabin in Oklahoma would probably deem it the highlight of their week.

With the help of Zeiders and other Vanderbilt student leaders, campers used a variety of materials to construct cushioned "landing pads" in the hope of saving their eggs in an egg-drop competition. Despite the impact of the 100-foot drop from a forestry tower in Jay, Okla., some participants were successful in their efforts. The activity provided fun, as well as a lesson in physics, says Zeiders, who led the three-week-long day camp, July 7-26, as his Ingram Scholar summer volunteer project. He was inspired to host such a camp in the Big Cabin area following his work there during Alternative Spring Break.

The egg-drop competition was one of several camp activities focusing on science and physics. The young participants explored a cave, created paper mache models of the planets and received lessons in the basics of French and Spanish. One of the highlights of the camp was a visit by a Native American storyteller.

"We wanted to combine education, culture and recreation," says Zeiders, a French major in the College of Arts and Science.

Zeiders credits the camp's success, in part, to recent Vanderbilt graduate Ben Snowden and rising senior Abby Potts, who helped coordinate the camp. They, along with Zeiders, several other Vanderbilt students, their friends and Jay Middle School sixth-grade science teacher Jeff Orr, led the camp activities, held in both Big Cabin and Jay, Okla.

"It was extraordinary," says Zeiders. "It was a fun learning experience for both the children and the mentors."

More than 80 students attended Camp Big Cabin, a successful number which Zeiders hopes will prompt another Vanderbilt student to take over the camp and host it annually. Funding for the camp was provided through a partnership between Vanderbilt University and the Johnson O'Malley Foundation, a government-funded education program contributing money to Native American children, of whom there were several enrolled in the camp.

Ingram Scholars' Summer Acitivities

This summer several Ingram Scholars were involved in volunteer projects. They include: Peabody sophomore Patrick Alexander, Vanderbilt Pet Project and Big Buddies of Nashville; College of Arts and Science senior Jason Dinger and Peabody sophomore Alan Linch, SNAP (Student and Native American Partnerships); Peabody junior Joy Dawn Dyer, Peace and Reconciliation Group in Londonderry, Northern Ireland; College of Arts and Science senior Karen Lovelace, developing and implementing "The Mentor Program" for the Omaha Muscular Dystrophy; College of Arts and Science junior Rachel McDonald, internship program in social and community development in Hogar de Cristo (Home of Christ), Chile, through Outreach International, based in the United States; Peabody junior Jamaal Nelson, Morgenster School in Zimbabwe; and Jon Zeiders, Camp Big Cabin in Oklahoma.

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