Summer STEM Camp at Aquinas College

Diocese of Grand Rapids, AQ & ND 

STEM Camp

25 students from around Grand Rapids including many students from ASA, Our Lady of Consolation, Corpus Christi, Holy Spirit and some local home school communities gathered at Aquinas College June 18-29 for a STEM camp facilitated by a Notre Dame STEM Ed instructor, Sr Damien of Aquinas College, and our very own Mr. Fillman.

Campers created a model of a helmet to protect the brain and tested their models on a styrofoam figure head. This activity was then followed up with a sheep brain dissection to learn more about brain structures and functions.
Next participants designed a prosthetic device for an elephant leg, and tested the leg for comfort, durability, and ease of attachment. One student in each group had to walk on their designed leg. With the learning students gained from the elephant leg tests they moved onto dissecting a chicken wing and then creating a prosthetic beak for an eagle and one for a dolphin tail.

Students also designed a quarantine box for a germ outbreak. Part of this project included designing and creating a viral structure and follow that up with an anti-viral structure. Both were tested by "tossing" their design at a large cell to see if it would "stick." After testing their structure students created a PSA about a virus outbreak.

On the last day of camp parents were invited to campus to see everything the students have created and designed.