16 Jul Summer camp aims to inspire kids to get interested in science
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —A camp for children on the St. Theresa’s campus in Brookside is catering to young inventors, hoping they’ll find a spark of inspiration during the summer.
Robots wowed the crowd of students on the program’s opening day, which was one of the goals. The other goal is to foster their confidence to be able to make one themselves.
“There’s a big push to get people interested in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and get them started early, so that they feel capable and by the time they get to their career path, they say, ‘I can do that. I find that interesting, and it’s fun,'” said Gretchen Neis, of the KC STEM Alliance.
Fields like science and engineering are rapidly growing, so getting students interested at an early age will help supply the ever-demanding workforce.
Rahman Franklin, 8, said he wants to be a scientist when he gets older. Now, he’s encouraged to start early with school groups when he’s a teenager. He thought the robots were great and could identify what each robot does.
“That’s probably like a shooter,” he said. “Like a ball shooter, that shoots out balls.”
He said making one is next on his list, a goal he will be closer to reaching after this week.
The camp is also put on by Kansas City Young Audiences, so the students will also learn more about science through art projects.
Story by KMBC-TV Channel 9
