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Roman Summer Camp For Kids
#1
There is a 90% chance that I will get to put on a 2 week Roman camp for gifted/talented secondary students for my school district. The event starts June 12 and ends on the 27. I would like to get suggestions from forum members on activities that would be educational and hands on. I will include some lecture/discussion, but would rather provide practical experiences.

Here are some ideas I have in mind already: Erecting a roman tent, trying on a Roman kit, modeling a Roman structure using Sketch up or some sort of wood modeling, preparing Roman food, guest speakers, making a Roman standard.

If you would like more information on this event feel free to PM me.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Regards,
Marcus Norwood
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#2
Without even asking them, I can say that Cohort Five supports this activity. Not many of us can give up two weeks, but we can come for a weekend and help out. We have a log tower we can erect, now that we've shortened it to an approximately 8 foot high platform. You'll see it at Fort Parker, and we can talk more about it then. Bring your best info and I'll bet we can get some soldiers down there to help.

Foods is another activity, of course. Everybody eats, and why not have some of the meals made from Roman recipes?

How about javelin throwing, ropes and knots, boffer sword and cardboard shield combat, and some hands-on activities like quick-set clay articles?
M. Demetrius Abicio
(David Wills)

Saepe veritas est dura.
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#3
Obviously not as exciting as the 'sticking sharp shiny things in people' activities :wink: you could have them make up a mosaic, working out the patterns then setting it out over the time. The cheapest way is to make the tesserae (tiles) using air drying clay and then paint them.
I've done a rough calculation and over here in the UK you could get enough clay for a mosaic about 1.6m x 1.6m (5' x 5') for £35.00/$56.00, (about 15,000 tesserae). You'd have to paint them, just use a wire and cut the clay into sheets 3/8" thick and then paint the surface before cutting into tesserae.

If you want to do something like that let me know and I'd be happy to send you plans for different designs, border patterns with corners etc. There wouldn't be any charge for a project like this.
Lawrence Payne

Asking me to tile your bathroom is like asking Vermeer to creosote your shed ;-)
[url:2kdj7ztq]http://www.romanmosaicworkshops.co.uk[/url]
www.romanmosaicworkshops.co.uk
www.romanmosaicpatterns.com
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#4
"Foods is another activity, of course. Everybody eats, and why not have some of the meals made from Roman recipes?"

lighting a fire and cooking on it ALWAYS a winner in our house (never tried it Roman style though), if you have time building an oven might work out well
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#5
Depending on space, you could try a bit of Roman surveying, using a homemade groma? It should be fairly straightforward technically, but also demonstrate a bit of practical mathematics. You could plan a road or small camp perhaps. And unlike the fire, there should hopefully be fewer health and safety considerations...
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#6
Surveying sounds like a great idea. If you had a GPS and the space then you could have them in teams and at the end check the results and see which team is the more accurate.
Lawrence Payne

Asking me to tile your bathroom is like asking Vermeer to creosote your shed ;-)
[url:2kdj7ztq]http://www.romanmosaicworkshops.co.uk[/url]
www.romanmosaicworkshops.co.uk
www.romanmosaicpatterns.com
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#7
Quote:Surveying sounds like a great idea. If you had a GPS and the space then you could have them in teams and at the end check the results and see which team is the more accurate.
Might be a bit expensive and fiddly though. Another option would be to see if you could get hold of a bog standard theodolite, as used by surveyors and archaeologists, and compare the two. As it is basically an updated groma you could even forgo the reconstruction, although you'd be missing out a bit then. Total stations do the same but can tell the distance to a particular point as well, however that again misses out on the fun of pacing out your own distances.
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#8
Well, I would think it pointless if you didn't use the Groma to start with....
you're just surveying with a modern theodolite then.... Wink

The groma is a fascinating piece and will stirr the kids imagination!
Visne partem mei capere? Comminus agamus! * Me semper rogo, Quid faceret Iulius Caesar? * Confidence is a good thing! Overconfidence is too much of a good thing.
[b]Legio XIIII GMV. (Q. Magivs)RMRS Remember Atuatuca! Vengence will be ours!
Titus Flavius Germanus
Batavian Coh I
Byron Angel
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#9
I could teach flint and steel fire kindling. I have the materials and could put them on loan, assuming the world doesn't end in 10 days, of course. :wink:

How many kids, Marce, do you expect to have on site?
M. Demetrius Abicio
(David Wills)

Saepe veritas est dura.
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#10
I read something in the British press about kids making their own bullas at a camp. I thought that was a cool idea.

And David - maybe you can teach me, too. I have the iron and flint but have never been able to start a fire with it!
David J. Cord
www.davidcord.com
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#11
Thanks so much for all the responses. I will try to include all of these ideas. The kids are really going to love this. I am really looking forward to this event. :woot:
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#12
Quote:I could teach flint and steel fire kindling. I have the materials and could put them on loan, assuming the world doesn't end in 10 days, of course. :wink:
?

Golly gosh darned...forgot about that...might as well forget about any plans and go back to bed.... :mrgreen:
Visne partem mei capere? Comminus agamus! * Me semper rogo, Quid faceret Iulius Caesar? * Confidence is a good thing! Overconfidence is too much of a good thing.
[b]Legio XIIII GMV. (Q. Magivs)RMRS Remember Atuatuca! Vengence will be ours!
Titus Flavius Germanus
Batavian Coh I
Byron Angel
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#13
On surveying sent a Pm and beginning next year i will sent you drawings ofa groma chorobates decempeda and so on you yust need a surveyor who can oparete them "i"m in Europe "but gla to help btw the chorobates level is easy, so you could make an aquaduct with them by using dolabra and other original tools, or even try making a strech of roman road.
succes.
AgrimensorLVCIVS FLAVIVS SINISTER
aka Jos Cremers
member of CORBVLO
ESTE NIX PAX CRISTE NIX
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#14
Quote:Well, I would think it pointless if you didn't use the Groma to start with....
you're just surveying with a modern theodolite then.... Wink

Or practicing for real archaeology... :evil:
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#15
Yes, but the point of the exercise was to give them a Roman experience, was it not? ;-)
Visne partem mei capere? Comminus agamus! * Me semper rogo, Quid faceret Iulius Caesar? * Confidence is a good thing! Overconfidence is too much of a good thing.
[b]Legio XIIII GMV. (Q. Magivs)RMRS Remember Atuatuca! Vengence will be ours!
Titus Flavius Germanus
Batavian Coh I
Byron Angel
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