Students delve into summertime science at 10th annual WVU Tech

Camp STEM Toyota, Dow others support youth-oriented academic effort

Clint Thomas
2 July 2014
Last week, while school was out for most West Virginia youths, a select few
scholars were outdoors (and indoors, occasionally), learning that the scientific
can be quite terrific.
Seventy students, hailing from several counties throughout the Mountain State
and one school from Ohio, participated in Camp STEM, an annual event
conducted at West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery,
from June 22 through June 27.
Locally, students from Riverside, St. Albans and George Washington high
schools in Kanawha County and Teays Valley Christian School and Poca and
Hurricane high schools in Putnam County, attended Camp STEM.
Marking its 10th year at WVU Tech in 2014, Camp STEM (an acronym for
science, technology, engineering and mathematics) supplies high school
students with an on-site opportunity to explore academic fields such as robotics,
biology, forensics, civil and electrical engineering, computer programming,
mathematics, chemistry and automobile technology.
As such, the range of interactive and hands-on classes the students engaged in
during the week included manipulating genes in bacteria, creating electrical
circuits, producing computer-animation projects and becoming, briefly,
CSI/forensic science agents by documenting mock crime scenes on the Tech
campus.
Camp STEM students also learned about building bridges and lasers (but not
simultaneously) and how to program basic computer games.
Midweek, Camp STEM attendees ventured from the WVU Tech classrooms and
labs and took a daylong field trip to visit the Green Bank Telescope and the Cass
Scenic Railroad State Park.
The camp concluded with a structural challenge for the students. Following an
interactive chemistry presentation by Dow employees, campers formed teams to
fashion the most buoyant cardboard canoe. Each canoe's "seaworthiness was
tested by having a student ride the canoe across the WVU Tech swimming pool.
Thirteen-year-old Morgan Johnson, of Charleston, took part in Camp STEM. The
incoming freshman at George Washington High said, "I've been a science and
math student and I wanted to be exposed to some other career options, so I
thought I'd check it out.
During the week, Johnson joined in faculty-led classes on "Unusual Chemistry,
"Numbers Talk and "You and the Automobile, as well as participating in the
Toyota Scholars program.
Campers had a menu of 20 classes from which they could choose to take during
the week.
The 2014 Camp STEM was sponsored through contributions from Dow,
Toyota, AT&T and AEP. The Toyota Scholars program provided scholarships for
Johnson and other female students to attend this year's camp.
"Businesses in West Virginia and around the country need a capable and diverse
pipeline of employees to fuel 21st century jobs. Today, the need is outpacing
their availability, said J. Michael Schweder, president, AT&T-Mid Atlantic, in a
media release. "Camp STEM is a great way to introduce high school students to
the many career opportunities that require STEM skills. The program prepares
the state's next generation of technology leaders.