Marquette's College of Engineering welcomes kids for Summer Academy

For more information on the camps, call (414) 288-6720 or email engineering@marquette.edu.

Children as young as six years old will get a taste of college life this summer as Marquette University’s College of Engineering offers its annual Summer Academy.  The “camps” offered throughout the summer help develop future leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The Summer Academy uniquely engages grade school through high school students as well as educators and parents by showing participants how creative thinking combined with the sciences, technology, engineering and math skills leads to true innovation.

“This is another alternative to the traditional summer camp,” said Dr. Jon Jensen, associate dean in the College of Engineering.  “By using hands-on experiences, we are getting young kids and adults interested in engineering with concepts that are easy to understand. Believe it or not, many of the kids are finding out that engineering can be fun! Hopefully this will encourage increased participation in science, technology, engineering and math courses and fields of work.”

These programs will be offered on campus this summer for participants of varying ages.  Photo opportunities are available.

• Robotics Engineering for ages 8-12
  June 11 – 15, 9 a.m. – noon and July 9 – 13, 1 – 4 p.m.
Students will learn the fundamentals of designing, building and programming LEGO Mindstorms RCX robots.

• Robotics Engineering with the NXT for ages 12-18
  June 11 - 15, 1 – 4 p.m. and June 18 – 22, 9 a.m. – noon
Students will learn about the world of robots through designing, building and programming the new LEGO Mindstorms NXT robots.

• T.O.Y.S. - Teach Our Youth Strategies for ages 6-10 June 18 – 19, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Students will be introduced to basic physics and chemistry principles using toys.

• Engineering for Young Women for ages 13 -18
  June 18 – 22, 1 – 4 p.m.
Young women will work together to experience the fun, challenge, and excitement of engineering. Engineering will be presented as a positive force in improving the quality of life for all and encourage further coursework in engineering.

• Polymers: The World of Plastics for ages 10-15
  June 20 – 21, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Students will be actively engaged in physical and inquiry science using plastics. Caution: students will be working with some ooey-gooey materials.

• Robotics for Educators
  June 25 – 28, 8 a.m. – noon
K-12 teachers will learn about the world of robots through designing, building and programming LEGO Mindstorms RCX and NXT robots. They will also learn how to successfully integrate educational robotics into a class or club at their school.

• Engineering for Young Minds for ages 6 – 9
  July 9 – 13, 9 a.m. – noon
Students as young as six will learn basic engineering design principles as they build bridges of pasta, towers of K'Nex, balloon-powered cars, electrical circuits, robots and more. Each student will receive an electric circuits kit to continue his or her investigations.

For more information on the camps, call (414) 288-6720 or email engineering@marquette.edu.

To media: there will be great photo opportunities during all sessions of the Summer Academy.  Please contact Anne Broeker in the Office of Marketing and Communication for best times to attend at (414) 288-0286.