In its continued commitment to providing high-quality STEM learning opportunities for youth from communities underrepresented in the sciences and stopping the “seasonal slide” that is typical of prolonged breaks from in-school learning, Project Exploration (PE) hosted its annual FREE Winter Break STEM Camp at its STEM Learning Center on January 3rd-5th, 2023.
Over 30 K-8th grade Explorers spent the week immersed in meaningful STEM activities that included getting to know local wildlife with the Lincoln Park Zoo, learning to code and create animations, and building roller coasters among many more activities! In what is certainly a highlight of the week, the campers also enjoyed a field trip to the University of Chicago where they designed key chains using 3D pens, engaged in hands-on space science activities, and toured the Material Research Lab and University of Chicago Oriental Museum. Perhaps most meaningfully, Explorers spent what could have otherwise been a cold and socially isolated week being enveloped in a warm, welcoming, and safe community of like-minded peers and caring and dedicated adults. By the end of the week, each of the campers was able to identify at least one new thing they learned and one new friend they made.
This year’s camp was made possible through collaborations with some of PE’s wonderful partners including Lincoln Park Zoo, Homewood Science Center, Argonne National Lab, and the University of Chicago who each developed professionally-curated STEM curriculum and training for our wonderful STEM facilitators and STEAMbassadors. PE thanks these and all of our partners who continue to expose our Explorers to a world of new experiences and opportunities to let them know that the sky is the limit for their dreams!
