The long summer break is the best time for your kids to dive into some extra-curricular STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) activities.
Finding some amazing things to do for your children can spark new interests, build confidence in these subjects areas, reinforce the school curriculum, and boost skills.
An educational STEM-based summer camp can cover all the bases. A different educational setting, well-qualified and enthusiastic STEM teachers, and access to incredible technology can make a real difference to your children’s confidence, and to their future achievements once they’re back in school.
Yet, finding a great STEM summer camp can be difficult. The ideal camp needs to have the perfect balance of summer holiday fun and incredible learning opportunities.
On one hand, you’re hoping your children will have fun; they’ll make friends and create some incredible memories. On the other hand, you’re looking for them to be challenged, to move on with their learning, and to be inspired in their studies by a truly amazing learning experience.
That might seem like a long list of wishes and too much to expect. There are, however, summer camps out there that can provide all these things, and more. The secret is in knowing how to find them.
So, how do you find the perfect STEM summer camp?
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The Practicalities
Firstly, they’ll be some practical limits on your search. How far are you willing to travel to get them there? What dates should they be at camp? Do you have a summer camp budget ready?
After you’ve addressed these concerns, do some checking online. You’ll probably find that there’s a range of options available for your children. But how do you choose from among them?
Start by posing some questions to each camp.
High-Quality STEM Education Takes Effort and Investment
A great STEM summer camp won’t be repeating last year’s content verbatim. The world of STEM moves too fast for this. So, you need to know that each camp is regularly investing in its staff and equipment. That way, you’ll know the curriculum is up-to-date, too.
These questions will help you work this out:
- How qualified and experienced is the staff?
- What recent training have instructors attended?
- What technology does the camp have access to?
- What technology has it recently invested in?
STEM Summer Camps Should Inspire and Amaze
Inspiring your children to learn is high on the camp wish list. You want your children to finish camp full to the brim with enthusiasm for STEM. So, ask:
- What’s on the curriculum that is guaranteed to wow your kids?
- How do the camp activities complement school curricula?
Here are some activities with a guaranteed wow factor to look out for:
Robotics
For kids, robots seem like the pinnacle of innovation, so the chance to study robotics is bound to astound your children.
At camp, kids should have the chance to design, build and program a robot. Robotics is closely linked with mechanical engineering, electronics, and software programming. This means that kids will gain skills they can apply to other areas of their learning, too.
Coding
Kids love coding, especially if they are particularly fond of playing on a tablet. Most coding activities for kids center around a fun, animated character on screen, or playing with a robot.
IT skills are gained by encouraging children to use computer language to instruct these characters or robots to perform increasingly complicated operations.
Coding is a vital skill for the future and is brilliant for developing problem-solving skills across the curriculum. To complete tasks successfully, kids have to troubleshoot code, or ‘debug’ in coding terms.
Coding activities at summer camp will have a focus on games and fun app development, so your child is likely to be highly engaged.
3D Printing
The most up-to-date STEM camps should be offering 3D printing activities.
Kids should learn to create a 3D model using specially-designed software. There are crossover links to many curriculum areas — from art to engineering.
3D printing activities are also a great chance for kids who usually veer towards more creative subjects to get into STEM.
Once you’ve got answers to all the questions posed, and have everything covered, you can be confident in picking a STEM summer camp that delivers a quality educational experience, alongside an enormous dose of fun!
AUTHOR BIO
Maloy Burman is the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Premier Genie FZ LLC. He is responsible for driving Premier Genie into a leadership position in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Education space in Asia, Middle East and Africa and building a solid brand value. Premier Genie is currently running 5 centers in Dubai and 5 centers in India with a goal to multiply that over the next 5 years.
