熊猫在线视频

Each summer, hundreds of students from Anchorage and Mat-Su sign up for a week-long summer camp with UAA鈥檚 College of Engineering (CoEng) Summer Engineering Academies. The week-long camps are geared toward students from third to 12th grade, provide hands-on instruction in STEM, and are designed to encourage local youth to explore the field of engineering. Like last year, this year鈥檚 camps are being hosted online and offer campers some brand new programming.

UAA鈥檚 Summer Engineering Academies also welcomed brand new major sponsors, ConocoPhillips 熊猫在线视频 and MTA 熊猫在线视频 Foundation. The support of sponsors makes it possible to keep the cost of the camps affordable for all students wishing to participate, allowing youth across 熊猫在线视频 to discover a diverse range of topics from robotics and computer programming to building structures and engineering fundamentals.

鈥淲ith the virtual camps, we have a wider reach across 熊猫在线视频,鈥� said Joe Selmont, UAA Summer Engineering Academies鈥� director. 鈥淲e've had participants from Unalaska, Fairbanks and the Mat-Su. In that sense, virtual camps really open up the possibilities for kids to participate from all across the state.鈥� In addition to the camp's broader reach and participation, he said they shortened the normally six-and-a-half-hour camp day to four-and-a-half hours and provided a mandatory 鈥渘o-screen鈥� 30-minute lunch to combat Zoom fatigue for both the campers and instructors.

鈥淲e鈥檝e really been able to hone in on the individual experience of the campers,鈥� said Selmont. Now that students and instructors have a year鈥檚 worth of virtual learning under their belts, the program is better equipped to engage students on a virtual platform, and they can provide a more tailored experience.

Kenrick Mock, dean of CoEng and professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, led the Minecraft Coding camp, a new program for middle and high schoolers attending the Summer Engineering Academies. He said he was excited for the opportunity to add something new to the program lineup 鈥� especially a program he knows many kids enjoy in their free time.

鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to have a platform that the kids are already familiar with 鈥� it鈥檚 something totally new 鈥� and it was a good hook,鈥� said Mock. 鈥淭his particular platform is based on Microsoft Code Connection and allows the students three different ways to write a program. Which is great for students who鈥檝e done robotics and other block-based coding, like scratch; this program is a really nice one to follow because it allows them to progress on the skills they have learned in earlier camps.鈥�

Introducing youth across 熊猫在线视频 to the possibilities of careers in engineering is the camp's primary goal, and one of the most significant advantages to providing a virtual camp is the wider reach CoEng has to introduce students across the state to STEM.

鈥淐onocoPhillips has been a proud sponsor of the University of 熊猫在线视频 Foundation for more than 40 years, supporting important educational programs, including engineering,鈥� said Erec Isaacson, president of ConocoPhillips 熊猫在线视频. 鈥淲e believe strongly that educating and providing opportunities for 熊猫在线视频鈥檚 youth will strengthen and enhance our state.鈥�

Both Selmont and Mock echoed Isaacson鈥檚 statement saying that UAA鈥檚 Summer Engineering Academies are a fun and engaging experience for youth wanting to explore STEM and provide them an opportunity to see if this is a possible career path for them later in life.

鈥淭he engineering program is an important part of our community,鈥� Isaacson said. 鈥淲e are pleased to contribute to UAA's Summer Engineering Academies, supporting children in their exposure to critical thinking and hands-on STEM programming.鈥