Fifth graders at Draper Intermediate got their hands dirty and their bellies filled with STEM activities at “Draper Camp.”

Each fifth grade teacher created an engaging, hands-on experiment or lesson in which they taught all fifth graders on campus over a three-day period.

Students were divided into groups and traveled to a different teacher’s classroom each class period.

Mrs. Damarys Lopez teaches English Language Arts. She created a tasty lesson for Draper Camp.

“I like lessons where the kids get to experiment with things they see every day to connect science with the real world,” Mrs. Lopez said.

Students rotating into Mrs. Lopez’s room learned about chemical reactions by making root beer floats.

“I like that we rotate. So we get to meet new kids that we don’t teach,” Mrs. Lopez said.

Students learned about chemical reactions by making root beer floats at Draper Camp. “It tastes like super cold root beer,” Mason Johnson said. “I like the bubbles.”

Mrs. Jessica Blakeley’s students made trifles by layering cookies and candies in a clear plastic cup to represent the different types of soil.

“The kids enjoyed every activity,” Mrs. Blakeley said. “There is something different in every class. The kids seemed to enjoy my activity because they want labs they can eat!”

Mrs. Blakeley’s fifth graders filled a cup with different types of sweets to represent soil types.

Jose Carrazco’s favorite layer was the topsoil -- crushed Oreos.

Students even made their very own slime in Ms. Areej Bushnaq’s class.

“Honestly, Draper Camp has been amazing this year,” Ms. Bushnaq said. “I was terrified it would be a mess. With the students rotating and experiencing different activities, no one feels left out. ”

Her students agreed with her. Riyam Jaffri learned how to make slime in her class.

“It was real fun,” Riyam said. “I didn’t know it took so much glue to make slime. I didn’t know you had to add baking soda either.”

Ms. Preeti Sidhu taught her classes about friction while riding scooters. Each class experimented by riding on different types of surfaces. Then ended the lesson with a scooter race down the fastest surface, the tiled hallway.

Lily Calhoun won the finals of the scooter race in her class.

“I am already fast at running,” Lily said. “I’m the fastest on my softball team.”

Fifth graders also made ice cream, painted rocks, made planets and built structures to support pumpkins.

The rotations allowed students to not only learn through engaging labs, but many of them also enjoyed different experiences such as trying new foods. Several had never had a root beer float or pudding before making one at Draper Camp.

“I had fun at Draper Camp,” Jose said. “My favorite activity was making ice cream.”