'It's just rocket science'; STEM summer camps are lifting off on FSU Panama City's campus

PANAMA CITY  — It's a bird... it's a plane... it's a homemade bottle rocket!

STEM camps are heating up at Florida State University's Panama City campus this summer, with NuGulf Coast Camp kicking off its second week of festivities.

Campers of NuGulf Coast Camp take a variety of classes and learn core STEM skills, as well as other fun subjects. On Monday, the campers homed in on their engineering skills as they built their own bottle "solar rockets" and launched them on the side of the campus.

Started by Bay County residents Michelle and Michael Grady, the camp is in its second year and takes place two weeks out of the summer. The Grady family committed to offering a low enrollment fee of $25, seeing 50 kids across middle and high school grade levels join their camp.

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Later this week, STEM in the Summer will head to the campus and begin their one-day STEM camp for girls.

Teaching the 'total child'

Michael and Michelle Grady have always been involved in the Bay County community and its youth.

The directors of the New Gulf Coast Choir in Panama City, the husband-and-wife duo impacted generations of children but felt they wanted to do more to help build their foundations. With the help of the community and former choir students, the two started the NuGulf Coast Camp last year to bring them more opportunities and access to resources in the community.

"We're striving to meet the needs of the total child, So when we look out at the children, we want to make sure that they have an opportunity to now be involved in things that will increase their character," Michelle Grady said. "This stuff's motivation, their self-esteem increased and in the community, they become viable citizens."

Michelle Grady said they have brought on local experts, such as lawyers, doctors and engineers, to mentor their classes and help the kids. Some of the mentors have been their former choir students, which they said was amazing to watch.

When their previous location of AMI Kids Marina Institute didn't pan out for this year, officials sought out help from FSUPC officials.

"Because we partnered with FSU and (Randy Hanna) and all that, staff have been so great to us... at the last minute when they said we couldn't have AMI less than a week (before camp started) we called and these guys just put it together," Michael Grady said. "They just jumped all kinds of hurdles to make sure we had something."

Denise Newsome, FSUPC director of youth programs, said they did have to move around some classes and events but were 100% willing to do whatever it took to help.

"Our goal is to make sure that we're accommodating anyone in the community that wants to be involved in the Seminole reach," Newsome said. "That was one of the things that I was really excited about when we were able to help them make sure that their camp still went on, and we were able to provide them with space to have their camp."

Inspiring kids

Michelle Grady said they want to influence her kids to seek out additional career paths and challenge themselves.

With the motto of "meeting the whole child," she added that whenever her kids have asked if they can learn a particular skill or activity, she will try her hardest to implement it in her lesson plans for next summer.

"It's part of my makeup (to listen to others). I just think that I'm helping others and helping others to succeed is just part of the mission that I have," Michelle Grady said.

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Newsome said building these skills is critical for those at a young age, especially with STEM careers on the rise.

"It's really fun to kind of see them sometimes. A lot of the kids are kind of shy before they come in and start to engage in these activities... when you put the materials in front of them and give them the opportunity to do something hands-on, because a lot of times in the classroom we're so busy," Newsome said. "We're so focused on trying to get through all the standards that we miss out on doing the hands-on components and enrichment activities."

STEM camp for middle school girls

On July 21, FSUPC officials will kick off their second STEM in the Summer.

"The mission is really to help middle school girls really envision themselves as becoming a STEM professional and really help build their confidence and develop STEM skills," Newsome said.

The activities featured at the event include listening to a panel of local STEM professionals, lab activities, and STEM challenge activities. At the end of the event, the campers will come together to do a group design activity to put their skills to the test.

Newsome, who holds a chemistry degree herself, said having this representation for young women is important.

"When you get to the upper division classes, you tend to see a lot more males and not as many females, so we really want to instill confidence at this age that they can do STEM regardless of who they're around... that they can be just as competent," Newsome said. "Our goal is just to start building that confidence at a young age so it's easier for them to be successful when they grow up."

STEM in the Summer will have another one-day event planned for this upcoming fall in November.

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: STEM summer camp held at Florida State University's Panama City campus