By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
EmpowerU and the Mosaic Life Care Foundation are hosting several STEAM camps this summer to help students learn the practices in a different way.
Program Operations Director Devran Brower says the camps are designed to help students develop an interest in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.
"We feel like we have a fun way to do that, our camps are designed for students to explore these concepts utilizing everything from robots to virtual reality to drones all kinds of fun things," Brower tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. "And we pretty much let them self-pace, another wards go as quickly or as slowly as they need to, so they really get it, we want them to understand and gain new understanding in those areas."
Brower says hopefully the students have fun with all the activities at the camp and it helps them potentially consider a career in the fields they learn.
Brower says reception for the camp has really grown since the first few years of operating the camp
"We've been fortunate that it's one of those things where if a student comes, they tend to have a lot of fun and then they tell a friend," Brower says. "So, it was rougher being honest our first couple years, we've been doing this for a few years now, so we always want to attract more people."
Brower says while many students in the St. Joseph schools are aware of the program, there is still plenty of room for students outside of the city
"We still want to grow the programs, but we definitely have a lot more students than we first did," Brower points out.
Devran Brower says students that come to the camp once, sometimes end up spending their entire July at EmpowerU
"They may come to Camp Invention and honestly be here almost every week after until we're done, just because like I said they're having fun, they're learning a lot, but it's meant to be fun and it's meant to be at their pace, and for them to find things that interest them," Brower explains.
Registration is open until camps start with three different week-long camps running July 17th through August 4th.
Sessions run from 9am to noon and 12:30 to 3:30pm Monday through Friday. Walk-ins will also be accepted as they can be facilitated.