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Dinosaur Dig -

Dinosaur Dig Camp Curriculum

Here's how your Nebula practiced the process and mindset to create a balancing Titanosaur and how you can keep encouraging them to innovate all year long.

Identify the Goal

Challenge: Two might we build a balancing titanosaur that can reach as tall a tree as possible

Generate Ideas

Campers discussed ways to create a model titanosaur using toothpicks and foam

Design

Teams planned how they would work, with one partner starting at the head and the other building the tail.

Create
Test
Evaluate
Redesign
  • They started building the neck and tail.
  • They removed their hands from the Titanosaur and tested how tall a tree it could reach
  • They asked: Does the Titanosaur balance on its own? How much taller does it need to be to reach the next tree?
  • Then they added more pieces as needed to balance the titanosaur and make it as tall as possible
Share

Everyone shared their balancing titanosaurs to celebrate and get ideas for the future

In this project, your camper also practiced being COLLABORATIVE by talking with their partner and including both people’s ideas about how to build the Titanosaur.

The impact of Galileo programs is real

Researchers from the Stanford Graduate School of Education put our programs to the test in multi-year study. They found that Galileo kids tend to:

  • persevere at unfamiliar challenges
  • share their ideas more freely
  • respond better in the face of failure

You can reinforce the Galileo Innovation Approach at home…

Innovator’s Process

GENERATE IDEAS: Next time your family has a collective goal (planning a Saturday, making a meal, etc.) try working together to brainstorm a long list of possibilities—from practical to outrageous—before finalizing your plan. With lots of ideas to choose from, you’re likely to find a more creative and satisfying outcome.

Innovator’s Mindset

3 ways you can support the ongoing practice of COLLABORATION:

Discuss as a family
  • What is something you’ve worked on collaboratively? What was it like working with others? How did you help the team? How did others help?
  • Why is it helpful to collaborate with others when creating new things?
Try these collaboration-boosting strategies
  • Stay in constant communication, so everyone’s ideas can help shape the outcome.
  • Stay open and flexible—collaboration changes ideas, and that can be a good thing.
Shout out collaboration when you see it in action!

Here's how your Star practiced the process and mindset to create a theropod hand and how you can keep encouraging them to innovate all year long.

Identify the Goal

Challenge: How might we create a unique theropod hand with fingers that close and open successfully?

GENERATE IDEAS

They looked at 5 different models of theropod hands.

DESIGN

They discussed making different models than their teammates, in order to compare a number of different hand designs.

CREATE
TEST
EVALUATE
REDESIGN
  • They built an arm and hand with three theropod fingers.
  • They performed a grabbing test and a digging test.
  • They asked: Are my fingers opening and closing well? Is my hand better suited to grasping or digging? Then they made small changes to improve their hand’s functionality.
SHARE

Everyone shared their theropod hands and noticed that shorter fingers were better at digging and longer fingers better at grasping. They celebrated the variety of designs and how replicas can help scientists better understand behavior.

In this project, your camper also practiced being REFLECTIVE, by taking time to carefully test each finger and think about how well it opens and closes, before moving to the next finger.

The impact of Galileo programs is real

Researchers from the Stanford Graduate School of Education put our programs to the test in multi-year study. They found that Galileo kids tend to:

  • persevere at unfamiliar challenges
  • share their ideas more freely
  • respond better in the face of failure

You can reinforce the Galileo Innovation Approach at home…

Innovator’s Process

CREATE: The next time your family wants to create something (a garden, a birthday party, a school project…), adopt a bias toward action by jumping in, even if you don’t have it all figured out. Sometimes it can feel daunting to put those first proverbial marks on the page, but once you start working, you’ll be amazed at what you can create.

Innovator’s Mindset

3 ways you can support the ongoing practice of REFLECTION:

Discuss as a family

What’s something you do every day that you think works really well? What’s something you do every day that you think can be improved?

Why is it helpful to stop and reflect when you’re creating or trying new things?

Try these reflection-boosting strategies

Step back, take a break or slow down to think about what you’re doing and what you might improve.

Ask others for feedback on what is and isn’t working in your project.

