MORGANTOWN — Middle-schoolers from across the Mountain State are going to college this week at WVU.
The students in grades 6-8 are taking part in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) camps on the downtown and Evansdale campuses.
WVU’s Extension Service is hosting the camps, which are open to 4-H students in West Virginia.
Participants are staying in WVU residence halls while attending lab sessions taught by scientists and engineers.
Those sessions include experiments and lessons that take in nanoscience, chemistry, forensic science and other disciplines, said Jennifer Robertson-Honaker, a STEM specialist with the Extension Service.
Breakout sessions this week include units on physics and astronomy, biochemistry, engineering, computer science and forensic science.
Camps in the past also included WVU’s canopy zip-line tours and trips to the university planetarium.
Besides STEM, Robertson-Honaker said, the camp allows students to experience what it’s like to actually study and live on a college campus.
Students began checking in Sunday, said Rachel Griffith, a 4-H coordinator with WVU.
“It’s going pretty well right now,” Griffith said that afternoon.
Griffith said that while the sessions are designed to be fun and engaging, students will be expected to work their brains for the duration.
Sunday afternoon, though, the new arrivals were working their appetites.
“Right now, I’m delivering lots of pizza,” Griffith said.
