College of Engineering Summer Programs Engage Middle, Junior High and High School Students

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Students in the Explore Engineering Program learn engineering skills through hands-on projects.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – This summer, students from 6^th to 12^th grade participating in the University of Arkansas College of Engineering’s summer programs will be learning about science and technology through hands-on activities such as assembling stereo speakers, making polymer bouncy balls and building solar-powered boats. The three summer programs will take place in June and July.

The Explore Engineering Program I, a day program that runs from June 20-24, is for students entering 6^th or 7^th grade. This program encourages students to explore science and technology through activities such as experimenting with robotics, learning how to build a stereo speaker and creating chemical slime.

In Explore Engineering II (July 11-15), students entering 8^th and 9^th grade will learn about engineering by making bouncy balls, practicing web programming skills and studying aerospace engineering with the help of a 3-D printer.

Scholarships for Explore Engineering I and II are provided by the chemical, civil, electrical, and industrial engineering departments.

High school students will be exploring specific engineering fields at a week-long residential program July 24-30. At the Engineering Summer Academy, students will be working in labs on projects in one of three areas: solar energy, chemical and biomedical engineering and sustainability. Students who choose to study solar energy will be building and racing solar-powered boats. Those interested in chemical and biomedical engineering will get a chance to work in the university’s labs along with current students and faculty members, and students in Green Design, a camp that focuses on sustainability, will be gathering data from streams and building a robotic recycling system.

Scholarships for this program are provided by Texas Instruments, the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority, the University of Arkansas Honors College, the Arkansas Academy of Chemical Engineers, the Ray C. Adam Endowed Chair in Chemical Engineering and the Women’s Giving Circle.

“It’s an exciting summer,” said Eric Specking, assistant director for recruitment in the College of Engineering. “These programs are helping students see how math and science work in real-world situations, and we hope this experience will lead them to engineering fields in the future.”