Summer camp is one of the great things about being a kid; it’s a chance to learn new skills and make friends! NBCF is right in the middle of our own summertime fun with various field trips and tons of activities in between. Part of what our program writers often have to consider, when planning things like camp, is how to make sure each activity is accessible for all students with varying sight and abilities. When our campers aren’t out and about in the community, they’re at NBCF getting creative – and anyone can easily do some of these from home! The following three activities are not only tactile, but super simple for parents to follow. Bring the magic of summer home and share these with your child!

Aluminum Foil Art

Funny Face Art

Edible DNA

Aluminum Foil Art

Directions:

1. Give each camper a piece of card board and a few wiki sticks 

2. Campers will use the wiki sticks to make the design of their choice on the card board. 

3. Campers will then cover the entire design with foil (pressing the foil down around the wiki sticks so it makes a raised design). 

4. Campers can then use the sharpies to color in the raised shapes.  

This is adaptive because it uses the sense of touch to guide the drawing rather than the use of sight. Not only do the wiki sticks provide texture to the painting, it also acts as a guide for the markers. If you do not have wiki sticks at home, puff paint will work but will require extra drying time in between steps.  

Funny Face Art

Directions:

1. Give each camper a face shaped piece of cardboard along with various items, and glue  to create a face. The creation is all up to them! 

This activity is perfect for someone with a vision impairment because it creates a tactile representation of a smiley face. Give your child a wide variety of items to make their face. Items should have a three dementional shape and texture so that your child can differentiate the parts of their face. To make this activity even more interactive, let your child find items around the house that could make a good face! Challenge your child to find items that feel similar to their own features. Does their hair feel like yarn – straight and soft? Does it feel like shredded paper – curly and short?  

Edible DNA

Directions:

1. Start your candy DNA model by sorting your candies into their bowls by type of candy. Have your child assign each of the candy types to a specific nucleotide. These 4 nucleotides make up your double helix candy DNA model.  

1. Adenine 

2. Thymine 

3. Cytosine 

4. Guanine 

*Remember Adenine and Thymine are always paired together! Cytosine and Guanine are always paired together!  

2. Now it’s time to start making up pairs for building your candy DNA model. Our DNA cannot be seen with your eyes – only high-powered microscopes! 

3. After you make your pairing of candies, stick one toothpick through each pair.   

4. Line up two twizzler pieces parallel to one another. Take your candy pairs and stick the toothpick to both twizzler pieces. This should feel and look like a rung on a ladder.  

5. Continue to attach your pairings until you have a DNA strand that is as long as you want it.  

6. Endless combinations can be made, but the same pairs of nucleotides must stick together!