Camps

Thank you for your interest in 2020 Summer STEM with GSSM. Summer STEM with GSSM has offically reached full capacity and is no longer accepting applications. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused on your summer plans. We hope that you will join us next year at one of GSSM's summer experiences!

2020 Summer STEM with GSSM

Join us this summer for one of 26 virtual project-based learning opportunities! You'll log in twice a day to interact virtually with your classmates and instructor, and you'll spend some time offline working on self-guided projects. Your instructor will even have virtual "office hours" to help you work through any questions or challenges in real time! All Summer STEM with GSSM courses are free of charge to all participants. GSSM will provide materials for the projects and send each student a t-shirt for participating.

Applications are currently closed. Students must submit their 2019-20 first semester report card as part of their application and must have a B average or higher in order to be enrolled. If you previously applied for a summer 2020 in-person camp, you do not have to resubmit your student's report card.

Required Equipment & Materials

Personal email address (student or parent; must be able to receive outside emails) to access Canvas, our web-based learning platform, and receive all notifications and communications from instructors
Computer with internet connection that can handle video conferencing using Zoom
Headset recommended for audio quality, but not required
Some courses require additional equipment and/or software as indicated in the course description below

GSSM cannot be held responsible to block inappropriate internet material from your family’s computer or internet connection. GSSM firewalls do not protect your home networks. Instructors will provide websites for students to explore and they cannot be held responsible for popup ads or other links that the student may follow.

Course Schedule & Descriptions

Week 1: June 22 - 26

Course	Grade Levels	Description
1A. Survival Engineering	Rising 6th & 7th	Imagine you are stranded on a tropical island. Think you can survive "off the grid"? With civil engineering, you can! Building a waterproof shelter, constructing a rainwater harvest system, and designing a zip line transportation system are just a few of the projects that will help you survive and thrive.
1B. Game Design with Scratch	Rising 6th, 7th & 8th	Gamers unite! Have you ever wanted to design your own video game? Join us this week to design and program 8 different types of games! Participating students need access to a computer that can download and run Scratch.
1C. Backyard Bird Science	Rising 6th, 7th & 8th	Calling all amateur ornithologists, backyard birders, and anyone else interested in learning about the feathered dinosaurs that populate our planet! Learn to identify common birds in your area while exploring their unique lives and adaptations. As you learn, you'll work to design your own avian species!
1D. Tour of Engineering	Rising 8th & 9th	Do you like to design cool things? Do you want to change the world? Discover the engineer within you by using online software, doing hands-on activities, and learning about different types of engineering. Participating students will need a computer that can run the Bridge Designer software.
1E. Anatomy	Rising 8th & 9th	Ever thought of becoming a doctor? Learn the basic anatomy and physiology that doctors must first master. Watch animal dissections, learn structures of the human skeleton, and conduct at-home experiments using your own body!
1F. Graphic Design	Rising 8th, 9th & 10th	Explore graphic design from the printing press to pixels on a screen! Work with fonts and type, color, and icons, use digital sketching and drawing to get your ideas out of your head and onto the screen, and practice coding and design for the web.
1G. Programming with Python	Rising 9th & 10th	Have you ever wanted to learn how to write computer code? Join us to conquer the basics of computer programming in the Python language using the IDLE integrated development environment. This is an introductory course, and no previous programming experience is required. Participating students will need a computer that can run Python software.

Week 2: June 29 - July 3

Course	Grade Levels	Description
2A. Survival Engineering	Rising 6th, 7th & 8th	Imagine you are stranded on a tropical island. Think you can survive "off the grid"? With civil engineering, you can! Building a waterproof shelter, constructing a rainwater harvest system, and designing a zip line transportation system are just a few of the projects that will help you survive and thrive.
2B. Game Design with Scratch	Rising 6th, 7th & 8th	Gamers unite! Have you ever wanted to design your own video game? Join us this week to design and program 8 different types of games! Participating students need access to a computer that can download and run Scratch.
2C. Sports Science	Rising 8th, 9th & 10th	If you love anatomy and physiology, and sports or fitness is your passion, Sports Science is the class for you! Use applied anatomy and physiology to study what happens to your body under normal conditions and discover how your body responds to exercise. Investigate the causes of fatigue, the science of recovery, and what could happen when your body doesn’t work the way it should. You can even apply what you learn to make yourself a better, smarter athlete.
2D. Marine Biology	Rising 8th, 9th & 10th	Why do so many people love the ocean? How have animals adapted to live in a salty, watery world? How do humans impact the ocean and the life it holds? And what can we do to make sure the ocean is healthy for generations to come? Dive into these topics and more as we explore the 70% of our planet that is covered with water.
2E. Highlights of Math	Rising 8th, 9th & 10th	How can we use math to describe patterns found in nature, numbers, or even knots? Geometry and topology can be used to understand everything from soap bubbles to broccoli to computer graphics. Investigate strange geometric shapes, discover ways to recognize mathematical patterns, and much more in this class.
2F. Arduino Electronics	Rising 9th & 10th	Have you ever wondered how a radio or a computer works? Or how your air conditioner keeps your house at the temperature you set? In this course, we will investigate electronics that make the modern world possible. Use an Arduino microcontroller to build circuits that control motors, light detectors, remote controls, and more! Participating students will need a computer that can run the Arduino Integrated Development Environment.

