March 19, 2024

Princess Adventures go beyond Earth, solar system

Conservation program allows for fun, science education

You don’t have to look hard to find entertainment with a princess theme targeting young girls.

Education about astronomy, biology and other sciences, on the other hand, are not usually associated with pink dresses, glitter and tiaras.

That’s where Katie Cantu comes in. The Jasper County Conservation naturalist has developed some programming designed to captivate younger, female students in order to cover a wide array of conservation and earth-related science topics.

Last week’s Princess Adventures day camp, held at the Newton Arboretum, was a part of that effort.

“When I started working for Jasper County 15 years ago, our summer camp participants were mostly boys,” Cantu said. “Today, we have just as many girls as boys — if not more — attend camps. I’m always thrilled when I hear of girls in our area who are going on to college to study in science fields, and especially those getting jobs in the conservation field.”

Princess Adventures is a two-day camp that encourages girls to learn more about science while being encouraged to dress up like a princess. The program begins with a short talk about a famous woman conservationist or scientist and how each one made a difference in a field of science.

Even though the camp technically had a capacity of 10, the seven energetic, early-elementary-age girls who showed up for the camp required Cantu to keep up a fast pace of activities.

“We had a couple of packed mornings,” Cantu said. “My goal is to get them excited and having fun outside at a young age, and hopefully, draw them in to our other programs when they are older.”

This year, the camp focused on two women who were pioneers in their fields.

Thursday’s focus was Maria Mitchell, who discovered a comet in 1847 and later became a professor at Vassar College. The Maria Mitchell Observatory in Nantucket, Mass., is named in her honor. Planets, solar systems and galaxies were discussed.

Friday, the group learned about Joy Adamson, a naturalist who married an African game warden best-known for rehabilitating a lion cub named Elsa when the mother lion was shot in 1956. She wrote “Born Free” and a pair of follow-up books, rehabilitated many other African animals, founded a major wildlife conservation foundation and was an international presenter on wildlife preservation.

The girls participated in crafts and activities related to these areas of science using everyday classroom supplies such as paint, glue and glitter. There was also a tea party with a themed snack.

“The Princess Adventure girls come with so much energy and excitement,” Cantu said. “We really have a lot of fun.”

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com