How might we magnify third and fourth graders' passion for STEM through an interactive camp created by high school mentors?
In Summer 2018, One Stone students led the very first iteration of TINKER: A One Stone STEM Camp. A free mentoring program for underserved youth across the Treasure Valley, 35 third through fourth grade “Seedlings” were paired with high school “Mad STEMmists” for four full days of exploration, experiments, field trips, and connection related to science, technology, engineering and math.
The One Stone student planning team reclaimed the letters in STEM to plan engaging activities around the daily themes of Space (stars and planets), “True or false” (busting common STEM myths), Earth (animals and the environment), and Messy (wet, gooey, and untidy fun). Each day included a field trip exposing STEMmists and Seedlings to STEM community resources such as the TC Bird Planetarium at Capital High School, the Boise Watershed, Zoo Boise, the Reuseum, and Quinn’s Pond.
The week was jam-packed with design challenges and opportunities for young students to research and engage with new topics while building positive relationships with a high school mentor. Pairs worked together to create homemade planispheres to track the locations of stars in the night sky, learn the basics of binary coding using sidewalk chalk and dominoes, test which fruits and vegetables best conduct electricity, practice physics-in-motion with DIY marble runs, construct suitable habitats for imaginary animals, explore ecology near the Boise River, engineer robots out of items often banished to the “junk drawer,” design duct-tape boats that could withstand the weight of heavy stones, and build water balloon slingshots to measure force and distance.
By the end of camp, Seedlings were beaming with a newfound love of science, technology, engineering, and math, and eager to get their hands dirty with student-led projects at home.
Outcomes
Parent feedback:
“My daughter always loves anything that deals with learning... but working alongside an adventure buddy to problem solve and experiment taught her that it’s ok to be confused, to ask questions, to fail.”
Guide feedback:
“This camp helped me learn that there are always multiple approaches to solving a problem.”
“Tinker taught me how to work with children from all walks of life.”
“The camp was for 3rd and 4th graders but even I learned things like how to use binary code and find constellations in the sky! I also learned how to embrace creativity during all the S.T.E.M. activities.”
After Tinker Camp, high school guides reported higher levels of competency in resilience, patience, communication, flexibility, leadership, and optimism.
