Skip to main content

STEM Meets the ARTS

Recap and Summer 2023

I have continued to teach at the Alma College STEM camp over the past few summers.  It has grown significantly and it offers so many areas for the children to explore.  For instance, a couple of years I taught finger-knitting to a variety of age groups.  What a hoot!  The kids had a great time, and a couple of youngsters went home, told their moms they needed to get yarn at the store, then proceeded to make a chain which reached around their house!  What a crazy idea!  What imagination.

This past summer I taught photography again, this time using iPads as the "camera."  I even learned the skill of airdropping, so students could send me their "best/favorite" photo so they could be printed for them to take home.  We have to be willing to learn new things - it really helps keep our minds engaged and interests sparked.

Helping a student record his photographs for printing.

Looking for the right angle to compose their shots. So interesting to watch the differences in how our students "see" the potential photo.

 STEM Camp - 2017

This summer I had the pleasure of teaching an exploratory at the 2017 Alma College STEM camp for elementary children.  STEM stands for Science/Technology/Engineering/Mathematics.  My workshop focused on finding examples of Math and Science in the real world - using photography (Technology).



I started each session with a mini lesson on "looking" closely at the world around them.  Using visuals to capture their attention, we talked about a few techniques they could use to take better photos of their finds.  I had two college/community helpers for each session, so we could easily split up into 3 groups... and we headed off in different directions across campus to collect our STEM photographs.

We used iPads for photo gathering, and this was a new experience for this photographer.  I am actually learning to like using my iPhone, but have very little experience using the iPad as a photo tool.  I love how I can stretch my skills each time I teach something.  Life-long learning!  The students were pretty adept so they could help each other... and me!  Students worked in pairs, or groups of three, with one iPad for each group.






At the end of the week there was a showcase for friends and family.  It was fun seeing the things these young people created in their various sessions.  There was a printing issue when it came to printing out my students' photographs, but we just named it the "Blue Show," and enjoyed the compositions.


It was the first time STEM camp had offered arts-related exploratories and it seemed to be a success.  Our time was more limited than I would have liked, with not enough prep time, in my opion, and not enough debriefing time.  But it was a great start and I know they are looking for ways to improve this portion of the camp experience for next summer.

Enjoy some of the images from an exciting week at STEM camp 2017!








Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Happy Week- being home and loving photography

Roamin Meets the GPS- Stories from the Road Lisa, my favorite Curious Girl , created a wonderful idea for a week of "happy" posts. Share those things which make you happy, bring joy to your life, and generally fill you with happy thoughts (I do love the movie Hook , with Robin Williams). We are just returned from our fabulous 23-day, 5600 mile, 10 state, 4 time-zone adventure, and I am filled with happy thoughts today. I am also aware of the piles of laundry, the dirty car, the grocery shopping, and the weary body. Those are not the things I'll share today! Today it's about the joy of road-tripping. The miracle that we live in such a country that everywhere you go you see something to celebrate. I love driving down the road and seeing something new, or different, or unexpected. We drove for a very long time across the upper mid-west, while following signs for "Wall Drugs." Apparently this is a historic stop, originally a place for those who crossed the coun...
11 comments
Read more

Celebrating 100 Posts - A Challenge

Yes, we are closing in on our 100th post . Truly amazing. Thank you for reading and participating, helping keep the ideas, words and photos flowing. In honor of this momentous occasion, let's have a party. A party where "100" is featured. Do not become concerned if an idea doesn't pop into your head right away. You have one week to come up with something which includes 100 . Think party, celebration and fun. Think creatively. Think challenge. Photography is about expressing yourself, and challenging yourself. Here's a real stretcher! Celebrate with us by posting a photo (or series) which depicts the number 100 in some way. Let me know if you're going to participate and I'll create a way for everyone to link to each other's pages - chuckling, laughing, crying and surprising. You'll be amazed what you see when you start looking. Still at a loss? Here is a non-exhaustive look at the number 100: 100 years ago (something nostalgic- there's wigg...
15 comments
Read more

Here We Go...

Meet our Roaming Gnome. He's busy looking at the map and helping us get ready to begin our adventure across the northern part of the United States. We leave Friday morning, and our house is a total disaster as we decide what we need to take and what we can leave behind. It's a camping journey - tent camping. We have not done this in ages and are a bit nervous about it. But we're prepared: tent, ground cover, sleeping bags, camp stove, cooking tools, food, clothing (well, after the laundry is finished), maps, books, notebooks, camera gear, bug spray, camera gear, sunscreen, camera gear - you get the picture:). This little gnome caught my fancy. I do believe you recognize him from some Travelocity commercials, though I haven't compared them side-by-side. He came with a passport, and a little history of garden gnomes and their journeys. It seemed so appropriate to have one, as a garden gnome begins in the country, in the garden, and then takes a journey away from that saf...
15 comments
Read more