UW-Stout announces summer programming for middle, high school students

The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis.
·4 min read

Mar. 14—MENOMONIE — Middle and high school students can discover exciting career paths in science, technology, engineering, art and design, and improve their athletic skills this summer at UW-Stout.

Led by Stout faculty and staff, the university will offer a variety of summer camps, including Summer STEAM, Junior STEAM and a new STEM-X camp, as well as several sports and recreation camps, the university stated in a news release.

STEM-X helps underrepresented and underserved high school students prepare for and succeed in their college careers, the university stated. It is a free, overnight camp slated for Sunday, June 25, to Wednesday, June 28, providing hands-on experiences in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Campers will attend workshops to help develop their study and leaderships, and learn more about campus resources, such as academic Advisement, Career Services and Financial Aid.

Junior STEAM Experience, for students entering grades six to eight, will run Sunday, June 18, to Thursday, June 22. Hands-on activities will be led by faculty, teaching assistants and camp counselors.

According to the university, participants will rotate through nine sessions: 3D printing; engineering and technology; industrial design; interior design; chain making; genetics and DNA analysis; photo and video; unhackable quantum codes; and video production.

Summer STEAM Experience is doubling its offerings this year for high school students, with 11 unique tracks available over two week: Sunday, June 11, to Thursday, June 15, and Sunday, July 9, to Thursday, July 13.

Campers may register for one or both weeks. Camp activities and a college student panel will provide experiences that highlight the value of creative and critical thinking. About 120 students are anticipated for both weeks, according to the university.

Registration for the STEAM experiences will open Saturday, March 11. Cost is $475 for overnight campers, who'll stay in the residence halls; and $35 for day campers.

Week One, Sunday, June 11, to Thursday, June 15:

—Video Production, with Lecturer Jonny Wheeler: Campers will learn how to tell a story from script writing to planning shots to capturing professional-quality video. At the end of the week, students will screen their short films on the big screen in the university's Harvey Hall Theatre.

—3D Animation, with Senior Lecturer Jesse Woodward: Campers will use the same software used by Disney Animation Studios, working together to produce an animated short film that will be featured online.

—Web Design, with Assistant Professor Kris Isaacson: Campers will learn about design and layout best practices for websites, brainstorming ideas for their own interactive website project, while learning HTML and CSS — the building blocks of web development.

—Video Game Design, with Lecturer Karl Koehle: Campers will learn the end-to-end process of creating video games and the many skills needed to bring a game to life, from sketching levels and characters to animation, programming logic and sound effects. At the end of the week, they will play-test a game of their own creation.

—Explore 3D Printing and More, with professors Wei Zheng and Alex Jordan: Campers will learn to design and manufacture plastic and wood products and explore the high-demand plastics engineering profession.

—Digital Storytelling, with Associate Professor Mitch Ogden: Digital storytelling blends creative writing, story exploration and media production. Campers will generate story ideas and construct digital stories, like web-based interactive stories (choose-your-own-adventure), gamification of stories, podcasts or audiobooks and multimedia stories.

Week Two, Sunday, July 9, to Thursday, July 13:

—Industrial Design/Product Design, with Professor Jennifer Astwood: Campers will explore the process of developing and designing a light, from sketching, to learning Adobe Illustrator, to prototyping using a laser cutter.

—Enameling on Metal: Grit, Gloss and Finish, with Lecturer Rose Schlemmer: Campers will learn the basics of how to enamel on metal using techniques such as sgraffito, stencils, image decals, and champlevé and will create an artwork of their own.

—Furniture Design, with Lecturer Cassie Savela: Campers will learn the design process and 3D modeling software to create a set of 2D and 3D technical drawings of their very own custom table, chair or bench. Drawings will be collected into a personalized 10- to 15-page process book to present at the Camper Showcase.

—Interior Design, with Assistant Professor Nicolette Brehm: Campers will design a living space for their favorite celebrity, learning the design process, concept development, how to draft a floor plan to scale, create a color palette, and make finish and furniture selections for a final presentation.

—Genetics/DNA Analysis, with Professor Michael Bessert: Campers will explore the world of molecular biology by collecting specimens from the field, extracting and quantifying DNA and use techniques to copy and analyze DNA to answer questions and solve problems.