Ever wonder how to make a car run on renewable energy? Want to learn how fruit can generate electricity?
NIU’s College of Engineering and Engineering Technology (CEET) summer camps offer fun and easy ways for high school and middle school students to learn and explore the engineering field.
CEET offers a number of summer camps for teens, along with one camp for freshman engineering and engineering technology students.
In Introduction to Nanotechnology Summer Camp program, high school students are given information about nanoscience and nanotechnology and the unique properties of the nanoscale. Nanotechnology and nanoscience study tiny atoms and molecules to create smaller, cheaper and lighter devices that use less material and energy. The camp also discusses nanotechnology and nanoscience as careers with many opportunities.
The Green Energy program reaches out to middle school students and teaches how to use natural resources efficiently. Students will have the chance to work with wind and solar energy resources, wind farm technology and have the opportunity to work with model homes that are powered by solar voltaic cells, which converts the energy of light directly into electricity.
The Enhancing Engineering Pathways (EEP) is a summer program steered toward high school students and middle school students through the Girl Scouts organization. Cadettes and Senior Girl Scouts are introduced to the engineering field through hand-on activities such as trying to generate electricity from using lemons, discussions and fields trips. The EEP also has a mentoring program to connect women engineering professionals and engineering students with Senior Cadettes and Girl Scouts.
The Math Bridge Program is available to incoming engineering and engineering technology students looking to improve their math placement status. The Math Bridge Programs helps recognize weaknesses found in students mathematical skills and seeks to improve them once fall semester begins. This helps engineering students to immediately enroll in upper-level math classes that are prerequisites to other CEET courses, allowing them to stay on track and graduate on time.
“Providing summer camp programs helps the community learn about engineering while also being affordable,” program director Suma Rajashankar said. “Middle and high school students are able to experience college life and interact with graduate and undergraduate engineering students.”
For more information and to register, visit http://www.niu.edu/ceet/non-credit/summercamps/.
