by Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

Fridays cap the week’s learning for Project Think students, children between pre-kindergarten and eighth grade enrolled in the summer enrichment camp at Pitzer College. They not only finish up their projects, but also interact with a mystery animal often brought in by Upland resident Heather Skopik.

On July 19, students were introduced to Skopik’s 19-year-old alpaca, Magic, a recurring visitor for Project Thinkers since 2018. Skopik said she previously used Magic to hold a discussion with students on hair type and personal value.

Project Think camper Isla Schaller, 8, pets Magic the alpaca on July 19. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo

“Most of my animals are rescue animals, so it’s actually twofold,” Skopik said. “What we’re teaching the kids is about different cultures, animals from around the world, [and] we’re also teaching them about the rescue aspect and about diversity.”

She’s also brought various breeds of chickens that lay different colored eggs to talk about such themes. “We talked about how every child looks different and the inside of the egg is the same,” Skopik said. “It has the same nutritional value just like how every child here has value even though they look different. Every single animal that we bring is going to being something different from a different culture.”

Skopik’s animals — which also include horses and other fluffy and feathered friends — are not part of a business. She simply enjoys seeing the students’ eyes light up as they interact with animals they may have otherwise never seen up close.

At the annual Project Think camp co-founded by director Susan Warren in 1980, she and her team engage students in a multitude of academic activities — from computer science like ArcGIS mapping, electronics lessons such as circuitry, creative writing and thinking, arts, coding and robotics, drama and theater, science and more — that hit on the big five Cs of learning: communication, creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and compassion. This year’s camp was the 41st edition.

Learn more at projectthink.com.

Animal handler Heather Skopik, left, and Project Think Co-Founder and Director Susan Warren field questions from students ahead of the mystery animal reveal July 19 at Pitzer College. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo

Students from Project Think’s Young Thinker Program interact with Magic the alpaca. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo

(L-R) Amelia Hendershot, 6, Nika Esmaili, 6, and Chiao-Yu Chiu, 7, direct an Ozobot robot during a Project Think coding and robotics class at Pitzer College. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo