Blasting Off for Fun and Lifetime Learning

“Students who participate in STEM programs report increased confidence in their math and science skills and say they’re more likely to consider careers in STEM fields.” — Judi Colloredo

By Janis Hashe

“This is our generation’s Sputnik moment,” President Obama said in his State of Union speech. For kids, what that means is that their country needs people willing and prepared to be scientists, technology experts, engineers and mathematicians.

“The kids love the hands-on application of learning. They might be learning about the physics of landing rockets, but they don’t realize they are studying ‘hard stuff.’” — June Scobee Rodgers

Luckily, all of those things can be a blast (sometimes literally) if introduced through fun and imaginative learning. Enter the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) summer camps—and Chattanooga this year has a galaxy of them. For a full listing of all institutions offering STEM and STEM-related camps, see this issue’s “Camps Listings” section. For a sampling, read on!

Kids, robots and space

Caleb Henry was 10 last summer when he attended his first STEM camp, offered through the Urban League. Mom Amara Henry heard about the camp on radio station 93.5 and knew it was perfect for her budding scientist son. “He was too young to enroll the first year, but last year he went, and it far exceeded his expectations,” she says, noting he can’t wait to go back this year. “He had already been doing robotics in third, fourth and fifth grade,” she explains, “and visiting places like the SIM Center on the UTC campus was really exciting for him.”

Urban League Vice President and CEO James McKissic notes that tracking has already been done nationwide showing that since STEM camps have become widely available, there has been a 27 percent increase in the number of students indicating they plan to major in STEM areas. This marks the fourth year of Urban League STEM camps, and along with the one offered for middle-schoolers, another for young people 14-21 will be added this year.

“We’re right across the street from the SIM Center, and next to the AT&T building, and the kids visit both,” he says. “We have many volunteers from TVA, EPB and Comcast, and the kids do projects such as building a steel-can ‘rover’, a balloon-powered car and a robot.” The Urban League also has some scholarships available for camp.

Nearby on the UTC campus, the Challenger Center is also gearing up for a summer of STEM. Challenger Center founder June Scobee Rodgers is a Chattanooga resident, so the local camps are dear to her heart. “The kids love the hands-on application of learning,” she says. “They might be learning about the physics of landing rockets, but they don’t realize they are studying ‘hard stuff.’ It’s all about the fun.”

Tom Patty, director of the Chattanooga Challenger STEM Learning Center, told us, “Summertime camps are what we can specifically offer to kids who desire to learn more about the STEM subjects. They are obviously presented at our Center with a space exploration theme as a backbone.”

Asked for an example of a camper who continued to pursue what they had learned, he says, “During our week-long camp for 5th – 8th graders in the summer of 2010, we had a young girl who became very interested in aviation and aerodynamics. [She] became very interested in airplane designs and how they fly. As a result of what she learned in camp, she was able to convey her interest in science and knowledge regarding aviation to admissions counselors at a prestigious college preparatory school.  The school appreciated her pursuit of STEM knowledge…She was admitted into the college preparatory school and continues to pursue STEM-related endeavors.”

The Challenger Center will offer four camps this summer on the UTC campus: Half-Day Mini Quest for 4 and 5 year olds, 1-Day Planet Exploration for 1^st – 3^rd graders, 2-Day Mars Quest for 4^th and 5^th graders and 5-Day Universe Exploration for 5^th – 8^th graders.

“Kids learn how to solve problems, how to design research on their own school properties. Kids love bugs, ooey gooey, and experiments.” — Joyce Tatum

Camp Invention is another option for budding scientists, engineers and mathematicians entering grades 1-6 this coming fall or presenting in grades K-5. Locations are Ooltewah Elementary School, Ganns Middle Valley Elementary School and Normal Park Upper Magnet School.

Says Camp Invention Regional Director Judi Colloredo, “There is a rising interest in STEM and we are one of the only national STEM program for elementary students.  We started in Akron, Ohio schools in 1990 as an outreach program of Invent Now in partnership with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.  Since that time, the program has grown dramatically.  During the summer of 2010, the program hosted over 66,000 children at more than 1,000 sites across the country.”

She reports that parents make comments such as “Each day he was excited to share his experiences and looked forward to going back the next day,” and “The program was impressive, allowing the kids to think, create and problem solve.”

At the Creative Discovery Museum, summer camps for 4 year olds- 8^th graders will have elements of STEM learning, says Lynne Mulligan, CDC services program manager. Of special STEM interest is Camp X: Explosions, Experiments and Other Exciting Explorations for 3^rd – 5^th graders, in which “campers become scientists.”

“Many of the activities we do, from measuring during a cooking lesson and learning about different cultures, to performing a scientific experiment or watching a science demonstration are certainly educational as well as fun,” Mulligan says.

STEM and school

Local educator Joyce Tatum also works with STEM-focused schools across the country. “It’s amazing what is happening,” she says. “The kids learn how to solve problems, how to design research on their own school properties. Kids love bugs, ooey gooey, and experiments. They love magic—and magic is built on scientific principles. The summer STEM camps really meet a need for kids.”

Stacey Roddy, director of elementary math and science for Hamilton County Schools, told us, “Some of the STEM camps provide teaching materials for the teachers [and] they are utilizing the materials in classrooms.  Some of our teachers also worked in summer STEM camps, so they were able to return to school and share materials and inquiry-based lessons with other teachers.  For example, Ganns Middle Valley has a checkout system for teachers to use materials from Camp Invention.

“The Challenger Center just received a grant (STARS in the Classroom II Project) where some of our teachers will be trained on inquiry-based instruction and physical science concepts.  These teachers will then implement the curriculum…with their students during the upcoming school year.

“We know that having an effective teacher is the single most important factor in raising student achievement.  Our new mathematics and science standards require more coverage and depth than the previous standards.  This will require our teachers to focus more on inquiry-based strategies and have a deep content knowledge. I remember reading somewhere [that Secretary of Education} Arne Duncan said that approximately six percent of the total student population receives a STEM degree.  We have to do better than that if we are going to compete internationally.”

Says the Challenger Center’s Tom Patty, “The greatest majority of [our] summer camp activities deal with the use of teamwork. Many classroom experiences involve students cooperating with other students to get tasks done. We help introduce and continue those cooperative learning experiences. All camp activities are hands-on, ‘real life’ STEM-related activities. Campers must form hypothesis, perform experiments, and draw conclusions. Many of these students may participate in these types of activities for the first time.”

Judi Colloredo comments, “Students who participate in STEM programs report increased confidence in their math and science skills and say they’re more likely to consider careers in STEM fields.”

From STEM to blossoming lifetime interest

All of those interviewed concurred that many of the kids who attend STEM camps not only overcome fears about learning math and science, but develop lifelong interests in science, technology, engineering and match. And it is by no means limited to boys—all also agreed that the number of girl STEM campers is rising each year. “By the time they reach middle school, the number of students [interested in STEM subjects] divides 50/50, boys and girls,” says Joyce Tatum.

Says Tom Patty, ‘The STEM camps I know about provide access to children of all ability levels.  These are not designed just for gifted students.  When students say, ‘This is my favorite camp. I want to work in navigations system for NASA’ or ‘I want to work in Mission Control’, we know STEM camps are providing meaningful experiences for our students.”

Is your child the one who will find a cure for cancer, invent the way to reach another galaxy or develop the computer program that helps eliminate hunger? A very good way to launch them on those quests is through this summer’s STEM camps.