Circle V Ranch Camp Welcomed Alumnus Tom Nolan and Volunteers from
NASA JPL & Educators Leading Hands-On Science Demos for “Space Day”
~175 Campers Ages 7-17 to Experienced Interactive STEM Demonstrations on 7/13/16
Santa Ynez ! Valley, Santa Barbara County, California— On July 13, 2016, more than 175 Circle V (Vee) Ranch campers ages 7-17 and 50 staff members participated in “Space Day” –a highlight of Session Three Space Week activities. All experienced and discovered STEM (Science, Technology Engineering, and Math) interactive demonstrations from expert volunteers led by Circle V Ranch Camp alumnus (1962-65) Tom Nolan, Operations Engineer with NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a group of his colleagues. (Pictured above left with Nolan), David Fields, Executive Director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Council of Los Angeles that operates Circle V Ranch Camp thanked all the volunteer educators and exclaimed, “We are so grateful that you all came here today and shared your passion for science and showed our cam! pers that they can have a career in science, too! Thank you, Tom Nolan, for telling us we all are scientists as long as we are curious!”
Circle V Ranch Camp Director Ray Lopez (pictured upper right with Nolan) remarked “This day was incredible for everyone here. It’s been such a blessing to have these caring people giving so much of their time and talent to inspire us! We are grateful for the map of the lunar landing sites that Tom gave us. Everyone loved the Mars Rover prototype that Tom brought to show us; and even rolled it over some of our counselors! (Pictured above)
During 8 specially designed 25-minute sessions, campers experienced hands-on demonstrations of the following:
1. Tom Nolan, NASA JPL: “Blob in a Bottle—Sink or F! loat?”
Subject - Density and Buoyancy. Campers learned about what items sink or float and why as well as what principles are at work with substances including water, oil, salt, soap … and even carrots (pictured floating in cup above).
2. Deb Brice, San Marcos Middle School Science Teacher: "Playing with Polymers: Slime Strikes Back!”
Subject – Understanding Polymers. How are things like Slime made?
3. Bob Anderson, NASA JPL: “"3…2…1….Launch! Stomp Rockets”
Subject –Newton’s Third Law revealed with “Stomp Rocket” trajectory and power. Campers built their own paper rockets and by stomping on a soda bottle connected to PVC pipe, the rocket went up at least 100 feet, and by angling the launch tube, they went for distance or height or both in the Sports Field. (Pictured above)
4. Dale Manquen, NASA Solar System Ambassador and Roger Burry, Ventura County Astronomical Society:
“Wow! It’s How Big?”Subject – Scaling the Solar System: distance and planet size. Campers stepped out the distance of a scaled solar system and learned about their various sizes in the Great Meadow. (Pictured above)
5. Gwen Noda, Freelance Educator: “Flying Groove Tubes”
Subject - Aerodynamics. At the picnic table area, campers constructed “Groove Tubes” that fly using the physics of gyroscopes. Many of the campers’ Groove Tubes went from 20- 30 feet in distance. (Pictured above)
6. Christine Fuller, NASA JPL: "Watch It Climb”
Subject - Robots That Climb. Indoors in Dolan Lodge, campers saw a video of climbing robots plus actual demonstrations of the “hands” that a robot would use to climb rough or smooth surfaces. Ms. Fuller herself works on these devices. (Pictur! ed above)
7. Sandra Gray, NASA JPL: “Surviving Space—What’s Too Hot and Too Cold?”
Subject – Thermal Engineering. Indoors in the Craft Shack, campers learned principles of thermal conductivity in various metals such as aluminum, carbon steel, copper, brass, and nickel alloy stainless steel—including what happens with a hot flame. (Pictured above).
8. Ken Ostrowski, Huntington Beach High School Science Teacher: “How do we know?”
Subject – Elemental Chemistry. Inside the Dining Lodge, campers saw simple tests that confirm the presence of elements and compounds such as hydrogen and oxygen that are found throughout the universe. (Pictured above).
ABOUT SOCIETY OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL’S CIRCLE V RANCH CAMP
Circle V Ranch Camp & Retreat Center was founded in 1945 by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Council of Los Angeles and has been located on its current site since 1990 on 30-acres in th! e Los Padres National Forest in Santa Barbara County. During autumn, winter and spring, Circle V is available for rental to other non-profit groups and organizations. Circle V Ranch Camp summer sessions for boys and girls ages 7 to 13 feature six days and five nights of traditional supervised summer fun. In 2015, more than 1,200 children enjoyed activities including hiking, swimming in the pool, learning about nature, archery, arts & crafts, painting, photography, playing games of baseball, basketball, ping pong, foosball, soccer, miniature golf and of course, campfires, skits and songs. (There is no TV, radio or internet access to affect the experience.) Campers stay in cabins or traditional canvas tents. Three nutritious daily meals are served family-style in the Dining Lodge. The Circle V Ranch Camp fee for six days/ five nights including lodging, all meals, activities, recrea! tion and supervised fun is $425 per child; and “camperships” paid by charitable donations are available for qualified campers. 2016 Summer Sessions are currently filled. Reservations for retreat groups are being accepted year-round. For more information visit www.circlevranchcamp.org
ABOUT TOM NOLAN, OPERATIONS ENGINEER, NASA JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
VOLUNTEER LEADER OF CIRCLE V RANCH CAMP SPACE DAY & CAMP ALUMNUS (In his own words)
I was born in Los Angeles and attended Circle V Ranch Camp from 1962-65 (when it was located near Granada Hills). This experience has significantly shaped my life and career. Most students in school today are going to have careers in fields that haven’t been invented yet. Their science schoolwork is important, and equally important is to encourage their natural curiosity about the world around them. Circle V Ranch Camp provides new opportunities for these campers to see and sense things that they’ve never experienced before.
The term “wondering wanderer” best describes me because my Mom taught us kids to stop and notice the flowers, listen to the birds and to be aware of all that surrounds us. These early lessons have grown into a career of fascinating adventure. I received a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Biology from the University of Southern California in 1977. My education presented me with the opportunity to train dolphins, do killer whale research, live at an island marine laboratory and to be on numerous research cruises from French Polynesia to Hawaii, the coasts of California and Mexico and the Aleutian Islands. I came to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in 1998 because satellite oceanography revolutionized the science of oceanography.
Only at an extraordinary place like JPL could this lead to yet another wonderful adventure, that of “Satellite Jockey.” On my current two projects, I’m mapping the moon for our next landing using the Diviner instrument on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO); and I’m using a hi-resolution camera called ASTER to monitor volcanoes, earthquakes, floods, droughts, tornadoes, glacier ice melt and any other changes to Earth’s dynamic surface. I’ve also been a wilderness guide in Alaska; rode USC’s white horse mascots (Travelers II, III, and IV) for twelve years and owned a sporting goods store near Taos, New Mexico. I am married with three children, 3 step-children and six grandchildren. I am thrilled to be returning to Society of St. Vincent de Paul’s Circle V Ranch Camp to “pay it forward” to the wonderful campers and staff. Viva La Circle V!