EXPLO Junior Interview with Thomas from Massachusetts

Thomas loves cookies — there's no doubting that! But his fourth grade interests extend far beyond just food. From woodworking and debate to the “Numa” dance and space missions, Thomas is ready to make the most of all his passions at EXPLO. His enthusiasm caught our eye at the Museum of Science, where he was found dancing in psychedelic lights.

What do you think of EXPLO so far?
It's the best summer program I've ever been to! By the first day I could tell it was the best — even maybe by the first hour.

What makes it so great?
The staff is really nice, I'd say the food here is pretty good [laughs], the courses here are very fun...yeah!

What courses are you taking?
I'm taking Pinewood Derby and The Science of Cookie Baking. I didn't really know what Pinewood Derby was, so I looked at what the description was, and I thought it was pretty good so I tried it. It's really good. It's woodworking, and we're making cars. Right now we're trying to make the slowest car. But once we get done with that we're gonna do a fashion show with them and we're also going to race them to see whose is the fastest.

And why did you choose The Science of Cookie Baking?
Probably because, first of all, I love cookies [laughs]. And, you know, you can't doubt that! Because, yeah, I love cookies! But I'm also interested in seeing what happens if we use the wrong measurements. We didn't mean to do this, but we were supposed to add a cup and a half of flour. And so what happened was I think we didn't use enough, so it all spread out and it got like thin and burnt; but it was still very fun. So now we know the right measurements.

Well there you go! And what can you tell me about your workshops?
Well I'm taking Team Challenge and The Science of Bubbles. In Team Challenge we try to do things that involve teamwork. Like on the last day we're going to drop eggs and see which ones survive. On the first day of the elective, we imagined that we were on a vacation to Jupiter and our spaceship crashed on the moon, and the mothership was 200 miles away. We could only bring five things with us, so as a team we had to choose what was the most important to bring, and we had a lot of disagreements [laughs]. We only got to three things, but it was still a lot of fun. I wanted to bring a signal flare but other people wanted to bring food items because we need food in order to survive. But I was thinking that if we brought a signal flare, and if another ship was on the moon, then they'd see us and then we could get food.

Great, it sounds like you got some debate in there, too. What is the difference between classes at school and classes at EXPLO?
Well, at Explo, you learn about fun stuff, not math and all that, I mean, maybe you do, but they're more fun. Like a math class at school you'd just be sitting down and it'd be kind of boring. But EXPLO would make it fun. They wouldn't just make you sit down and have a piece of paper in front of you, write your name, math test, and all that, they'd do fun math.

Definitely. And what can you tell me about the staff here?
They're all really nice. If I'm just sitting on the steps doing my own thing and I'm a little tired, they'll come up to me and ask me if I'm okay and talk to me and all that. So they're really nice.

What would you teach if you were an EXPLO instructor?
Hmm, this is hard. Probably Pinewood Derby. That one's fun.

What advice would you give someone coming to EXPLO?
I would say that this program is not just one that you just play at, this is a place that is fun with learning. And it's not learning like math in school; it's not that kind of place where teachers say, “Okay, come on, kids... blah blah blah.” Like, here they have a great song called “Numa,” which I've actually showed to a couple people at home. I showed my mom, and my mom danced to it [laughs]. One of my friends was like, “Oh my gosh, that's awesome!” And out of 0-5 I'd have to give it a 5!

And finally, what 5 words best describe EXPLO?
Fun, amusing, not boring, fantastic, and … I can't think of another one. [laughs]

Is there anything else you would like to add?
If you want to go to this program, and you're shy, don't be, because if you are then once you step outside the car, getting ready for the first day of EXPLO, your enthusiasm will go right up!