In summer 2023, over 400 K-12 students engaged in Clarkson STEM programs at locations from the North Country to the lower Hudson Valley.
“Students and families need inspiring STEM programs all year long,” said Katie Kavanagh, Director of Clarkson University’s Institute for STEM Education (STEM Ed), “and summer is our busiest time. Every year, hundreds of middle and high school students benefit from Clarkson’s passionate teams of faculty, staff and students who collaborate to deliver creative, engaging summer STEM outreach.”
Clarkson’s Roller Coaster Camp attracted 120 students at 4 separate locations, as a part of IMPETUS (Integrated Math and Physics for Entry To Undergraduate STEM), funded by NYSED STEP. In camp, students applied math and data analysis to their own amusement parks, designed strategically with rides, concessions and services in the online Roblox-based Theme Park Tycoon 2 software with a goal to maximize profits while keeping customers happy. Students learned about the math and physics underlying rollercoaster engineering and designed their own ride from a blueprint all the way through a first rider experience on Clarkson’s Virtual Reality Roller Coaster. On July 12, over 25 staff and volunteers chaperoned the entire program to a full day of rides, games and food at Six Flags Great Escape in Queensbury, NY.
129 students spent a full week on Clarkson’s Potsdam campus in the Horizons program, with levels I, II and III serving 6th through 11th grades. During Horizons, campers learned about inclusion and sustainability, basic engineering principles, and STEM concepts. They created blueprints of sustainable and inclusive cities and learned critical thinking, problem-solving, and environmental awareness. Campers developed amusement park ideas in Horizons II and learned about sustainable urban development, physics, design principles, and inclusivity. In Horizons 3, campers collaborated to create an evacuation plan for hurricane survivors.
Young Scholars, a collaboration between STEM Ed and The Clarkson School (TCS), attracted 40 high school students to focus on entrepreneurship and developing original food truck concepts. In this STEM challenge, food truck models were designed to address some form of environmental, social, and economic challenge. Students used critical thinking and creativity skills to propose steps all people can take towards food conservation and waste reduction to help reduce negative impacts to the planet. Working individually and in small groups, students conducted research and made a final presentation. Young Scholars is designed to spark intellectual development and promote strong communication skills and develop cooperative problem solving.
Clarkson University mentors served students in first through eighth grades from four North Country school districts in the summer Extended Day Program. In July and August, Clarkson students visited several schools, running STEM enrichment activities with over 80 students. Students expanded their knowledge of engineering concepts and skills application, through hands-on experiences and team building exercises by exploring various ages of STEM development and the technological advances of each time period.
Observing the 2023 summer outreach season, Kavanagh said, “Clarkson’s excellence in STEM extends to our large and growing informal K-12 learning communities, and the results are apparent. Our aim is to instill the same passion we have for STEM in this next generation of leaders, and the impact is inspiring to see.”
