How might we stimulate third and fourth graders' passion and curiosity for STEM through an interactive camp created by high school mentors?
During summer 2019, One Stone students led the second annual three-day TINKER Camp, a One Stone STEM camp for third and fourth graders. During this free mentoring program for underserved youth across the Treasure Valley, 34 eager learners were paired with high school students for three full days of exploration, science activities and experiments, field trips, technology and engineering challenges, and mathematical application.
The One Stone student planning team had a strong desire to make this camp fun, inclusive, and inspire a deep curiosity and engagement in STEM that was accessible yet challenging. 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 tie dye lab coats, explore exothermic reactions with an “Elephant’s Toothpaste” experiment, learn the basics of coding with exploding dots and constructing binary code bracelets, problem solve by engineering Rube Goldberg machines, build potato powered batteries that could be used to uncover hidden messages in lights and even play a song! The teams also grew a curiosity for learning about states of matter that resulted in yummy root beer and tested their mathematical skills to win an enthusiastic game of water balloon battleship. LEGO empires were built and explored at the Discovery Center of Idaho along with explorations of space and physics in the exhibits, owl pellets were dissected at the MK Nature Center, and “junk drawer robots” were constructed and raced at the Reuseum. Every day students reflected on all their incredible connections made with each other alongside the new discoveries in STEM.
By the end of camp, everyone was buzzing with their appreciation and enthusiasm for the opportunity to engage with each other on STEM projects in such a fun way. We still hear stories of students trying their hands at DIY experiments inspired by TINKER at home!
Outcomes:
Reflections from parents:
100% of parents said they would recommend TINKER Camp to another family AND would sign their child up for future One Stone programming.
“We LOVE One Stone camp experiences and highly recommend them to our friends. Thank you One Stone!!”
“The interaction between my child and their buddy was fantastic! Syd went from not wanting to come to camp to not wanting to leave!”
“Through TINKER, my child has absolutely changed her outlook on STEM! Not only is she explaining the concepts but she’s explaining the WHY when she talks about the activities.”
“TINKER has renewed her interest in STEM and math. She now wants to have a science-themed birthday party!”
Reflections from guides:
“Learning to help and direct these younger children and perform as a leader was really empowering as a young adult.”
“My experience at Tinker was fun. It helped me learn patience and let me understand the fun and challenges of helping third and fourth graders. I also got to learn new material alongside the kids.”
“I learned about the power of a compromise and that everyone wants to be noticed.”
“As a guide, I learned patience with others, how to handle difficult situations and how to better work with others. These lessons will help me in my future.”
“I learned ways that science plays into everyday life and how there are ways to make it lots of fun. I will take these lessons and apply them by observing new ways science relates to all things.”
“I learned that I need to be more patient with people. This is going to help in the future because it was a good way to learn how to adapt, change, and stay calm in stressful situations.”
“I learned that showing enthusiasm toward something that my buddies weren't interested in helped them to open their minds and find ways to have fun. I can also use this to help myself find joy while doing things that don't appeal to me very much.”
