Ella finished
STEM Camp (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).
15 incoming Sophomores from 5 local high schools all experimenting and learning at Paradise Valley Community College for two weeks.
The kids lovingly called it "nerd camp".
I'm proud of my nerd...she had a great time!
They learned about pathogens, the human immune system, disease prevention and research, the human respiratory system, a respiratory disease outbreak, pipetting and gel electrophoresis (lab skills), virus DNA fingerprinting to a disease outbreak, food testing protocols, tracking environmental food contaminants from the source to the table and a few other things.
They also learned about the evolution of the moon, crater formations, meteor probability, precision versus accuracy, the standard measurement system, data collecting, projectile motion, energy and power, probability and failure rates as well as doing multiple (fun) experiments each day.
Whew...
Cool surprise, one of the 4 girls at the camp is Ella's good friend from school. Neither knew the other would be there.
There will be another STEM camp for incoming Juniors next summer.
Ella already said she wants to sign up!
She really responds to hands-on-learning, so much more than sitting in class and taking notes.
Lately there's been talk of incorporating the STEAM program into our local schools. (Science, Technology, Engineering, ART and Math). Yes! That sounds even better to me.
All photos except the first and last were taken by STEM instructors.