As today was Shabbat, the day of rest, Seneca did a lot of relaxing. The girls slept in until 9 and ate breakfast in the village. After, the whole camp went down to the fire circle for Shabbat services. We sang songs, recited prayers, and listened to some very courageous Senecas read the speeches they had prepared during the week. Following services each age group separated into discussion groups where they talked about various topics related to Judaism and camp. After lunch, the campers were able to choose an area of camp to go to for the afternoon. Being such a beautiful and hot day, the pool was definitely a popular place to be. We were even able to practice for Fight Song before dinner.
Tonight was village night, which for Seneca meant a massive Science Fair! The girls dressed in their geekiest outfits and headed to dinner. They returned to Seneca to find that the village had turned into a science haven. At each bunk there was a different station with cool experiments and fun facts. The girls were able to go to every station with their "Seneca Families." The first station was called Soap Boats. The girls made boats out of index cards with their mini families and learned a lesson about the difference of surface tension and how the boat is propelled forward by the addition of detergent to the water. They each cheered as their boats competed for first place. Next the girls had to use what they found in nature to make a cradle for an egg drop. At the end each team's egg was dropped off of the porch of a bunk. As the girls cheered their egg on, we watched anxiously to see the results. Miraculously all eggs survived!!
Words cannot truly describe what happened at Station 3. A color explosion occurred as the groups added food coloring to milk, breaking apart polar bonds with the detergent, and creating a cool design.
The next station blew people away! Using only cornstarch and water, the seneca scientists were able to create a substance that was a solid when punched but a thin liquid when a hand was slowly submerged.
At the final station each girl was able to make silly putty using Borax detergent and Elmer's glue. They had so much fun playing with their homemade toy! Seneca Science Fair was a great success! We ended our day with a beautiful Havdallah service at the waterfront. What a day!
-Sarah Rosenbaum, S-6 counselor
