Aqua Tech Camp brings imaginations to life

Imaginations came to life during Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium’s Aqua Tech Camp as campers created stop motion videos based off stories they made up.

The camp focuses on the ocean and technology and teaches campers how to use technology in relation to the ocean, Mote employee Kiley Gray said. The way it works is for each group to think of a story, then using Lego pieces they built themselves, create stop motion images that will be translated into a short video clip. Each group was prepared with a blue cardboard background, string, a camera, a computer screen and the Lego pieces necessary to their story.

Marin Walters and Reef Teffenhart, both 8, focused on sharks and trash for their story.

Teffenhart explained the story, which follows a shark who was eating trash in the ocean. He said a scuba diver comes along and brings the shark to shore and puts a hose in her mouth to get all the trash out. For some reason, the hose needs to be longer so a submarine comes to the rescue and helps elongate it. Finally, the shark is free of the trash, but the scuba diver brings her to the vet just to be safe.

When each group was finished, they were allowed to make an entire new story, or add on to their original one. They get to share their clips with the whole camp later in the week.