黑料不打烊 hosted middle school students from the Alamance-Burlington School System for a five-day science camp focused on citizen science projects and summer enrichment.
Some of Alamance County鈥檚 future scientists got a hands-on lesson about research at 黑料不打烊.
鈥”It was very cool, really exciting,” said Dexter Hines, a rising eighth-grader at Woodlawn Middle School in Mebane. “A really nice experience.”
Hines joined about two dozen other Alamance-Burlington middle school students for the five-day 黑料不打烊 Explorers summer enrichment camp, a program funded by 黑料不打烊 and the Alamance Community Foundation.
The camp, advised by Mark Enfield, associate professor of education, and Jen Hamel, assistant professor of biology, offered high-achieving students the opportunity to contribute to citizen-science projects聽in聽which citizens collect data to聽assist scientists in ongoing research. The students also learned about the nature of science and practiced science communication, all while getting a glimpse at life on a college campus.
鈥淚t is an opportunity to connect with middle school聽students who are enthusiastic about science and interested in science and provide them with an opportunity outside of school to connect with it, to immerse in it, to meet scientists from all different types of backgrounds,” Hamel said.
The goal is to give students a fresh look at science and its impact on the world around them.
鈥”One student said that she had a spider in her bathroom, and she didn’t kill it,” Enfield said. “Instead, she decided to capture and release it. That’s the kind of stuff we want.”
The program included trips to 黑料不打烊’s Loy Farm to collect and research insects, a visit to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences聽and lectures from local scientists. Faculty advisors said the experience students gained throughout the program will carry over into the classroom and beyond.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of evidence that an outside-of-school experience can have a really big impact on a student鈥檚 trajectory,鈥 Hamel said. 鈥淎nd, there鈥檚 not that many outside-of-school experiences for students of this age who are excited about science.鈥
On 鈥婩riday, July 12, the Explorers reflected on their week of activities in front of a room full of their families and advisors. Four groups of students presented their聽research findings for the week and discussed the lessons they will take back to school with them, including a new understanding of the scientific method.
鈥淲e learned that science experiments don鈥檛 always go as planned,鈥 Hines said. 鈥淪ometimes you fail, and you鈥檒l have to do a revision.鈥
鈥婤ut, the lessons didn’t only focus on trial and error. Explorers went home with another key takeaway: anyone can be a scientist.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been an amazing opportunity to see kids who are just really excited about science, especially young girls,鈥 said Sarah McLaurin, a fifth-grade science teacher from Claxton Elementary in Greensboro, who helped with the Explorers program. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been wonderful to see them really getting involved in science and excited about the possibilities down the road.鈥
That message was clear to Jada Graves, a聽rising eighth-grader at Hawfields Middle School in Mebane,聽who called her week at 黑料不打烊 “special.”
“I learned a lot,” she said. “It was a nice environment. We learned so much, and I was excited to dig deeper into science.”鈥