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An engagement ring is missing. But no worries. The kids at the Cool Science Club are on the case.
That’s right, more than 50 kids in grades Pre-K to rising ninth graders spent the week of Aug. 24 not only investigating who swiped Mike “Mr. Mike” Awvisus’ prized “diamond” ring, but also immersed in interactive activities specifically designed for their grade level.
The Cool Science Club was established by former science curriculum leader at McCall Middle School Lanie Higgins more than 30 years ago after she found a lack of science-related activities for kids in Winchester during the summer.
But it was her love of a good mystery that made Higgins turn this summer camp into a mini-detective mystery of its own.
“I got the original idea to set a crime scene in my classroom,” Higgins said, of how she stumbled on the idea for the camp. “It really took off. The kids were excited by it and the parents were excited by it.”
So she expanded the idea. That first year, Higgins reached back into Winchester’s history for a good mystery and found an unsolved case where someone had broken into Cradock’s Apothecary one evening by cutting a hole from Alessandro’s Salon into the drug store.
The rub, Higgins said, was that they left pizza boxes and soda cups behind when it was all over.
“I decided, for my purposes, that Cradock’s would be a jewelry store,” she said. “Then I got Alessandro in on it and we had a ‘hole’ there for the kids to see. They then got to go into the ‘jewelry’ store and there were fingerprints and other clues. They just loved it! I’ve kept going with various mysteries over the years.”
That’s right. Higgins spends time not only coming up with a curriculum for the week that will appeal to all ages, but providing a mystery for the kids to solve. And to top it off, there’s a play at the end of the week where the kids see just how the “crime” took place and how all the evidence and clues fit together.
And, Winchester Police gets into the act as well by “arresting” the culprit at the end.
It’s true, Higgins said, she loves a good mystery and wants nothing more than to share all the science behind solving said mystery with the kids of Winchester.
“I grew up with Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys,” she said. “I just loved it so much. I always wanted to be Nancy Drew!”
Why they do it
By Aug. 27, the kids have been on a field trip to the Griffin Museum of Photography and are using their detective skills to check out the greenhouse behind the McCall for clues.
But many are also checking out the science activities set up by “The Inventor Mentor” Terry Murray, including shooting off rockets, melting plastic silverware and making foam, among others. It’s all in the name of science.
Higgins said Murray once did a science demonstration for one of her classes and she talked him into bringing his talents to the camp that first year. He’s made Winchester a stop ever since.
“We were the first camp he ever did,” Higgins said. “And he’s done about 36 camps this year.”
And it’s not just Murray who keeps coming back. Both Cathi Flaherty and Ellie Brown have also been with Higgins since day one.
A third-grade teacher at St Mary’s for 40 years, Brown said she keeps coming back even in retirement because the Cool Science Camp is, at its core, enjoyable.
“It’s fun!” Brown said, with a laugh. “It makes me think because I have to come up with new ideas every year. The kids are curious and it makes them want to learn. But, in the end, they still need to be kids.”
Ambrose teacher’s aide Emily Carroll is in her first year with the camp. The kids she’s working with are learning the scientific method, or at least that’s what Carroll is working towards.
She said a lot of the kids are very involved in solving “The Mystery of the Missing Diamond,” as this year’s camp is themed. But, Carroll said, a lot of them are just enjoying the experience of actually seeing science in action.
Carroll, like all the other volunteers — teachers who work or worked for schools in Winchester, said the magic is really the kids.
“It’s just really fun,” she said, of her first year. “I love how excited the kids get because it’s so hands on.”
The kids couldn’t agree more.
Carmen DiClemente, 11, Emma Higgins, 10, and Hannah Schmidt, 7, have been coming to the Cool Science Camp for years. It helps that their grandmother is its director.
But, the trio said, what they really love is the immersive nature of the year’s mystery.
“It’s really so much fun,” Emma Higgins said. “I love to solve the mystery and to look at the evidence and clues to solve it. At the play, the actors act out the suspects and they say who did it, what the motive was and the opportunity.”
DiClemente agreed.
I love the mysteries!” she said. “It’s like that show ‘High Potential’ where she solves the mysteries.”
“But we’re the detectives!” Emma Higgins added.
The missing ring
A large group of kids is following Awvisus around the area behind the McCall. They are all on the hunt for clues.
Awvisus, an engineering and technology teacher at the middle school, has spent the time answering questions and discussing theories of who took his missing engagement ring.
“I’m actually engaged and getting married in October,” Awvisus said. “My fiancé, Stacey, had the idea of what if Mr. Mike lost his engagement ring?”
And this year’s mystery was born.
Awvisus has been with Cool Science Club for the past decade, another one of the folks Higgins has gotten to “volunteer” for the camp.
“Lanie asked me to help her out by doing an experiment with Legos,” he said. “I got hooked and I’ve been here ever since.”
Awvisus said what he loves about this particular summer camp is that not only do the kids love coming, but they have counselors who have gone through the camp and are now helping out.
“I love that,” he said, of the counselors. “Look, I’m just a big kid at heart and it’s so great to see all the kids having fun. This isn’t a job, it just doesn’t feel like work.”
Cool Science Club Director Lanie Higgins and instructor Mike Awvisus campers look for clues at the greenhouse behind the McCall Middle School. Inside, two campers investigate the scene of the crime. WINCHESTER NEWS STAFF PHOTOS/NELL ESCOBAR COAKLEY
He said the appeal of coming back year after year is really the kids themselves. He said they all have different interests and experiences, but for one week it’s all about the mystery.
“The little ones really love the mystery,” Awvisus said. “I love how enthusiastic they are about it.”
When asked who swiped his ring, Awvisus shook his head.
“I have no clue who did it,” he said. “At the end of the day, I’m still puzzled by it.”
Nell Escobar Coakley has been a journalist for more than 30 years. She is co-founder and editor-in-chief of Gotta Know Medford and editor of Winchester News. She can be reached at editor@winchesternews.org.
