Children to unlock potential at STEAM summer camp
13-y-o Bog Walk student who built Bluetooth radio gets free scholarship
Published:Saturday | July 8, 2023 | 12:10 AMShanel Lemmie/Gleaner Writer
Further pushing the need for science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM) among Jamaica’s youths, Jamaican ed-tech company, STEAMHouse, is offering the STEAMMakerSummer Camp.
STEAMHouse CEO Godiva Golding told GoodHeart, “STEAMHOUSE believes in improving the outlook and outcomes of students through early exposure to science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics and we know there’s no better way than to through a camp, instead of having them exposed to it every so often, we have two months of incredible, exploration and self-discovery through STEAM.”
While the programme does attract a cost, Golding says allowing kids from all backgrounds opportunities in STEAM is integral.
“We are offering some fully free slots to students who show a genuine interest in this sort of thing. It all started with this one 13-year-old from Bog Walk who built a Bluetooth radio out of just spare parts. His name is Tyreke Pratt and honestly, we hope to find more kids like him to give scholarships to because I think it’s so important to give kids who otherwise wouldn’t have access to opportunities in STEAM that will set them up for success later on.”
The scholarships include boarded full access to the STEAMMaker camp as well as tools and equipment like a Multimeter, wire kit, soldering station, switches, Bluetooth module, charging and power module, OLED display screen, a claw, motors, wire cutter/stripper set, led, breadboard, microcontroller and sensors, characterised by Golding as ‘all the things they’d need to continue building in STEM’.
The programme, which is a collaboration with global STEM education franchise Bricks for Kidz, aims to equip children ages seven to 15 with the fundamentals of science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics as well as the basics of artificial intelligence, green tech, art tech and robotics.
Bricks For Kidz is a Montreal, Canada-based STEM company that focuses on the educational enrichment of children through the use of LEGO building blocks.
Speaking on the crossover, Golding said that her first interaction with Bricks For Kidz founder Audrey Arthurs was ‘a true meeting of the minds’.
Golding went on, “You know great minds truly do think alike, Bricks4Kids has such a unique way of enticing young learners into robotics and they are just as passionate as we are about fostering technical skills in our youth, so we decided it would be a no brainer to incorporate Bricks4Kids into our STEAM Engine.”
CAMP’S FOCUS
The STEAMMaker Summer Camp will be held at The University of the West Indies, Mona campus from July 10 to August 18 and will, through a host of activities and excursions, focus on fostering creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, the camp promises to provide an unforgettable educational adventure.
“It will be a whole new realm of exploration and scientific development, campers will be equipped with a vaster array of knowledge such as virtual programming languages, high-level robotics, the scientific method and proper experimentation. So it will be a far larger scope on the already wide gambit of resources we’ve introduced so far,” Golding beamed.
“In this fast pace and technological era it’s crucial to instil our children with the knowledge they’ll need to be successful in the modern world as we become more dependent on technology, at the STEAMMaker Quest SummerCamp we hope to give students the inspiration and self es-STEAM required to be ahead of the curb in the STEAM-based society our world is heading towards.”
The camp will cost US$200 for one week, US$360 for two weeks, US$510 for three weeks, US$640 for four weeks, and US$750 for all five weeks.