SSC-9450428 U of Texas Pan American Edinburg, TX Kiritsis, Nick "Summer Science Camp For Minority Students" The University of Texas Pan American (UTPA) and the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District (ECISD) are collaborating in the organization of a commuter Summer Science Camp (SSC) for 50 entering ninth graders. The ECISD is located in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas (18 miles from US-Mexico border) and has a student population of about 17,000 of which 94.56% are Hispanic, 5.28% are Whites and 0.16% others. The SSC is held at UTPA and its primary objectives are: a) to expose student participants to practical every day math and science, b) to encourage its participants towards Math, Science and Engineering related careers, c) to provide its participants with valuable career information, d) to expose them to successful role models from their own community and e) to provide them with a realistic idea about the world they live in. The SSC at UTPA concentrates in the Physical Sciences (Chemistry and Physics), Mathematics and their applications in Engineering. Lesson activities incorporate the use of teamwork for an intensive "hands-on" experience. The camp runs for 27 days including 4 Saturdays. A typical day starts at 7:30 am with the students' arrival at UTPA and ends at 4:45 pm with the students' departure. The instructional activities of the camp are held in the morning and the research methodology activities along with several student project activities and tutoring are held in the afternoon. The instructional activities concentrate on the relationship between mathematics, physics, chemistry, engineering and the surroundings. They cover the following four subjects: a) mathematics, b) chemistry, c) physics and d) computer literacy. The afternoon projects involve: a) the construction and testing of model robots, b) a Mini-science Network and c) model bridge building. The research methodology part of the daily schedule includes co llege level experiments which are performed for the students by UTPA engineering faculty. The students take data, manipulate them and write a summative report. Three experiments are performed: a) investigation of a Laminar Boundary Layer, b) Flow Through a Clear Venturi Section and c) Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacturing on Small Lathes and Milling Machines. The career exploration activities of the SSC explore and measure the career awareness level of the participants, educate them about mathematics, science and engineering related careers and show them that they have the potential to pursue one. Under these activities, the student participants take the Strong Interest Inventory test twice, the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test and the National Engineering Aptitude Search test. The students also have the opportunity to interact with scientists and engineering in the work place when they follow them through a typical morning. During the two field trips, the students visit sites such as: the Central power and Light power plant in Corpus Christi, Tx, the USDA Laboratories in Weslaco, Tx, the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center in McAllen, TX and others. Two days are also allocated to presentations by local scientists and engineers which are followed by discussions. Upon completion of the SSC, the students organize "Science Clubs" in their own high schools and compete in several science competitions. The "Science Clubs" organize regular visits of the SSC participants to elementary and junior high schools to familiarize the younger students with the SSC activities. Students visits to local industrial sites and presentations by local scientists and engineers continue throughout the regular academic year. The SSC staff is comprised of three UTPA engineering faculty, three high school teachers, one high school professional counselor and 10 student workers (5 undergraduate UTPA students and 5 high school students).
