SDSM&T Hosts Smart Kid Camp Featuring Robotics, Explosives and More
Rapid City, SD (PRWEB) April 18, 2014 -- The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology will host eight immersive residential camps for high school students this summer ranging from mining and explosives to robotics. Students from throughout the country will explore their curiosities with an eye toward translating their passion into college and career options.
The first is June 8-13, titled Geology Rocks: Youth Field Camp in the Black Hills, which will be repeated June 22-27. Other camps are:
• Fossils: The Path of the Paleontologist, June 15-20 and July 6-11
• Mining and Explosives Engineering Institute, June 22-27
• Power Camp: Electronics and Computers in Your Hands, July 6-11
• ASM: Materials, Metallurgy, and Forensics Institute, July 13-18
• To the 3rd Dimension and Beyond: Mechanical Engineering in the New World, July 20-25
• Chemical and Biological Engineering Institute, July 20-25
• Robotics Camp, July 27-Aug. 1
College preparation offered through the camps is priceless. Through these week-long sessions, students live in the dorms and decide if a major is right for them.
Zach Schmitz agreed. “Mines is renowned for its expertise in chemical engineering,” said the Sioux Falls, S.D., student who was 16 when he enrolled in last summer’s Chemical and Biological Engineering Institute.
He was amazed by the potential applications of a ChemE degree. “I was aware of chemical engineering before, but this was an eye-opener.” The undergraduate program offers more than one way to wear a white coat. “I could be a surgeon or work in the lab.”
It was his fellow attendee Darian Carter’s first time at camp, too.
Hailing from New York City, she heard about the institute over the loudspeaker during the science research program at her high school. Her project focused on beta carotene in carrots, a substance she was trying to genetically engineer into other food.
But she said this program offers something her project didn’t: face time. Each camp is developed and taught by professors who are at the top of their field.
McKayla Stratmeyer of Hermosa, S.D., spent much of her time in the mathematics and computer science building while attending the robotics camp. “This is my fourth camp. I’ve done space, chemistry, physics and now computer science. But this is my favorite so far,” she said.
Director of Youth Programs Shawna Delaney said, “We hope to spark an interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) in students and keep that alive through our summer camps.”
Youth Programs has undergone a major overhaul in the last two years, a strategy designed to provide a higher-quality, more in-depth and specialized experiential learning environment to high school students.
“Our camps are limited to 16 students to ensure ample one-on-one time. … (including) as many hands-on activities as possible. Our goal is to reduce passive learning” through field trips and different teaming and leadership activities throughout the Black Hills, Delaney explained.
All of the current camps are new to the eight-year program – a breadth of offerings matched by the availability of opportunity. Delaney noted that there are scholarships and discounts available for students.
Find out more about the eight week-long summer camps at http://www.sdsmt.edu/learn.
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About SDSM&T
Founded in 1885, the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology is a science and engineering research university located in Rapid City, S.D., offering bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. The university enrolls 2,640 students from 45 states and 37 countries, with a student-to-faculty ratio of 14:1. The average starting salary for graduates is $62,400 with a 98 percent placement rate. Find us online at http://www.sdsmt.edu, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/sdsmt and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/sdsmt.
Dani Doran, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, http://www.sdsmt.edu, +1 (605) 394-2554, [email protected]
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