STEM Like a Girl: Camp inspires next generation of scientists
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
What started as an idea to give local girls more opportunities to explore science has grown into a popular summer program serving more than 50 students.
Now in its fourth year, the CCPS STEM Like a Girl Camp brings together elementary and middle school girls for four days of hands-on learning focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
With community partners creating amazing opportunities for learning, the camp has more than doubled since the first year.
"My STEM students at Baker started asking about summer camps so we started calling around and couldn't find anything for this age," said Heather Huston, who is now retired but returns each summer to run the camp. "So we started our own."
Huston teamed up with Baker FRC Coordinator Casey Davis and the duo created what has become one of the most popular CCPS summer enrichment opportunities.
"We thought it would be neat to do an all-girls camp so Casey and I sat down and developed the idea and Mr. Howard said, 'Let's do it!'," she said.
Four years later, the results speak for themselves.
"We're so thrilled with how the numbers have grown," Huston said. ""We believe this camp serves a great purpose of getting girls excited about science."
A key element of STEM Like a Girl Camp is representation. Every community partner who works directly with campers is female, giving participants an opportunity to see women thriving in STEM-related careers.
"We are so blessed with amazing community partners," Huston said. "Since it's a girls' STEM camp, our focus is to only have females be with the girls. So every community partner is a female and we've been able to grow that."
Each year, camp organizers work to create fresh experiences for returning students. The goal is a rotating three-year curriculum that allows girls to participate multiple summers without repeating lessons.
This year's camp focused entirely on medical science and included lessons on neurology, cardiology, pulmonology, orthopedics and public health.
The students discussed neurons and how the brain works. They explored the heart and lungs by building their own stethoscopes with funnel balloons, piping and tubing. The orthopedic lesson challenged students to think like engineers and doctors by building bionic hands out of straws and yard.
The camp relies on support from organizations across the community and school district.
One longtime supporter has been Danimer, whose team has helped campers explore everything from strawberry DNA to biodegradable plastics.
This year, Danimer returned with an experiment that put science directly into the hands of every camper.
Campers participated in a hands-on science experiment by placing their fingers on Petri dishes. Danimer then incubated the samples and will later show the campers how microorganisms from their hands grew, helping them better understand germs and bacteria.
With the camp help at the Cardinal Community Center this year, Huston took advantage of the proximity to College Park. Parks and Recreation partners led exercise sessions and activities tied to health and wellness. The Barre A Fitness Boutique also worked with the campers.
Additional support came from Family Resource Centers, the RDC PTO, and Thoroughbred Diesel, who paid for every camper to have a Tshirt.
For sixth-grader Koree Disney, the camp has provided a chance to learn about careers she hopes to pursue someday.
"I want to be a doctor so this week has been so interesting to me," she said. "I just really like caring for people and helping them get better. I've learned about the heart and lungs and how the brain works. It's really good because you talk a lot about different things like health care and like science and mathematics. This week has taught me a lot of stuff that I didn't know before and gives me more options for my future."
With another successful STEM Camp completed, the camp's mission continues to hit home: Give girls the opportunity to explore science and see themselves in future STEM careers.
