SEEK (Summer Engineering Experience for Kids) Camp opens to nearly 300 DPS students

DETROIT - Detroit Public Schools’ students in grades 3-5 are engaging in hands-on learning through a three-week summer camp titled SEEK (Summer Engineering Experience for Kids).

The camp opened on July 16, 2012 with nearly 300 DPS students and will extend through August 3, 2012 at Bates Academy. Offering the award-winning “A World In Motion” program curriculum, SEEK camp aims to bring science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to life.

Roughly 50 collegiate mentors from the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), who are undergraduate engineering and/or mathematics students, will provide the instruction.

This is the first time in the program’s history that the SEEK Camp has been offered in Detroit. Students will participate in competitions during the camp and take part in an awards ceremony each Friday to showcase their work.

There are 256 students total from 26 DPS schools currently registered for the camp: 90 third-graders, 98 fourth-graders and 68 fifth-graders.

Students attending the camp are from the following schools: Academy of the Americas, Ann Arbor Trail, Bagley, Bates, Bethune, Bow, Ronald Brown, Burton, Chrysler, Dixon, FLICS, Golightly, Gompers, JR King, Ludington, MacDowell, Marquette, Murphy, Noble, Oakman, Pasteur, Robeson-Malcolm X, Schulze, Brenda Scott, Thirkell, and Charles Wright.

The SEEK Camp is an Office of Mathematics Education Program led by Executive Director Irene Norde, Ph.D.

Program partners include the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE); Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE); The Dow Chemical Company (DOW); Delphi; General Electric (GE); Ford Motor Company Fund; Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC); and Detroit Auto Dealers Association.

About AWIM
The A World In Motion® (AWIM) curriculum joins together teachers, students, and industry volunteers in an exploration of physical science while addressing essential mathematic and scientific concepts and skills.

Industry volunteers play an essential role in motivating the next generation to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math by bringing their everyday experiences into a classroom-right in their community.

Benchmarked to the national standards, each of the AWIM activities incorporate the laws of physics, motion, flight and electronics into age-appropriate hands on activities that reinforce classroom STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) curriculum.

Engaging, fun activities that SEEK Camp students will take part in include:

Gravity Cruiser
Student teams design and construct a vehicle that is powered by gravity. A weighted lever connected to an axle by string rotates on its fulcrum; as the weight descends it causes the axle attached to the string to rotate, propelling the cruiser forward. Concepts explored include potential and kinetic energy, friction, inertia, momentum, diameter, circumference, measurement, graphing, and constructing a prototype.

Glider
Students explore the relationship between force and motion and the effects of weight and lift on a glider. Students learn the relationships between data analysis and variable manipulations, and the importance of understanding consumer demands. The glider activity culminates in a book-signing event where each design team presents its prototype and the class presents its manuscripts to Mobility Press "representatives" and members of the local community.

JetToy
Students make balloon-powered toy cars that meet specific performance criteria like; travels far, carries weight, or goes fast. Jet propulsion, friction, air resistance and design are the core scientific concepts students explore in this challenge.

Source: A World in Motion
http://www.awim.org/curriculum/