Students show the roller coasters they built in the ‘Engineering Design’ course.
WEST ORANGE, NJ — The first Engineering Explorations Summer Camp, held July 9 through 27 at West Orange High School, was considered a success by instructors, students and parents alike.
“I was beyond pleased with Engineering Explorations,” parent Tracey Palmer said. “STEM concepts were presented and applied in a practical yet captivating manner such that my two sons remained engaged and excited about STEM. Engineering Explorations is an awesome enrichment program that I would highly recommend.”
Students from the ages of 8 to 15 who participated in the Engineering Explorations STEM camp learned various disciplines in a fun and exciting environment. Students learned STEM principles with innovative hands-on projects like a marble run, water-powered rockets and solar-powered fans in “Foundations of STEM”; solar-powered cars, model skyscrapers, flashlights and roller coasters in “Engineering Design”; and were able to design their own T-shirts, magnets and stickers in “3D Prototyping and Graphic Design.”
In addition, students fabricated alarm circuits, robotic circuits, and learned Arduino programming in “Robotics: Fabrication and Programming.” Students enjoyed the summer weather each day during their “technology recess” when they got to fly quadcopter drones, drive RC cars, race RC boats, play vintage video games and examine the latest technologies like virtual reality.
“My son loved the virtual reality games, flying the drones, and racing the RC cars and boats,” parent Elliott Williams said. “I loved that camp challenged my son with unique STEM projects you don’t see at other camps, and also had him complete an engineering portfolio.”
“My son loved the three-week program,” parent Fatou Mybaye said. “He was challenged daily and had to use his critical and analytical skills daily to complete his projects.”
“I was very happy with all the positive feedback on the camp,” said Ryan DelGuercio, camp founder and technology and engineering supervisor at West Orange High School. “Our goal is to provide students with rigorous STEM content through hands-on learning, while at the same time making camp fun with the many different activities in our ‘technology recess.’ After all, it’s summer and kids need to have fun.”
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