Our 2012 Enrichment Classes
Classes involve ACTIVE PARTICIPATION with a variety of daily projects and group activities. Instructors are specially chosen for their unique abilities to make learning come alive. Average class size is 15 participants. Campers are enrolled in four classes.
Change a digital photograph into a beautiful and inspiring work of art; create personalized postcards; superimpose yourself (digitally) into a place where you have never been but always wanted to visit; explore a premium software that makes all things possible and some things look impossible. Alter and transform digital photography on a computer, then print your work. If you have a digital camera, bring it to class. If not, a camera will be provided.
Have you ever wanted to learn how to paint and did not know where to start? Open your eyes and release your hidden talents with the basics in drawing perspective, use of color and techniques in acrylic painting. Capture the rich landscape around you in a beautiful painting and begin a lifelong artistic journey!
(Level I for students with NO experience in French)--Communicate in French and enjoy "un voyage imaginaire" to Paris and the provinces. Enjoy French music, learn about life in France, do some French cooking, and create your own personality collage "en francais." It’s a culture all its own.
(Level II for students with any experience in French)—Aimez-vous les Français? Take your love of the country and its people to a new level in a continental week of “all things French.”
Dark Knights, Blazing Bishops, Raging Rooks--These names of championship teams indicate the thrills found on the battlegrounds of chess boards. Learn the basics of chess, from setting up the board to essential techniques and attack and defense strategies. Add moves like “en passant” and “castling”. Experienced players will move to more advanced tactics. P. S. Girls, this isn’t just a “guy” game---the mighty queen is the most powerful piece on the board!
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Sample new foods and whip up a delicious variety of new snacks, appetizers, entrees and desserts. Impress your family and friends as you become a culinary wizard! This class will also cover topics of food preparation and presentation, menu planning, kitchen safety and table manners.
Learn how to use Corel Painter, the most widely used drawing and painting software in the world. Draw and paint using hundreds of tools and brushes of all kinds and sizes. Study the art of Vincent van Gogh; explore the sea and create your own underwater scenes; and learn about Kandinsky and his visual interpretations of music. Finish off the week with original works of art, and never get a drop of paint on your clothes!
Follow the evidence! Experience the real-life adventure of detective work from arrival on the scene, to collecting evidence, analyzing clues and drawing conclusions. Examine evidence in the laboratory and use interactive web-based activities to learn the latest techniques of crime scene investigation.
(Designed for Campers who have completed CSI I) Process and photograph a crime scene; identify victims; and examine dental and skeletal features. Learn advanced fingerprinting; blood-typing and DNA analysis; theories and principals of chromatography; and comparative analysis of microscopic evidence. This class begins where CSI I left off, and will enable the budding criminologist to better “follow the evidence”.
Are you the next Spielberg? Master the magic that transforms your ideas into digital stories and movies. Using Photo Story 3, Movie Maker, voice threads, and other platforms, create original digital productions from start to finish. Whether writing a script, taking pictures and video, or uploading and editing, it’s everything Hollywood except the power lunches and pampered actors.
“X” marks the spot—NOT! Today’s treasure hiders and hunters have thrown away their vellum maps and now bounce signals off satellites to find the gold. Learn to operate handheld GPS devices, then head out for games of Geocaching, a real-world outdoor treasure hunting challenge. Hide geocaches for fellow students, locate their hidden containers, and share experiences online.
Get sorted! Enter the classroom of Harry Potter, and experience the education of the boy wizard with Ferrum College’s own internationally recognized Harry Potter expert. Study for your Ordinary Wizarding Level (O.W.L.s) exams in subject areas such as Charms, History of Magic, Potions, Transfiguration, Herbology, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. First years only!
Hogwarts upperclassmen do have their privileges. FCSEC repeaters may return to the classroom of Harry Potter, and experience the education of the boy wizard with Ferrum College’s own internationally recognized Harry Potter expert. Returning students work toward completion of the Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test, studying such subjects as Care of Magical Creatures, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Divination. Also try out for the Quidditch team.
The year is 1800. A 30-mile trip takes an entire day. John Adams is president, but you have never seen his image or heard his voice. You need real skills to keep your family warm and fed. Step back in time at Ferrum College’s Blue Ridge Farm Museum, an 1800 living history farmstead, for hands-on training in oxen driving, open hearth cooking, cabin building, gardening, blacksmithing, and other tasks. Learn two different skills each day in a one-of-a kind setting.
Art is Science and Science is Art! Learn how the ancient art of Origami is used in science and as an art form. Create origami jewelry, mobiles, and even an origami book. Explore the world of paper folding and discover how scientists use origami to unfold the mysteries of science.
Develop acting techniques and gain confidence in performing onstage. Learn the fundamentals of voice projection and articulation, teamwork, stage directions and use of props as you prepare a performance for camp friends for Friday evening. Daily warm-up activities and fast-paced theatre games add to the fun.
Head to the woods to challenge yourself on the Ferrum College Ropes Course! Spend the first two days on the low ropes learning about yourself and explore how we interact with others. Then head up into the trees for personal and team challenges on the high ropes course cumulating in a 500 foot-long zip line! Cap off the week with time on the climbing wall and rappelling tower.