Math and Science Summer Camp

This year the WIRE Math and Science Camp celebrated 10 years! The WIRE participants explored the STEM fields of astronomy, geological sciences, physics, and artificial intelligence. This year we partnered with the Dorothy McGinnis Reading Center, which allowed some participants to be tutored in reading. WIRE was all about creativity as the participants wrote their own stories. To top it all off, the program initiated the WIRE Chess Club. The summer concluded with its annual WIRE Student Symposium, where the participants showcased what they had learned this year during camp. 

Last summer, the WIRE program introduced the concept of the Arts as we STEAMED Forward! The WIRE participants explored the many STEM aspects of music. They had the opportunity to listen, learn, play, and even dance to music. This allowed them to understand how music plays a role in STEM. In addition to music, the WIRE program partnered with the Michigan Department of Transportation's TRACS program to study Civil Engineering. The participants designed and built bridges and learned about traffic safety. 
 

We have finally returned back to campus after a long 18 months at home. The WIRE program partnered with the Mallinson Institute for Science Education’s Pathways Program during week two for activities on Water Quality. They participants learned about different aspects of water quality from erosion management to macroinvertebrates. During this session, the WIRE team hosted two guest speakers, child prodigies, Caleb Anderson and Dorothy Jean Tillman aka “DororthyJeanius”, both child prodigy’s who are in the STEM field. Caleb joined us virtual to speak about his journey in STEM and Dorothy Jeanius visited WMU with her STEAM Leadership team, to lead activities with the participants. 

During the Summer of 2020, the students explored the areas of food science and space in coordination with black scientist George Washington Carver and mathematician Katherine Johnson. Partnered with the Institute of Food Technologies (IFT) and incorporating the Feeding Tomorrow curriculum, students had the opportunity to explore activities that showed a different side of science and grew their own vegetables through the concept of an urban garden. 

Each student was provided a tomato or pepper plant and the proper materials to begin their urban garden. In addition to growing their vegetables, they delved deeper into food science by conducting experiments geared towards learning the various aspects of how foods play a role in science. Students grew a potato plant, discovered the difference between organic and processed tomatoes, created art using spices, and learned the importance of food packaging. In addition to studying food science, the student had the chance to explore the phases of the moon, rockets, and how astronauts prepared food in space. 

During Summer 2019, the students explored different aspects of Chemistry. This was the first year that the WIRE team incorporated themes into the program. Students learned about forensic chemistry, water chemistry, and the periodic table. In addition to the science curriculum, they focused on basic math concepts for understanding. Each Friday, the students took a field trip to learn about the different colleges on WMU's campus. They visited the College of Aviation and Engineering. At the College of Aviation, the students learned all about planes, and some of them had the opportunity to even sit in the planes.  At the College of Engineering, the students learned about building structures that can withstand earthquakes, making paper in paper engineering department, and learning about solar cars.