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CHARLOTTE -- For many children, winter break is right around the corner. But a kid's science museum wants to make sure their brains don't take a holiday too. For the first time, Discovery Place in Charlotte is offering winter break camps to keep students learning while school is out.

Instructor Abigail Peltier says her campers can learn a lot with a few simple tools.

"They had grains of rice, corn and raisins and so they were holding them to guess if they would sink or float," she said. "What they saw when they first put them in was they all sank, which is kind of a surprising thing because they are all more dense than water."

The goal of the new winter camp is to provide hands-on learning and an alternative to the classroom.

"We try and make science fun and so it doesn't seem like they're in a class and they seem to enjoy it more," said Peltier. "I think they actually absorb more that way."

Program specialist Kathryn Thomas says it's like a workout for your brain.

"We noticed that other science museums all over the country are doing them and we thought what a great opportunity to get kids in here and keep them learning even when they're not in school," she said. "It also keeps them charged and interested."

Thomas hopes the camps reverse the effect of the so-called winter brain drain or learning loss that can occur when kids are out of school for an extended period of time. Sessions feature a special UV reactive solution to teach kids about science through bubbles.

"It's a really fun experience to learn about surface tension and about how these bubbles are different from regular bubbles," said Thomas.

She says keeping them interested is key.

"This is really a place they can build on their interests and their loves in science and we want to foster that," said Thomas.