The Morganton campus of the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics is offering a special summer camp for middle and high school students.
The Summer Accelerator program will run July 17-22 and is open to rising seventh- through 12th-grade students from any of North Carolina’s 18 westernmost counties, including the Qualla Boundary. Through the support of a grant from Dogwood Health Trust, attendance at the camp will be free.
The camp will be divided into four tracks, two each for rising seventh through ninth graders and for rising 10th through 12th graders, Margo Metzger, strategic communications and initiatives associate for the school, said.
Middle school students will have the opportunity to choose between forensics and robotics. In forensics, students will help solve a mystery using forensics and visit a local lab in “Unraveling a Mystery! A Forensics Investigation.” In the robotics challenge, students will build and code their own robot to complete a challenge. Metzger said students in the robotics track will be able to take their robot home with them at the end of the week.
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High school students will choose between tracks in human body systems or engineering. In “Pump it Up! An Exploration of Body Systems and the Role of Exercise,” students will use augmented reality to investigate the impact of exercise on the respiratory and circulatory systems. In the engineering track, students will use a 3D printer to design and build their own electric speedboat. Metzger said students in the engineering track will be able to take their speed boat home after the camp.
The school is committed to expanding opportunities for STEM education, not just for its students, but for those across the state, Metzger said. The school is committed to STEM education because of its interdisciplinary approach and the real-world value it provides students.
“(STEM) removes the traditional barriers separating the four disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics and integrates them into real-world, rigorous and relevant learning experiences for students,” she said.
The school will host a virtual question-and-answer session at 6:30 p.m. April 21. For a link to the session and a registration form for the camp, visit ncssm.edu/wncsummer. Only 15 students will be accepted for each track for a total of 60 students in the program. Spots are filled on a first-come, first-serve basis, and the deadline for application is May 1. Notifications of acceptance or wait list placement will be sent by May 9.
Students from the following counties are eligible: Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania and Yancey, as well as the Qualla Boundary.