Week 3: July 6 - 10

Course	Grade Levels	Description
3A. Chemistry and Me	Rising 6th & 7th	Do we really need baking soda in cookies? What's the difference between soap and hand sanitizer? We depend on chemistry for everything we do. In this course you’ll learn some of the chemistry behind the food we eat, things we clean with, and products we use every day.
3B. Survival Engineering	Rising 6th, 7th & 8th	Imagine you are stranded on a tropical island. Think you can survive "off the grid"? With civil engineering, you can! Building a waterproof shelter, constructing a rainwater harvest system, and designing a zip line transportation system are just a few of the projects that will help you survive and thrive.
3C. Game Design with Scratch	Rising 6th, 7th & 8th	Gamers unite! Have you ever wanted to design your own video game? Join us this week to design and program 8 different types of games! Participating students need access to a computer that can download and run Scratch.
3D. Science and the Law	Rising 8th, 9th & 10th	The law cannot function independently from science! Join us this week as we explore the legal system, criminal defenses, scientific evidence, intellectual property, and ethics and discover the role science plays on both sides of a criminal case.
3F. Video Game Development in Unity	Rising 9th & 10th	Are you an aspiring game developer with a knack for computers and a desire to learn Unity? Learn key aspects of video game development and object-oriented programming! After a series of basic lessons, small teams of students will collaborate with each other to imagine, implement, and perfect their own original games. This class is designed for students who have good computer skills and experience coding/scripting. Participating students need to download and install the PERSONAL version of Unity (review system requirements). Please test to make sure that you can open Unity Hub and use it to create a Unity Project prior to the start of class.
3G. Animal Science & Behavior	Rising 9th & 10th	If you have ever been curious about becoming a veterinarian, a zookeeper, or an animal trainer, this is the class for you! Learn how to apply scientific thinking to improving animal care and conservation while working to understand why animals do what they do.

Week 4: July 13 - 17

Course	Grade Levels	Description
4A. Survival Engineering	Rising 6th, 7th & 8th	Imagine you are stranded on a tropical island. Think you can survive "off the grid"? With civil engineering, you can! Building a waterproof shelter, constructing a rainwater harvest system, and designing a zip line transportation system are just a few of the projects that will help you survive and thrive.
4B. Rockin' Robots	Rising 6th, 7th & 8th	Have you wondered how robots work and are changing how we live, work, and play? Explore the world of robots, write your own code, and program an mBot! By programming its sensors, RGB LEDs, buzzers, and motors, you will give life to your smiling bot. Participating students need access to a computer that can download and run mBlock.
4H. Game Design with Scratch	Rising 6th, 7th & 8th	Gamers unite! Have you ever wanted to design your own video game? Join us this week to design and program 8 different types of games! Participating students need access to a computer that can download and run Scratch.
4C. How Do Chemists Work from Home?	Rising 8th, 9th & 10th	How do chemists work from home? Now you can find out! Learn some of the techniques used by chemists from the comfort of your home laboratory, experimenting to answer questions such as: How much Vitamin C is in this juice? Is Alka-Seltzer an acid or a base?
4D. Experimental Photography	Rising 8th, 9th & 10th	Jump into the world of experimental photography by using the camera, light sensitive materials, and post-processing techniques in non-traditional ways! Use everyday items to transform your photos into unique works of art. This photography course merges art, science, and technology by exploring basic camera functions, accessible photo manipulation software, and creative photo-based processes. Participating students need to have a camera (DSLR or Mirrorless preferred; point and shoot, prosumer, or smartphone are just fine), a tripod or something to stabilize the camera, and a way to get the image from the camera to the computer (cloud service, connection cables, or card reader). Additionally, students need a computer that can run the programs PIXLR and GIMP.
4E. Genetics	Rising 9th & 10th	How can your family history influence medical decisions? How do we use genetic evidence to solve crimes? What is the genetic sequence of the coronavirus? Learn how to draw and analyze a pedigree and discuss how findings in the family history can influence medical testing. Do a simple DNA isolation (using strawberries and yourself!) with products you have at home, and discover how microbes impact human health and other aspects of biology.
4F. Physics & Space Science	Rising 9th & 10th	Have you ever wanted to go to Mars? How do we know what stuff makes stars? Are we alone in the universe? Join us to discover some of the fundamental experiments that help us determine what laws govern the universe, find out how scientists explore what’s beyond our atmosphere, and discuss the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe and how scientists could find it.
4G. 3-D Design and Modeling	Rising 9th & 10th	Design 3-D objects using the latest in online computer-aided design (CAD)! Learn how to utilize SolidWorks through a combination of tutorials, lessons from the instructor, and guidance from our GSSM student teaching assistants. Some of your work will be 3-D printed and shipped to you at the conclusion of the class. This course is suitable for beginners, as well as those who have been designing with other products like TinkerCad, SketchUp, or Inventor.

Daily Schedule

Monday – Friday*

8:45 a.m. - 9 a.m.	Technology Check-in
9 a.m. - 10 a.m.	Online Instruction
10 a.m. - 12 p.m.	Offline Worktime and Virtual Office Hours
12 p.m. - 1 p.m.	Lunch / Open Time
1 p.m. - 2 p.m.	Online Instruction
2 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.	Offline Worktime and Virtual Office Hours*
Optional group events in the evening Monday-Thursday