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Get gross and gooey at Cap U

FOR children who feel compelled to touch every oozing, slithering, slimy, filthy, funky bit of grit or grime they can track onto white furniture, Capilano University is offering the Gross and Gooey Spring Break camp.

FOR children who feel compelled to touch every oozing, slithering, slimy, filthy, funky bit of grit or grime they can track onto white furniture, Capilano University is offering the Gross and Gooey Spring Break camp.

"Our Gross and Gooey program has a lot to do with chemistry," says Alison Jamieson, the owner of High Touch High Tech, the company putting on the camp. "It's a lot to do with the body and why things happen; the science behind a burp."

The Gross and Gooey camp runs from March 12 to 16, and for the price of $165 each child receives three hours of daily instruction on the finer points of worms, quicksand, cockroaches, cow intestines, digestion, and the science behind it all.

"We find a lot of times when we go into schools, right away kids say, 'Oh, that's gross!'" Jamieson says. "We always let them know, 'Yeah, to the ordinary person it would be gross, however, to a scientist, it's interesting.'"

The campers are between six and nine years of age, which is an ideal time for scientific curiosity, according to Jamieson.

"They're at an age where they're really interested in what's going on and why things are going on," Jamieson explains. "They get to really learn the science behind it."

While some children may shy away from slipping on a pair of gloves and touching a cockroach on Monday, Jamieson says that usually changes by Friday.

"By the end, they're brave enough to actually touch it, and see what it feels like, and some of that fear dissipates," she says.

Besides learning enough entomology to horrify their more squeamish brothers and sisters, children also get a chance to learn just why people get sick.

The camp includes a culture of germs the children watch blossom during the week.

"Teachers and parents want the kids to know where germs and viruses might be, how they could be transmitted, and really to protect themselves," Jamieson says, adding that the camp also stresses washing your hands.

For children with an interest in the science of illusion, the camp also offers tools for creating practical special effects.

Besides learning how to craft prosthetics that could be used in a film, the kids learn how to create the foundation for every great horror movie.

"They learn about blood and then they actually get to make it," Jamieson says, adding: "A fake sample of blood."

Most people unthinkingly treat bad breath with mints, but Gross and Gooey campers get to learn the root causes of foul breath.

"You've got acid in your stomach, and that acid will have a smell to it," Jamieson says. "Kids actually get a chance to make some toothpaste after they do their breath test."

While learning about the ingredients in toothpaste, children learn about baking soda's neutralizing effect on acid, according to Jamieson.

But for those young scientists who want to go deeper, the camp also delves into the human digestive system.

"We bring in intestines and organs there so the kids get to put on gloves and see what happens to our food as it travels through our bodies," Jamieson says. "They can actually see what a cow's stomach is like, what a sheep's stomach is like, and then what the intestines are like."

Besides dealing with dung beetles, worms, germs, and extracting DNA from a banana, Jamieson says the camp has a simple target.

"Our goal as a company is to make it to the dinner table," Jamieson says, describing the enthusiasm of discovery she hopes the camps will inspire.

jshepherd@nsnews.com