ASU students are learning how to prepare lessons and be counselors to middle school students at the ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp, which started Sunday and ends July 24.
There will be 48 students — from sixth to eighth grade — at the residential camp, and it’s free for those who were academically gifted enough to attend the camp and showed a financial need.
“These are underrepresented middle school students across the state … they don’t have financial resources,” said Patricia Smith, coordinator for K-12 Outreach at the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering.
She said some activities the children get to participate in include a field trip to the Challenger Space Center and a tour of the Global Institute of Sustainability.
“They’re doing a tour of the solar panels on campus,” Smith said.
The camp’s theme is sustainability, and the children also get to work with professors from the Biodesign Institute.
One of the most important parts of the camp is when Bernard Harris, a veteran astronaut, visits the children.
“He’s going to have breakfast with the children, Smith said. “Breakfast is going to be followed by hands-on activities.”
She said there would be a contest among the children to build a raft out of aluminum foil and straws to see which one could withstand the weight of pennies without sinking.
Smith said she believes this camp is a good experience for both ASU students and the middle school students.
“I think it’s important for them to have these interactions [with] the younger children … I think there’s rewards for both of them,” Smith said.
She said ASU students can serve as role models and encourage kids to go to college.
Brett LaFave, an African and African American studies senior with a minor in mathematics, is one of the counselors at the summer camp.
“Right now I’m looking at going into education. Working summer camps is kind of a nice fit for me,” LaFave said.
He said that this will be the third camp he’s worked at this summer.
LaFave said his duties as a counselor are to “ensure that the campers develop in their education [and] … strengthen their interest in math and science.”
Erin Frisk, a sustainability doctorate student, is the curriculum specialist and lead instructor for the camp.
“I’ll be running most of the lessons,” Frisk said.
She said since sustainability is a fairly new topic, she had to create most of the lesson plans from scratch.
“This will be the first time that we’re trying [the lessons] all together with one group of students,” Frisk said.
She said she has been involved with a sustainability residential program, which included high school and middle school students, in the past.
Frisk said she thinks the camp is important for ASU.
“I think in a lot of ways, ASU is trying to move forward with sustainability,” she said. “I also think it’s important … [for ASU] to be involved with the community around it.”
Reach the reporter at reweaver@asu.edu
