College for Kids offers fun, educational classes
Arizona State University is offering students an opportunity to indulge their curiosity about bugs, robots, computer game design, ecology and adventures in mathematics by enrolling in STEM Summer College-for-Kids camps.
The Modeling Institute in collaboration with ASU Education Partnerships, is introducing a new series of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) camps. Children who are 9 to 14 years old can have fun and learn at the same time as they work in real university laboratories and classrooms using state-of-the art technology to produce original results. Summer Program sessions include:
• Situated Multimedia Arts Learning Laboratory (SMALLab) Gamebot (July 12-23). Design a 3-D interactive multimedia game in SMALLab, a state-of-the-art mixed-reality learning environment.
• Sustainability-Transforming the Future (June 21-July 2). Figure out what it will take to manage our resources so that we can make Phoenix a sustainable population center in the 21st century and beyond.
• Physical Computing (June 21-July 2). Learn about electronics, programming and fabrication while building your own robotic bug.
• I Love Bugs! (June 21-July 2). Get up close and personal with everything from the lowly ant to hissing cockroaches as your work with researchers from ASU’s social insects research group
• Shrinking Elephants, Growing Scorpions, Zupplez and Speeding Marbles: Adventures in Mathematical Problem Solving (June 21-July 2). Bring your brain, a measuring tape, a costume, and a quarter coin and get ready to hone your algebraic thinking skills with a variety of games and activities
Enrollment is for half-day (9 a.m.-noon), two-week sessions. For more schedule details and to register, visit the Model It website at http://modelit.asu.edu/stem. Register soon as these camps are filling up fast.
About Model It
The Modeling Institute is a National Science Foundation-sponsored consortium of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education programs at Arizona State University campuses that have joined forces to create:
• A Master of Natural Science (MNS) degree program for Middle School STEM
• A middle school STEM Summer College-for-Kids program
• STEM-net – a Valleywide network of STEM educators who gather regularly at ASU to learn, share and help one another grow professionally
The Modeling Institute is part of ASU’s Center for Research on Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology whose mission is to advance teaching and learning in the STEM disciplines and to foster communities of research and practice that will advance creativity and innovation and impact the frontiers of STEM learning. The Modeling Institute emphasizes the theme of sustainability in its programs and activities. Themes of urban ecology, urban sustainability, biodiversity and ecosystems run throughout the courses and activities of Middle School STEM MNS program courses and summer College-for-Kids camps.