Middle-school students enrolled in an upcoming east Gainesville summer camp will be shooting for the stars, thanks to a grant by the National Science Foundation.
The Math and Science Summer Camp, sponsored by Santa Fe College’s East Gainesville Initiative, is a community-building educational program intended to teach underprivileged students the value of learning more about math and science.
Forty girls and boys will participate in the summer camp between July 12 and 17. Participating students were picked by teachers, community leaders and church groups for their academic achievements and good behavior in school, said Karen Cole-Smith, SFC’s head of the initiative.
UF is joining the program for the first time since SFC created it in 2002. The camp will be partially sponsored and taught by UF professors Stephen Eikenberry and Norman Fitz-Coy, who will introduce the astronomical curriculum with the financial backing of a grant from the NSF. Eikenberry’s involvement will add astronomy to the camp’s schedule, Cole-Smith said.
“These programs are here to introduce these children to the larger concepts of the world,” Eikenberry said. “[This includes] how we know what we know about the universe, as well as classes that teach life building skills.”
Days are split into two curricula: a math and science track during the morning and “life classes” in the afternoon, which include topics such as culinary arts, CPR certification and conflict resolution.
“Our goal is not to have a summer camp that is fun, but one that is instructional,” Cole-Smith said. “But we do want to show that science and math can be fun with some of the different classes we have planned.”
Some of the classes include building solar telescopes, visiting the Kika Silva Pla Planetarium at Santa Fe College and building pocket satellites, she said.
