SFC’s summer STEM camp

A camp for the curious

Students at STEM camp engaged in hands on activities including digital game design

If there ever was a camp for youngsters who want to know how and why things work, it must be the one at the Charles R. and Nancy V. Perry Center for Emerging Technologies hosted by Santa Fe College (SFC).

Funded through the Perkins Initiatives, the weeklong day camp focuses on and encourages rising ninth graders to pursue studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).  Over a dozen students from around Alachua County, including at least four expected to enter Santa Fe High School, took part in the hands-on experiments and observations.

Lined up like a science extravaganza, students did everything from an archaeological dig to setting off rockets.

Retired SFC Professor Linda Nichols, who helped conduct the camp, said the Perry Center in Alachua was an excellent venue for summer STEM camp.

“I look at this place as a temple to science,” she said, adding, “And if we want to excite children about science, we have to engage them in it, and this is the perfect place to do that.”

The rising ninth graders learned how to measure the speeds of fish in an aquarium using pre-measured grid paper as a backdrop, recording them with high definition cameras and then analyzing the video.

They also put together clues from a mock crime scene and conducted DNA analysis using the center’s laboratories and equipment.  Nichols said the students learned about the ways in which DNA is processed and “ran a few gels.”  As a memento of their DNA experiments, each of the youngsters made a necklace containing their own DNA structure.

A science and technology camp wouldn’t be complete without rockets and robots, and these students had the opportunity to experiment with both during the camp held from June 20 through June 24.

They rounded out the week’s activities with a trip on Friday to Marineland on U.S. Highway A1A between St. Augustine Beach and Flagler Beach.