{"id":33561,"date":"2017-08-02T16:00:58","date_gmt":"2017-08-02T21:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=33561"},"modified":"2017-08-02T15:36:05","modified_gmt":"2017-08-02T20:36:05","slug":"sternberg-finishes-another-successful-summer-of-science-camps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=33561","title":{"rendered":"Sternberg finishes another successful summer of science camps"},"content":{"rendered":"

Courtesy of FHSU University Marketing and Relations<\/em><\/p>\n

By Randy Gonzales
\nHAYS, Kan. \u2013 The fourth year of summer science camps and programs through Fort Hays State University\u2019s Sternberg Museum of Natural History has just been completed.<\/p>\n

Sternberg education director David Levering already is looking forward to next year \u2013 and the year after that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been thinking about next year since probably April,\u201d Levering said, adding he also is working on big projects for camps in summer 2019. \u201cMore things are coming. It\u2019s a matter of putting a bow on it before we talk about it too much.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Levering joined Sternberg, he wanted to introduce summer camps for students in elementary school, middle school and high school. This summer, there were nine single-day camps \u2013 including three new ones \u2013 for elementary school children. Two middle school camps allowed students to be outdoors exploring nature. In addition, high school students had three outdoor camps to choose from. One new camp for high school students was a two-week trip to the Andes cloud forests in Ecuador. Levering and three students made that trip.<\/p>\n

One of those students who trekked to Ecuador was Maggie Wolf, who is from Kansas City, Kan., and just graduated from Piper High School. Wolf previously attended Sternberg camps in 2015 and 2016; this year, after the Ecuador trip, she was one of two students who transitioned to become support staff for the summer.<\/p>\n

As a staff member, Wolf did everything from helping to organize activities, packing and unpacking and keeping campers focused. She has been pleased with her Sternberg summers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve really enjoyed it because I\u2019ve gotten to experience a lot of different things,\u201d Wolf said. \u201cI\u2019m hoping to keep working next summer and do some of the biology programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wolf appreciates FHSU and Sternberg putting these camps together.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a really good opportunity,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m really glad it\u2019s something Fort Hays State does. I\u2019ve grown a lot from the programs, personally. I\u2019m really glad it\u2019s available to so many people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The availability to attend the camps is aided by scholarships made possible through donations. In the first year, there was $1,500 in scholarships for campers. This summer, $9,300 was awarded \u2013 most of it going to help Kansas students.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe financial aid has been extremely important for the growth of the program,\u201d Levering said.<\/p>\n

Levering also appreciates the parents\u2019 commitment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think one of the things I\u2019m most pleased about is the buy-in of the parents,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve had a lot of good conversations with parents about the growth they see in their kids in a week\u2019s time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alese Thompson, a 16-year-old from Beverly Hills, Mich., who will be a high school junior in the fall, attended her first Sternberg camp this summer. She usually does a horse camp but wanted to do something different. Research online found FHSU\u2019s paleontology camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been into dinosaurs my whole life,\u201d said Thompson, who would like to come back next summer. \u201cIt\u2019s been awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thompson completed a two-week camp last week. The first week, she was in the field, looking for fossils at Castle Rock, located near Quinter. The second week was devoted to looking at skeletons of different fish, birds and amphibians in the FHSU biology anatomy lab and memorizing them.<\/p>\n

Ethan Couture, 16, from Dixfield, Maine, finished his fourth Sternberg camp last week. His father was in the military and stationed at Fort Riley when Couture\u2019s science teacher recommended he attend the middle school camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe information is fantastic,\u201d Couture said. \u201cI learn something new every year I come here. Meeting people who are just as interested in paleontology is fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Couture said FHSU and Sternberg putting these camps together is important.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe it shows they care about the future of paleontology,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re willing to put themselves out there to expand this career field.\u201d<\/p>\n

Levering said the camps nurture an interest that is already there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s offering them opportunities to do something they are interested in outside of a classroom setting,\u201d Levering said. \u201cWhat it says about Fort Hays State is a commitment to developing young people and pursue careers they are interested in.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Wolf, traveling to Ecuador as part of the Sternberg summer science camps helped her realize what she wanted to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was incredible, I had never been anywhere like that,\u201d Wolf said. \u201cIt was a really cool experience to go somewhere thoroughly different from Kansas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the past, I had an idea of what I wanted to do in the future,\u201d she added. \u201cIt really showed me how much I enjoyed birds, specifically. It showed me something I might want to pursue in the future, research-wise.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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