Thursday, March 3, 2016

STEM Summer Programs at UW


Energy Summer Institute students learn about temperature testing
on Prexy's Pasture

The UW campus isn’t just for college students during the summer. From May to July 2016, an estimated 600 middle- and high-school students will come to the University of Wyoming’s Laramie campus from all 23 counties across the state. Summer programs include the Healthcare Careers Summer Camp, Engineering Summer Program, Energy Summer Institute, Summer Research Apprentice Program, Women in Science, Summer High School Institute, Wyoming Energy Camp, and Upward Bound Math & Science. Most programs are offered at little or no cost to participants and serve students entering grades 6-12. 

Activity at a camp in conjunction
with the Teton Science School
Megan Candelaria coordinates a number of STEM programs for Wyoming students at UW through the new WYSTEM program. Megan grew up in Sundance, Wyoming. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degree in Math from UW, and is currently finishing a Ph.D. in Math Education here.

As the WYSTEM coordinator, Megan works to bring together groups on campus and throughout the state who do K-12 outreach, making sure students, parents, and teachers can take advantage of STEM learning opportunities. “Since last year, we’ve generated a list of the summer programs provided by UW. I also work directly with students, and I’m currently working with the Wyoming State Science Fair to provide opportunities for STEM education to all students. We also bring six to eight groups of middle- and high-school students to campus each semester to do STEM activities.”
Students visiting campus for a STEM activity event


A summer program alum herself, Megan describes a thrilling experience: “I attended one of the camps on this list. It’s probably one of the reasons I ended up coming to UW. I was part of the Weather class, and we actually got to go up in the flight research plane for the Atmospheric Sciences Department. We got to sit up front with the pilot and put our hands on the controls. The most excitingly terrifying thing ever!”

These programs are designed to capture student interest in STEM fields, and Megan underlines that this is vital to Wyoming’s future. “Building a STEM pipeline is really important to workforce development. We want to give our students the information and the motivation to continue to learn about STEM careers and hopefully go on to make Wyoming a better place.”
Activity at a camp in conjunction with the Teton Science School

Read on for a list of the diverse programs available at UW this summer:

Program Date
 
Program
5-Mar:State Math Counts
17-May:Women in Science
July 10-15:Health Careers Summer Camp - 10th/11th grade
July 17-22:Health Careers Summer Camp - 8th/9thth grade
July 24-29  Field Based Environmental Science at Spear-O-Wigwam Mountain Campus
June 12 - 17:Wyoming Energy Camp
June 12 - July 22:WY EPSCoR Summer Research Apprentice Program
June 13-July 21:Upward Bound
June 19 –June 24:Energy Summer Institute
June 19-25:Engineering Summer Program
June 21-23:Wyoming 4-H Showcase Showdown
June 5-25:High School Summer Institute
March 6-8:Wyoming State Science Fair
TBD:TACoS

1 comment:

  1. I am socially akward out-of-shape Pakistani guy and I want to make friends with Native Americans and win over Native women like the ones in your photos. How do I do so? I have Autism , social anxiety, ADHD, and depression so this makes it hard.

    ReplyDelete