Summer 2007 may be gone, but it isn’t forgotten – especially by a number of Confluence students who were awarded scholarships to attend three different summer camps as part of the pre-collegiate programs at the University of Missouri – Rolla. Students went to Robotics Camp, where they worked on programming robots; “It’s a Girl Thing” which encouraged girls going into 7th and 8th grades to examine possible careers in math, science, and technology; and Aerospace Camp, where they participated in space flight simulations, launched model rockets, and designed their own mission patches.
Kahla Henry, 8th Grader at Old North, summed up her experiences: “The robotics camp I went to at Rolla University was so much fun that I would love to go again. At this camp I met lots of new people- kids from Confluence Academy Walnut Park campus and some kids from different schools and different parts of Missouri”
“At the camp we were placed into 15 different groups of three. Every group of three built a robot made out of legos. We spent about 9 hours for 2 days programming our robot to travel through mazes and follow lines that we created. On the third day we were preparing our robot for the competition. At this time we were having problems with the robot because it was falling apart, and we had to reprogram it. This was very frustrating for us. At the end we pulled it together, and our robot won first place as the fastest robot to go through the maze.”
“Even though I was so excited to have won first place, I was even more excited by the opportunity to sleep in a dorm room. To me the dorm rooms were so amazing. I just loved the bathrooms, the rooms and the beds. “said Kahla in conclusion. She was not alone in admiring the dorm accommodations. Students at the other two camps also really liked their rooms - especially the mini-fridges in each room.
Rachel Turner, 8th Grader at Old North, called her experience at Aerospace Camp a “thriller.”She particularly enjoyed the water rocket launchers, but her favorite part was “the E-Mission, or the NASA Mission.” She tells us that her team was “given a mission by NASA – there were three stations called Crisis management, Radiation, and Life-Support…All the teams had to work together and communicate with each other to keep the astronauts alive.” All the astronauts lived, but there were some challenging problems to solve together to make that happen. Rachel sums it up thus:”Overall I learned that you don’t just get to the moon and sleep You have to be prepared for anything and you have to communicate and respect your teammates because you never know if your life might depend on them.”
Elizabeth O’Leary, 8th grader at Old North, echoed Rachel’s sentiments. To Elizabeth, “the saddest part was when our time was over and I was back on the road to St. Louis. This experience,” she continues, ”is one I will never forget. If you don’t like science,” she says, ”this camp will change your mind.” Maurice Murray, 7th grader at Walnut Park, claimed that his summer experience at Rolla was ”the greatest adventure I have ever had!” Maurice is telling everyone he knows that he wants to go to college there.
Finally, Kae’Shaun Woodfork , 8th Grader at Old North, even made the July 8th edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in a story in the Metro section about “It’s A Girl Thing.”Kae’Shaun’s picture was prominently featured as she worked with a Rolla student to figure out why a “candle “would not work. The story’s headline? “GIRLS EMBRACE INNER GEEK AT SCIENCE CAMP”
We hope even more of our students will be able to participate in these programs next year. They are a tremendous opportunity…and you can’t forget those mini-fridges!