SUMMER INSTITUTE

Planning a traditional summer camp is hard, time-consuming work. Planning a multi-faceted summer camp, with elements of a STEM Science, Engineering, and Technology program and a tradition summer camp is doubly, or even triply, so. And, just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a team to truly plan a multi-faceted summer experience for the youth of the BRIDGES program.

In June 2018, 20 members of the BRIDGES program gathered together at Haw River State Park for an intensive 3-day planning institute. The goals of this institute were to learn about Haw River State Park and the natural, human-made, and human resources available for the 2019 Summer Institute; solidify an understanding of and revise the pedagogical framework that will guide the ongoing curriculum development for the 2019 Summer Institute; reflect on youth participation in the Spring 2018 Saturday Academies to inform the design of future curriculum; and finally, Brainstorm and prototype potential activities for the 2019 Summer Institute.

Over the three-day period, program members participated in a variety of indoor and outdoor activities that were aimed at meeting the above goals. They assisted a Haw River State Park ranger with aquatic turtle trapping and scute marking as part of an ongoing study, studied and built their own park trail prototypes, held a World Café activity to identify key things that need to be kept in mind during the rest of the planning process, among many other activities.