WMSI STEM camp Rocks Summer
A Summer Camp of Creative Problem Solving with White Mountain Science, Inc.
Marbles careened through a network of complicated loops of cardboard dangling from the ceiling. One of the instructors yelled “launch!” and more marbles were released down a complex roller coaster towards the ground below. They ultimately settled gently in their target: a plastic cup. This elaborate marble run was one of a host of projects designed and constructed during Maker Camp. Maker Camp is one of many programs the White Mountain Science, Inc. (WMSI) held this year.
Since its inception in 2013, WMSI has served New Hampshire’s north country by providing the many tools of STEM to hundreds of students across this region. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, math. An essential branch of WMSI’s outreach has been a unique on-site summer camps program. They provide up to week-long immersions in all aspects of STEM for students in the 5-to-13-year-old age range. WMSI held nine camps throughout the months of June, July, and August 2018. The themes include Robotics, Game Design, Coding, and Tools of a Maker.
WMSI Camps
WMSI camps are run by trained lead instructors, and they are assisted by a dedicated corps of young instructors as well. Youth instructors are largely local north country high-school students. They are committed to working side-by-side with campers on their STEM projects throughout the course of a camp week. One such project was engineering a Lego robot to crawl a slack line up a tree to “rescue” a stuck stuffed animal. The campers at Robot Camp spent nearly an entire day on this challenge. They perfected their builds to ascend along the line. In addition, some students even added a motor-controlled grabber to retrieve the wayward animal. Each new hands-on project that campers take on through the week highlights the engineering process of designing, testing, and re-designing This, in turn, illuminates the value of perseverance in a project-based setting.
At WMSI, a perceived failure is not a failure at all. Rather, it is an opportunity and a challenge to redesign and continue tinkering. With the wide array of tools in a maker’s toolbox, it makes tinkering fun. If a student is unable to engineer their robot to crawl up a slackline with their first prototype, or their home-built wind turbine requires a slight tweak in design or their code is not functioning as originally intended, an instructor is there to help them through the iterative design process and empower campers to continue their engineering beyond the scope of camp week.
2018 Season
Ultimately, summer camps were an overwhelming success this year. Enrollment of 104 campers amounted to the highest summer roster yet, which leaves WMSI seemingly bursting at the seams. In true WMSI fashion, this presented not a problem, but an opportunity to expand size and capabilities. They plan to relocate to a new facility nestled on the banks of the Ammonoosuc in Littleton. The move, slated to occur in October, will sizably increase WMSI’s Maker space and allow for new and scaled-up programs. It will also pave the way for a wider WMSI reach across northern New Hampshire and beyond.
About WMSI
White Mountain Science, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit that believes in education both inside, and outside the classroom. They believe that by providing these Summer Camps and After-school workshops on STEAM education, they will be building the future Engineers, Scientists, Explorers and Designers of the next generation. For more information, contact wchurch@whitemountainscience.org or visit whitemountainscience.org.
The images, and content contained within this article appear courtesy of the above mentioned organization. The content appears in part, or in whole, as a submission from the public relations department of the organization. For information on how you may be able to submit to our website for community events or press release news posts such as these, please visit our community bulletin board and public relations sections on our policy page.