Robotics and Engineering Summer Camps Poised to Encourage Next Generation of Manufacturers

It's that time of the year when summer camps take center stage. Summer camps are a perfect hook to get students excited and interested in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM). For a number of years, FLATE and HCC has partnered with Nuts, Bolts, and Thingamajigs (NBT) to offer robotics camps for middle and high school students. NBT is committed to supporting individuals and organizations to enhance their passion for manufacturing and related educational/career pathways. The camps have served as an effective vehicle in sparking students' interest in STEM, more importantly showcasing the integration of STEM and robotics in high-tech manufacturing settings and educating them about rewarding educational and career pathways in manufacturing.
This year FLATE is offering four robotics and engineering camps. Camps season kicks off with a 'Girls Only' offering from June 3-7. The intro camp for boys and girls will be held June 10-14; the intermediate camp will be held June 17-21 and the high school engineering and technology camp will be held June 24-28. Cost for the intro and intermediate camp is $175; the high school camp is $200 per week. Camps are held Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will be held at Hillsborough Community College in Brandon. More information about the HCC-FLATE camps and registration is posted at http://fl-ate.org/programs/summer-camps. You can also contact Desh Bagley, camp coordinator, at 813.253.7838, or at dbagey5@hccfl.edu.
In addition of the robotics and engineering camps at HCC, FLATE supports camps at other partner institutions around Florida over the past ten years. Below are some camps going on this year.  The Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) is hosting a number of robotics camps at Ocala and at Pensacola. The intro camps at Ocala and at Pensacola are for rising 7th and 8th graders will be held June 3-6, and the intermediate camp for rising 8th and 9th graders will be held June 17-20. Cost per session at both locations is $170 and will be held 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information and to register for a camp(s) visit www.ihmc.us.
North Florida Community College is hosting several camps throughout the summer.  The Mechatronics Camps for high school students will be held June 11-15, the Engineering Technology camps for high school students will be held June 18-22. Camp season will conclude with week-long robotics camps for middle school students from July 9011. All camps will be held 9-3:30 p.m. at the NFCC Career & Technical Education Center Building 13 and are free of charge.  To register and/or get more information contact Bill Eustace at 8450.973.1670, or at eustaceb@nfcc.edu.
In Pinellas County, St. Petersburg College is offering a number of STEM-TEC camps. The camps provide hands-on activities across various industries and is focused on workplace readiness training, teambuilding, and job shadowing in STEM-related fields. More information at www.spc.edu. Palm Beach State College is also offering a number of STEM programs for middle and high school students this summer, with scholarships available for eligible campers. Email Becky Mercer at mercerb@palmbeachstate.edu for more information. Lake Sumter State College (LSSC) is offering two 4-day sessions of Energy Camps this summer for high school students. One session will be offered on each of their two main campuses.  These camps are free, and this summer will cover a range of alternative energy challenge-focused activities.  Last summer, LSSC hosted an amazing Solar Energy Camp and we look forward to seeing their expansion to a broader “energy” camp and also to their second campus.
To help new organizations get started with Lego EV3 camps, FLATE provides a learning challenge-focused curriculum for a 5 day, or shorter camp. The camp curriculum is available for FREE on FLATE’s wiki.  The curriculum contains handouts, presentations, video clips, robot challenges, and teacher resources. In addition, FLATE has two free guide books with best practice for starting and running successful, fun and learning camps.  One booklet is focused on using Lego EV3 robots and the second is aimed at high school students and is more integrated engineering technologies focused in which student build a programmable robotic arm during the camp week.
STEM focused summer camps, when implemented thoughtfully, can be fun, educational and inspiring. With the negative perception of manufacturing still a barrier to recruiting your talent into the manufacturing pipeline, these “intensively focused” camps can help students learn more about what they are interested in or, perhaps not interested. Working and interacting hands-on with technology, coding and competing can provide a positive impact and show students that they can have success in STEM careers. Don’t hesitate to contact FLATE if you have questions about any of these resources. Contact Dr. Marilyn Barger (barger@fl-ate.org).

No comments :

Post a Comment