Photos by Jodi Hyde

GROSS! Children in Hartselle converged on Sparkman Park for a week of icky, sticky and slimy fun while participating in Fresh Air Family’s Gross Out Camp.  

Every day the campers took a child-led or director-led hike to different areas around the park, according to camp director Penny Roy.  

“If the children found something interesting, they would call us all over to investigate and discuss what they found,” she said.  

Roy said one of the neatest activities of the week was when the campers learned about solar energy.  

“We learned about solar energy and made solar ovens and made s’mores in them using the sun’s heat. We learned that soil is made up of minerals and a lot of other components and we ate some chocolate sweets,” Roy added.  

All in all, the week was grossly successful, according to Roy, who is a retired Hartselle educator. She said 22 students participated this year and parents, when picking children up from camp, were already asking about next year’s activities.