Now is a good time to book ...
OK, so we've been really slack this year - last year we sent advertising out to schools a term earlier. Fortunately for us, a huge number of last year's attendees have decided to join us again this year. We still have some places left, so we have been emailing schools this week, and over the next week will be sending out 5000 flyers. To cut a long story short, if you haven't booked yet but are thinking of joining us this year, now would be a good time!

Camp 1 - Micro robotics and more ...
It's about this time that we normally send through a preview of what we are working on in our R&D labs (read:kitchens!) ... pictured is the prototype of the micro robot that the campers on the first camp will be building. We looked long and hard to find a suitable robot kit, and eventually gave up and built our own! This one can be remote-controlled using a TV remote (or the micro remote that the campers will build with the robot), and used just like a standard remote-controlled vehicle for a game of 'Micro Robot Wars'. Alternatively, by connecting it to a computer, the 'bot can be programmed to avoid obstacles, follow lines, and do all sorts of other fun things. Of course, like pretty much everything else at Tech Camp, the robot can be taken home by the campers at the end.

We are doing all sorts of other exciting things at our first camp. Our computer gaming course will be great fun. Last year, the 3D game course was one of the most popular, even though we did some quite basic level-editing. This year, we are using YoYo Games' "Game Maker" product to design some 2D games from scratch (Many thanks to their CEO, Sandy Duncan, who has allowed us to use their product). Using their sophisticated event-based system, games can be created in a matter of hours. The campers this year will have the opportunity to incorporate graphics and sounds into their games, and create their own game from concept all the way to a finished product. The "Laser Planes" course is another that will definitely go down well; we will learn some basic 2D graphics applications, and then use them to draw plans of parts for our compressed-air planes. Within minutes, we will see these changed from a computer drawing to a finished part, using a high-powered laser cutter. The parts will then be assembled, together with the compressed air motor, ready for some flight testing and modifications. There are bound to be some competitions and prizes for the best-flying planes ...

Camp 2 - Laser Tag, Eco-Creations ...
OK, we know it's politically incorrect and generally inadvisable to put guns in the hands of small children, but it is really, really fun. At least at Tech Camp it's educational - we are learning about optics, electronics, etc, etc (really, we are) ... I have been working on some prototypes of the laser tag guns (pictured) . The guns use a high-power infrared LED to communicate (much like a TV remote control), and have some fairly sophisticated electronics inside that track scores and control the general game play. The guns have two buttons - a 'fire' and a 'reload', and the rest is down to the game play tactics. There is even a 'God gun' that can pretty much do anything, including setting up how the guns work, killing players off (and resurrecting them), and most importantly, finding out who won at the end of it all. We will spend the first few sessions building the guns (and the last couple, running around shooting each other).

This is the same camp that Naomi is running 'Eco-Creations'. She has been hard at work brewing up ginger beer, ordering edible locusts, Venus Flytrap seeds, and Triop eggs - our test batch hatched within 48 hours and are now several centimetres long. These creatures are truly amazing and their eggs can go into a form of suspended animation for years. I am completely incapable of keeping alive any pets and have managed well with these so far. They are truly incredible - you can let all the water evaporate so they dry out, and their eggs will spring back to life several years later when you next add water! Naomi has also been culturing glow-in-the-dark bacteria from the inside of squids; it sounds rather smelly but she has convinced us that it is totally safe, and as she has a PhD in microbiology and is published in 'Nature', I guess we have to believe her ... Bryce hasn't told us too much about what he has planned... (I seem to remember that something similar happened last year; we got a big bill for some strange chemicals, and then found out a bit later about protein-bonding meats, chocolate caviar, and all sorts of other weird and wonderful molecular gastronomy). He is planning for the children to make 'Goldberg machines' - in a nutshell, they will be given a pile of motors, gears, batteries, etc, and told that they need to get a ping-pong ball from one place to another. They need to forget about what they know about efficiency - with a Goldberg machine, the more complicated and impressive the process is, the better! If Bryce's course last year was anything to go by, this will be one not to be missed. Personally, I'm hoping that he brings back that cool game with boxes and a rope - it is sure to be a "Tech Camp" perennial!

Camp 3 - Spy Technology ...
Our third camp really does have a bit of a spy theme ... We will be learning how to pick locks, make smoke bombs, and write with invisible inks. Our official 'spy' course also fits in well with our 'Gadgetry 101' course, where we will be making visible and ultraviolet torches for use with the invisible inks, as well as an 'iPod amplifier' (and maybe a radio if you're quick at assembling electronics), some electronic dice, and a high-voltage shocking device. (N.B.: If someone asks you to open 'Pandora's Box' when you arrive at the camp, then ignore them, otherwise you might get a nasty shock!)

This is also the same camp that Nicola will be running our 'Kitchen Chemistry' course. It would be hard to find anyone more qualified than a Cordon Bleau Chef for this one ... Chip packet fireworks, cooking ice-cream, and creating shocks with fruit are just some of the fun activities that she has planned. We don't really know if it's possible to get a shock from a lemon (actually 60 of them ...), but we are going to find out...

What Next?
Do ask if you have any questions about anything - I am (almost) always available on the email. If you have already made a booking then I hope your children are looking forward to the camp as much as we are! There is nothing much you need to do at the moment - closer to the camp we will send out a consent form to be signed, and update you with any last minute information.

Newsflash...
Late breaking news ... we have managed to convince the amazing Andy Payne to come and join us for all three weeks. I met Andy up at a 'Maker Faire' in Newcastle recently, and I knew immediately that he would be great at Tech Camp. Andy designs software and hardware for CNC machines (robots that can make 3D shapes), so is more than qualified to run our robotics course and more; hopefully we can twist his arm to bring some of his machines with him.

Those who were at our August camp last year might remember Jack, one of our young helpers. He came up with a great idea for a night-time hot air balloon activity for the campers, and after getting his 5 meter high balloon airborn the other night he then decided to do one that could theoretically lift a (small) child ... Planning on a flight test tonight to see if he is right - wish us luck ...