Summer Camps Provide Science and Engineering Experiences to Students Across the State

Laura Fickett

Students assemble robots and learn engineering skills at one of the summer camps offered by the College of Engineering.

The College of Engineering has expanded its summer camp offerings to reach more kids across Arkansas. In 2010, the college offered five different camps, all located on the U of A campus. This summer, the college offers 20 camps in six different locations across the state.

Over 400 students are signed up to attend the camps this summer. The college has also expanded the age range for the camps. In past years, camps were offered for students in grades five through 12. This year, students in grades one through four can also attend engineering summer camps.

The college offers several different summer camps. Students in first through third grade can build their own robots in the FIRST LEGO League Jr. camp, and fourth through seventh graders can attend the Robotics Engineering Camp. Fifth through eighth graders learn science, technology, engineering and math concepts in the Discover Engineering and Explore Engineering camps. The Engineering Summer Academy offers four different residential camps for high school students. In addition, there are two camps specifically for middle school and junior high girls.

The Discover Engineering and Explore Engineering camps are offered in Batesville, Bentonville, Blytheville, Camden and Hot Springs, in addition to Fayetteville. Eric Specking, director of undergraduate recruitment, explained that the choice of locations was strategic.

"We looked across the state for areas where students didn't have access to these kinds of opportunities," he explained. "Our goal is to introduce kids to engineering concepts that they might not otherwise be exposed to, and increase the pool of talented future engineers in the state. Our data suggests that many of these campers go on to study engineering at the U of A."

Megan Davidian, a sophomore engineering student, explained that her experience at the Engineering Summer Academy contributed to her decision to study biomedical engineering at the U of A. "At the Engineering Summer Academy, I attended the biomedical section of the camp and that was when I decided to get a degree in biomedical engineering," she said. "I met some of the faculty and became familiar with the campus and I loved it. That experience helped me make my decision to attend the University of Arkansas."

Specking explained that this expansion of camp offerings would not have been possible without sponsors. Engineering camp sponsors and partners include KIPP: Delta Public Schools; Lockheed-Martin; the Maritime Transportation, Research and Education Center; the National Park College Innovative Technologies Center; the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville; the Women's Giving Circle; and Zebra Technologies.  

To learn more about College of Engineering summer camps, visit engineering-camps.uark.edu.