The popular Westfield STEM Camp again welcomed students in grades 3-8 this summer, offering hands-on, problem-based learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
During the week-long, half-day sessions in July, STEM campers participated in four workshops among a selection of 12 courses, including the newly offered Solar Boat Racing, with campers exploring the world of renewable energy and engineering as they built their own solar-powered boat racer. Also, back by popular demand, was Scratch Programming, a workshop where students used Scratch, a programming interface developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), to create a computer-based game.
Other courses included CSI Forensics, Stop Motion Animation, Engineering Design Challenges, Robotics Explorations, Flight Engineering, Surviving a Disaster, Mind-Blowing Science, Makey Space, Mission Impossible, and DNA: Cracking the Code of Life.
“STEM activities promote a child's natural curiosity. They are given the opportunity to be inventive and collaborative as they learn to solve problems,” say camp co-directors Sean Bonasera and Laura Paiva. “We want all campers to develop a can-do attitude and see that they can design solutions and build things no matter what their age. We hope the exposure to our activities will encourage them to dive deeper into new STEM skills and concepts that will help them both in school and later in life.”
The courses are taught by Westfield Public Schools teachers with a passion for STEM education. Co-directors Bonasera and Paiva teach technology education and computer science technology, respectively, at Edison Intermediate School.
“All workshops are developed to provide fun, but meaningful, hands-on learning,” says Paiva.
