Genesis: Pathways to Success Celebrates Another Year of Summer of STREAM

This summer, 19 summer camps and activities were offered to students in grades 5-8.

Photo provided.

(Ripley County, Ind.) - Genesis: Pathways to Success concluded its A Summer of STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art, & Mathematics) initiative last week, implementing 19 summer camps and activities in total across the months June and July. This initiative provided experiential learning opportunities to 1050 attendees in the span of 8 weeks.

A Summer of STREAM camps were open to 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders from across Southeastern Indiana. Students attending these camps were exposed to different areas of science, technology, reading, engineering, art, and mathematics in unique ways through a hands-on learning approach, while building upon their problem-solving, creativity, and critical thinking skills.

Programs offered by A Summer of STREAM include:

● DIY (Do It Yourself) Woodworking Camps: Two sessions of DIY Woodworking Camp were held in collaboration with Iron Timbers in Osgood. A total of 20 students were taught the basics of woodworking by building their own charcuterie board or cutting board. The skills students learned included cutting, sanding, gluing, measuring, and finishing. Through the professional employees of Iron Timbers, students were able to gain the necessary skills and confidence to complete their own woodworking project at home from start to finish.

● Kids Building Bikes Camps: Two Kids Building Bikes Camps immersed 12 students into the biking world. Students were taught the history of bicycles, proper biking terminology, in-depth mechanics, repairs, and road safety in Nine13sports’ mobile bike lab. Through the instruction of the Nine13sports team, students were able to construct, ride, and keep their very own bicycle. Camps were held at the Osgood Trails and Liberty Park (Batesville). Along with this, Nine13sports welcomed back previous camp attendees for a Kids Building Bikes Alumni Ride. 11 attendees returned to enjoy a reunion of former campers for a ride through Osgood Trails on the bikes they built during their session of Kids Building Bikes.

● Mobile Aquatics Exhibits: In collaboration with the WAVE Foundation at the Newport Aquarium, Genesis was able to host five sessions of the Mobile Aquatics Exhibits in Milan, Napoleon, Sunman, Batesville, and Versailles. A total of 662 attendees were given an up close experience with Crocodiles, Coral Catsharks, and Horseshoe Crabs. Attendees learned about each animal’s survival methods, the habitat in which they live, and other closely related species, in addition to how they can play a vital role in the animal’s conservation efforts.

● Future Ready Robotics Camps: From June 12th to June 16th, Future Ready Robotics Camp was held at Jac-Cen-Del Elementary School. The camp was held in two stages - one geared toward

those with previous robotics experience, and the other toward beginners - where a total of 28 students were impacted. Attendees got to heighten their mechanical and programming skills by learning how to build and autonomously program robots designed to compete in formal robotics competitions, and worked in teams to compete in a series of competitions, such as the 2023-2024 VEX IQ Challenge, freeze tag games, and head-to-head battlebots.

● Game ON: Esports Camp: A total of 16 students at Game ON: Esports Camp were given the opportunity to learn how to play the video game, Rocket League, on June 20th through June 22nd. Students were paired into teams of four to undergo strategic development exercises to win tournaments and understand the importance of communication and adaptability in matches when the trajectory of the soccerball suddenly changes. Health habits around gaming was also infused into students each day. The camp was held at Milan Middle School.

● Explore Career Pathways Camps: From June 26th through June 29th, Explore Career Pathways Camps were held at the Southeastern Career Center, providing attendees with a look at professions in health services, public safety, welding, and building trades. While learning how to operate machinery, perform a dental check-up, and build a birdhouse, students built skills in professions that are both high paying and in high demand. A total of 101 students were in attendance across all four camps.

● The Science Behind Cooking Camp: From July 5th through July 7th, Genesis hosted The Science Behind Cooking Camp at South Ripley High School. A total of 28 students learned the uniqueness of different cultures through Asian, European, and North American cuisine. Campers learned how to fry chicken, roll sushi, and bake fresh croissants. Along with learning the necessary culinary skills associated with these dishes, campers learned the science behind each dish. For example, students learned that eggs act as a binding agent in french toast by relinking proteins, and the rice on sushi helps preserve the fish for a longer period of time.

● Star Wars Camp: On July 11th, 12th, and 13th, 33 young, aspiring Jedi gathered at Oldenburg Academy for Star Wars Camp to share and embrace their fascination with the franchise. Students competed in droid Sphero races to learn how to operate a robot and built various Star Wars characters from Lego. Furthermore, students utilized their artistic abilities to create a lightsaber. Activities, such as relay races and trivia, promoted critical thinking and problem solving skills. Students worked with their team, or Alliances, in order to decipher clues and complete Star Wars-themed tasks in a timely manner.

● Camp Hogwarts: With the help of Oldenburg Academy, Genesis held its 18th summer camp: Camp Hogwarts. 53 campers were in attendance to share their love for Harry Potter, a series of seven fictional novels, written by J.K. Rowling, that chronicles the life of a young wizard. From team challenges like Quidditch and the Tri-Wizard Relay Race (themed after events from the books and movies), to classes such as herbology and care for magical creatures (which put a fantasy spin on classical academic subjects like chemistry, art, and biology), students were able to build common classroom skills in a reimagined setting.

● Stargazing with Astronomers: Led by the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, the portable planetarium was accessed by individuals of all ages from across the region. 86 attendees learned about current constellations in the sky, the rotation of the earth, and the location of stars and moons

in our solar system; attendees left with a space-related National Geographic STEM Kit to continue their space exploration at home. This summer activity was located at the Milan Public Library.

Along with developing classroom skills, A Summer of STREAM is committed to developing soft skills among students, such as adaptability, creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, communication, perseverance, and problem solving. Clarice Patterson, Director of Genesis: Pathways to Success, stated, “Soft skills are very important to these students because it allows them to think outside the box and work with their peers to handle any problem they may be faced with. Our A Summer of STREAM camps and activities aim to grow every beneficial skill these students will need inside and outside the classroom.”

Genesis would like to thank its A Summer of STREAM sponsors: Baxter International Foundation, Enbridge, Honda Manufacturing of Indiana, Indiana Department of Education, McDonald’s, Purdue IN-MaC, Purdue University, The Reservation Restaurant, Ripley County Community Foundation, Rising Sun Regional Foundation, and Wood-Mizer. Genesis would also like to thank all of the local educators and community members who volunteered their time to curate and implement curricula for these camps. We are very fortunate to have such selfless individuals and generous organizations in our community. Without the help of our sponsors, educators, and volunteers, these camps would not have been possible.

Readers can watch a summary video of A Summer of STREAM on the Genesis website at https://genesisp2s.org/asummerofstream.

To learn more information about this year’s summer programming or if you have any questions, please contact Clarice Patterson by emailing cpatterson@genesisp2s.org, calling 812-933-1098, visiting www.genesisp2s.org, or stopping by the office at 13 E. George Street, Suite B, Batesville, IN, 47006.

A Summer of STREAM will return again in the summer of 2024 with the expansion of current and new summer programming opportunities.