UIC expands its engineering experience camp

By David Staudacher

The UIC Engineering Experience Camp has expanded due to growing demand. The College of Engineering summer camp will now immerse students in activities designed by multiple engineering departments: bioengineering, civil and materials engineering, mechanical and industrial engineering, electrical and computer engineering, and computer science.

“Engineering isn’t a subject grade-school students encounter every day, so the camp provides an inspiring look at the ways engineers change the world,” said the camp’s director, Yeow Siow, clinical associate professor of mechanical and industrial engineering. “We’re offering them a week of hands-on activities and challenges that will introduce them to the creative aspects of engineering while also getting a sense of what life will be like as a college student.”

UIC’s College of Engineering is home to multiple departments that represent different disciplines in engineering. Each of the five days of the camp is held in a different engineering lab run by a different academic department, which will provide students with the opportunity to experiment and discover something new. They will learn and complete hands-on challenges based on concepts developed by faculty members. One day that might be writing computer code; another day, it could be robotics or bridge-building. The students also will learn about potential future careers that might await them in each engineering discipline, from nanotechnology to self-driving vehicles to creating transplant-ready organs to save lives.

Each participant will be accompanied at all times by the camp staff, which includes faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate chaperones. All camp personnel are highly experienced and highly trained, and comprehensive background checks are performed to ensure the proper protection of minors.

The camp is offered on specific dates throughout July, and each track is based on students’ grade level in school. Each track runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with optional after-care available until 6 p.m.

Track 1 is for rising fourth, fifth, and sixth graders and runs from July 8 to July 12. Track 2 is for rising seventh, eighth, and ninth graders and runs from July 15 to July 19. Track 3 is for rising 10th, 11th, and 12th graders and runs from July 22 to July 26. The hands-on design projects are tailored to the needs of the students in each track: while Track 1 is designed with the “fun factor” in mind, Track 3 focuses on the real-world impact of engineering through math and science, as well as the pursuit of engineering as a college major and career.

Scholarships are available to assist families who have demonstrated financial need.

“The camp is ideally suited for students who are inquisitive and curious about the world around them, want to try new things, meet new people, and use their heads and hands to solve problems,” Siow said.

The camp is held on UIC’s campus, just west of downtown Chicago, and participants will begin and end each day at the UIC Library, 801 S. Morgan St., Chicago. Register now or learn more at http://engineering.uic.edu/uic-engineering-summer-camp.