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Kids learn forensics, robotics at UD camp
12:27 p.m., Aug. 7, 2006--Sixty youngsters in grades 4-7 learned about forensic science, robotics and the creation of multimedia presentations during a two-week summer camp run by the New Arc Academy at the University of Delaware from July 24-Aug. 4. The camp, which focuses on different themes every year, has become so popular that a new weeklong session for students in grades 7 and 8 was introduced this year and scores of applicants were still turned away. “It fills up pretty quickly, so we turn away a lot of kids every year,” Catey Clark, camp instructor and science teacher at Gauger Cobbs Middle School in Newark, said. “This camp has been really cool. It's all of the fun things about teaching without grading and following a curriculum.” During the two-week camp, the children learned how to assemble and program a robotic device, explored the world of forensic science, created and edited digital video, disassembled a computer and created web pages. “I think it's a really fun class,” Eric, 10, said. “Just the fact that you get to do hands-on activities. You never know what's coming up next. I enjoyed the robots the most.” Sara, 11, said she enjoyed the camp because she learned more than she would have learned in a formal school setting. “I learned about robots, high-tech crimes, auto accidents, blood spatters, and we got to take home our own DNA,” she said. “Our teacher is really cool, and I made a lot of friends.” The youngsters received lessons from several experts, including UD's Public Safety officers, Delaware State troopers and New Castle County police officers. During one session, the students learned about fingerprints and then had their own prints imprinted on cards by UD police officers Marvin Clark and Jeffrey Gates. “It's very fun because we got to do different things every single day,” Sydnee, 9, said. “The robot experience was fun because it lifted me. I was up maybe a foot. My favorite was robotics because we got to make robots come to life.” The camp for older students, which will be held from August 7-11, will focus on the design and assembly of multiple control units of a robot and programming in Flash. For more information, visit [www.udel.edu/oet/naa/index.html]. Article by Martin Mbugua |
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