Duke Summer Science Camp for Teens
Memphis, TN, May 26, 2010 -- To
address the growing national concern that fewer high
school graduates are interested in science and
technology careers, The Hartwell Foundation officially
announced that it will fund
Duke University $1.3
million over three years to establish a summer science
camp for teens in grades 8, 9, and 10.
The Duke Science Camp,
Summer
Science Sleuths, is structured to
provide a summer experience that will be fun and gets
kids to become engaged in science. The Camp will seek to
make a life-changing difference early in the lives of
young campers to spark a desire to follow an academic
pathway that will lead to a lifelong involvement in
science.
The camp will reside on the Duke
University campus in Durham, NC, and will operate as a
two week summertime program that will leverage core
resources of the University, the Medical Center, and the
diverse technical skills of its faculty, including
Hartwell
Fellows and
Hartwell Investigators. The Science Camp will
provide a nurturing environment where girls and boys can
connect with peers to share learning experiences in
science. Camp activities will be designed to create
excitement for science by making it fun --- providing
attendees with a learning experience that will not only
keep them engaged and eager to return the following
summer, but will also show them the path to choosing a
high school curriculum appropriate for a career in
science. The Science Camp plans to accept
its first class of twenty rising 8th graders (completed
grade 7) in June, 2011. The Camp plans to take another
twenty rising or returning 9th graders in 2012 and
another twenty rising or returning 10th graders (for a
total of 60 campers) in 2013. Eligible students will be
selected based on their demonstrated curiosity and
intelligence, their apparent ambivalence to a science
career while having the potential to become engaged in
science, and a teacher’s recommendation describing why
the Summer Science Camp would make a difference for the
candidate. Returning campers will be given priority. All
selected campers will receive full scholarships to
participate in the camp. Program elements
of the Science Camp will emphasize hands-on and
inquiry-based teaching, teamwork, problem-solving and
fun; where science concepts are embedded in
science-related activities like solving a Science
Mystery: a biomedical problem. "We want
to give teens a ‘wow’ experience that we hope makes them
say ‘this is for me!’" said Christine Adamczyk, Director
of the Science Camp program and Executive Director of the
Duke Center for
Science Education . "This is not an academic camp. It
will be fun, and the fun will be rooted in science."
"The primary mission of
Summer
Science Sleuths is to
inspire American middle school students who have
scholastic potential and a natural curiosity, but are
not yet on a path to choosing a science career," said
Frederick Dombrose, Ph.D., President of the Hartwell
Foundation.
The Duke Center for Science Education is dedicated to
fostering collaboration among Duke faculty, students and
staff interested in educating students from kindergarten
to graduate school. The center promotes
interdisciplinary science education research, service
learning, civic engagement, and community outreach in
science.
The primary mission of The Hartwell
Foundation, located in Memphis, Tenn., is to inspire
innovation and achievement by granting awards for
cutting-edge biomedical research that has the potential
to benefit children of the United States. The gift to
the Duke Center for Science Education is The Hartwell
Foundation’s first initiative in supporting a science
education program.
For more information about the Summer Science Camp,
write
Christine.Adamczyk@duke.edu.
|
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Christine Adamczyk, Director of
the Duke Summer Science Camp (foreground) and Rochelle
D. Schwartz-Bloom, Ph.D., Director of the Duke Center
for Science Education
2010 Hartwell
Fellow Leah Johnson, Ph.D.,
with mentor Gabriel P. Lopez, Ph.D.,
Duke University
2009 Hartwell Fellow
Carlos Goller, Ph.D., with mentor
(R) Patrick C. Seed, MD, Ph.D., Duke University
2008 Hartwell Fellow Louise Rogg,
Ph.D., with mentor William Steinbach, MD, Duke
University
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