Princess Cruises, partnering with Discovery Consumer Products, celebrated the opening of their new Camp Discovery on the Grand Princess docked in San Francisco Pier 27 on Monday.
Their nod to science includes MythBusters science activities with three hands-on challenges, featuring show star, Tory Belleci. They also have a crawl in, air-filled planetarium that features the voice of Hakeem M. Oluseyi (born James Edward Plummer, Jr.), an American astrophysicist, cosmologist, inventor, educator, science communicator,author, actor, and humanitarian. Oluseyi’s hosted popular science television shows such as Outrageous Acts of Science and How the Universe Works. He’s currently a professor of Physics & Space Sciences at the Florida Institute of Technology, and resides at at NASA Headquarters in Washington DC where he works as Space Sciences Education Manager for NASA‘s Science Mission Directorate via the Intergovernmental Personnel Act Mobility Program.
The two science geeks bantered over a large canister of liquid nitrogen and enthralled their young audience with it’s effects: dip in a bouquet of red roses and they crash and crumble like glass. The young audience loved their antics.
The Grand Princess’s Camp Discovery also focuses on destination-themed programs for the Caribbean, Alaska, and Europe to immerse young cruisers in the culture, nature, and customs of the specific region. Kids and teens can participate in activities specially designed to help them discover, play, create and huddle, including:
The Treehouse, ages 3-7: A bright, whimsical forest and animal-themed center with creatures and hands-on activities for kids to focus on play time, creativity, and the world around them.- The Lodge, ages 8-12: A cozy center, inspired by the great outdoors, is filled with sports activities and fun places for kids to explore, hang out and lounge.
- The Beach House, for ages 13-17 sports a contemporary surf-themed lounge, featuring a cool place for teens to hang out and socialize.
I watched a Princess Cruise host teach a group of 8-year-olds how to make a shark tooth necklace all the while talking about their teeth and those of the scary elasmobranch. They were enthralled. Hooray for science on the high seas!