VGCC Science Camp offers unique experiences for Middle School Students
This summer, Vance-Granville Community College’s fourth annual Science Camp gave local middle school students numerous opportunities not only to “learn” science, but to “do” science.
A total of 32 students, including rising sixth, seventh and eighth graders from Vance, Granville, Franklin and Warren counties, completed the day camp, which was held June 16-20 at the college’s Main Campus in Vance County. The week was full of fun, hands-on activities designed to pique students’ curiosity about the natural sciences as they consider their future educational and career aspirations.
At the various sessions, taught by VGCC instructors from several different departments, campers could be found building a Morse code generator, searching for minerals, dissecting frogs and fetal pigs, making and flying kites, testing water quality and growing bean sprouts.
VGCC Carpentry program head Keith Tunstall and his students helped campers build bluebird houses to take home, as they checked out the bluebird houses that have been placed around the campus. In another session, campers made lip balm under the guidance of Pharmacy Technology instructors and students. Fred Brewer, head of the Automotive Systems Technology program, conducted a session on electricity and electronics. Bioprocess Technology program head Dr. Danny Monroe helped campers collect and analyze the microbes that live all around them.
VGCC Science department chair Steve McGrady said those were just some examples of the contributions made by 19 instructors from across all of the college’s academic divisions, who, along with other staff members, volunteered their time and talents to make the camp a success. McGrady also thanked the student volunteers from VGCC’s College Transfer and Health Sciences programs who assisted with various labs. Students Eliza Hernandez and Jessica Nava even brought in animals from home for the camp, including a rabbit, a ferret and a duck, while students Bill James and James Hann showed off the VGCC Science Department’s own gecko .
Four volunteer counselors helped facilitate the camp, including Katelyn Johnson of Henderson and Kera Ktul of Louisburg, both recent graduates of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics; Chris Johnson of Henderson, a student at KIPP Gaston College Preparatory High School; and Angela Tapper of Henderson, a student in the College Transfer program at VGCC.
Five high school students who attended the camp in previous years also served as “counselors in training”: A.J. Holloway, Stephon Sample, Imani Simmons and Noah Whittacre, all of Henderson, and Tamiya Davis of Manson.
Above: In foreground, from left, Science Camp participant Evelyn Hann of Oxford, instructor Emily Hill, and participants Savannah Jones of Creedmoor, Ryan Hall of Creedmoor and Emani Foster of Henderson take water samples from the pond on VGCC’s Main Campus. (VGCC photo)
Check out more photos from Science Camp on Flickr .
