July 21, 2006 - CSP Day 10
Rose's Day
Today, the assistant director tells us about her day

Friday dawned pretty, but cloudy, cool, but with storm in the forecast. We planned to go to the Eli Whitney Museum and then swimming with the youth and nobody could bear to cancel, so we didn't. It did storm, but getting wet should have been the least of our worries, as the youth ended up soaked in two other ways.

At the Eli Whitney Museum, the youth made Swimmers, a project that used a propeller and rubberband to move a thin piece of wood through the water. The workshop was on a covered bridge over the Mill River, which the Mill River Team found exciting. We heard their chant over and over again ("M to the I to the double L, we're the Mill, so chill"). Visiting the museum after the New Haven Watershed Tour was perfect, since the youth hadn't had a chance to see the Mill, due to time constraints. There were ducks and waterstriders which the youth wanted to wade into the water and catch, but got even more distracted by their Swimmers.

The youth had total creative control once the base was built and we had Sikai's ambitious naval ship, Abby's beaver, Christian's alligator and many other beautifully decorated Swimmers. Interns helped the youth with ideas and execution. It was really nice to see the high school interns working so closely and animatedly with the youth. Nicole worked with her brother and his friends at camp. Sara stayed more towards the back with the group at that workbench. Jody floated around, as did Edward. They really worked hard to help the youth realize their vision for the Swimmer. I realize that we have a great group of interns this summer.

The fun part for the youth came when they were at the outdoor water lab. One tank had a wave maker, which the youth used enthusiastically, getting soaked by the waves overflowing right onto them. Another tank was built like a canal, which youth able to lift three different gates to propel more water through the tank. Another was a simple tank, which didn't attract much attention.

After at least an hour of play in the water lab, it was lunch time. We sat outside, for the storm that was coming had come and passed. After some more play at the water lab, we loaded in the bus and headed to Wilbur Cross High School, for our swim hour.

Five of our youth passed the swim test and were allowed to swim in the deep end. The others remained in the shallows. It was a fantastic hour of plain fun, which the youth had worked hard for.

Sleepy and chlorinated youth pulled up to Clarence Rogers School and, after snack, left us. I think the youth had a terrific day. The staff was so happy to have made it successfully through week two!