The Science Summer Camp - Why Less is More.

It's a sad irony that understanding of science appears to be at an all-time low at the exact moment a scientifically literate and environmentally compassionate society is needed. To prevent a global catastrophe, we must create enlightened, literate, and compassionate future generations. To that end, many informal and formal science education programs have risen to this challenge, one of which is the science summer camp. These programs are highly popular in China and each year hundreds if not thousands of students participate all over the country. Ideally, these programs allow participants to not only experience the natural world around them and learn basic science, but also taps into their own senses of wonder and imagination. In this presentation we will introduce the annual aquatic sciences summer camp program run by COSEE China. We will discuss the highs, lows, and all the moments in-between and make the argument for smaller, more detailed programs rather than the large-scale camps that are seen.