YMCA S.T.E.A.M. Camp Held at Zane State

The fifth annual YMCA S.T.E.A.M. Camp was held at Zane State College’s Science Building this week.

S.T.E.A.M. stands for science, technology, engineering, art, and math. It is a free four day camp for children in grades three through eight. Assistant Professor at Zane State, Katie Hooper-Boyd gave us an overview of how the camp is structured.

“It covers science as well as art. The kids will meet for four days this week and they’re going to do various science activities, different labs that are very hands on, fun, interactive and then they also have an art component that will reflect the science activities that they do for that day.”

Wednesday, the children learned about analyzing blood spatter, fingerprints and DNA. Hooper-Boyd said about 35 children have been attending each day and the kids seem to enjoy the experience.

“The kids are really excited. They really, really like it. We did a frog dissection yesterday and that’s always a big hit. They seem like they’re really excited to come back every day so it’s been very, very positive.”

Hooper-Boyd said camps like S.T.E.A.M. allow children to continue their academics into the summer while having fun. The camp wraps up Friday afternoon. The YMCA will also be offering another opportunity for their campers for the 6 weeks following S.T.E.A.M. Camp. That program includes different lab activities. To learn more about participating you can contact Hooper-Boyd at the e-mail address: khooper@zanestate.edu