Shout out reflection when you see it in action!

Here’s how your Supernova practiced the process and mindset to create grasping arms for their theropod and how you can keep encouraging them to innovate all year long.

IDENTIFY THE GOAL

Challenge: How might we create theropod claws and hands that are specialized for grabbing a specific type of food?

GENERATE IDEAS

They developed ideas for specialized claws based on their dinosaur (Baryonyx: grab a fish, Therizinosaurus: knock down a tree).

DESIGN

They planned their design.

CREATE
TEST
EVALUATE
REDESIGN
  • They built working hands and claws.
  • They performed the grasping test for their dinosaur
  • They asked: What is and isn’t working about my design? Who else is working on the same challenge, and how might I be inspired by their ideas?
  • Then they modified their design to improve its functionality.
SHARE

Everyone shared their grasping arms to celebrate and get even more ideas for the future.

In this project, your camper also practiced being COLLABORATIVE by seeking inspiration and sharing hand design ideas with other campers building the same type of dinosaur.

The impact of Galileo programs is real

Researchers from the Stanford Graduate School of Education put our programs to the test in multi-year study. They found that Galileo kids tend to:
persevere at unfamiliar challenges
share their ideas more freely
respond better in the face of failure

You can reinforce the Galileo Innovation Approach at home…

Innovator’s Process

EVALUATE & REDESIGN: The next time you complete something you do regularly (cook dinner, go on a hike, have a playdate, etc.) think of two stars—things that went well—and one wish—an opportunity for improvement. The “2 Stars and a Wish” strategy is a great way to evaluate something you created and make a plan to do things even better the next time.

Innovator’s Mindset

3 ways you can support the ongoing practice of COLLABORATION:

Discuss as a family

What is something you’ve worked on collaboratively? What was it like working with others? How did you help the team? How did others help?
Why is it helpful to collaborate with others when creating new things?

Try these collaboration-boosting strategies

Stay in constant communication, so everyone’s ideas can help shape the outcome.
Stay open and flexible—collaboration changes ideas, and that can be a good thing.

Shout out collaboration when you see it in action!

Here’s how your Meteor practiced the process and mindset to create an animal stencil and how you can keep encouraging them to innovate all year long.

IDENTIFY THE GOAL

Challenge: How might we create an animal stencil to decorate the chair?

GENERATE IDEAS

They brainstormed a list of animals.

CREATE
TEST
EVALUATE
REDESIGN
  • They broke the animal silhouette into simple shapes and created a pencil sketch.
  • They stepped back to look closely at their sketch
  • They asked: Am I happy with how the sketch looks? Is it the right size for my chair? Do I want to stencil the positive or negative space?
  • Then they made modifications to their sketch and created a final outline using a marker. (They cut the stencil from contact paper.)
SHARE

Everyone shared their stencils to celebrate and get even more ideas for painting their chairs.

In this project, your camper also practiced being VISIONARY by imagining a clear and meaningful story for how the chosen animal represents them or someone else they’re thinking of.
The impact of Galileo programs is real

Researchers from the Stanford Graduate School of Education put our programs to the test in multi-year study. They found that Galileo kids tend to:

  • persevere at unfamiliar challenges
  • share their ideas more freely
  • respond better in the face of failure

You can reinforce the Galileo Innovation Approach at home…

Innovator’s Process

EVALUATE & REDESIGN: The next time you complete something you do regularly (cook dinner, go on a hike, have a playdate, etc.) think of two stars—things that went well—and one wish—an opportunity for improvement. The “2 Stars and a Wish” strategy is a great way to evaluate something you created and make a plan to do things even better the next time.

Innovator’s Mindset

3 ways you can support the ongoing practice of being VISIONARY:

Discuss as a family

What is something you’ve worked on collaboratively? What was it like working with others? How did you help the team? How did others help?

Why is it helpful to collaborate with others when creating new things?

Try these collaboration-boosting strategies

Stay in constant communication, so everyone’s ideas can help shape the outcome.

Stay open and flexible—collaboration changes ideas, and that can be a good thing.

Shout out collaboration when you see it in action!

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