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GPISD Driving Houston’s Future STEM Camp

³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ in partnership with the Center for Houston's Future hosted a STEM summer camp to expose students to a series of sessions focused on energy.  80 fourth through sixth-grade students from across the district attended the 2-week camp at Cloverleaf Elementary and Green Valley Elementary. Driving the Future curriculum from the Center uses hands-on, engaging activities to introduce students to the concept of energy transition and alternative fuels. Students are highly aware of the environmental challenges the planet faces.  Throughout the camp students studied potential and kinetic energy by building roller coasters and car racers powered by balloons or propellers as alternative fuels. Students learned about wind turbines and how they create energy and power.  They built molecules and studied constellations to learn about hydrogen as fuel.  The aim is to inspire and empower students to make a difference in their environment and community.  The camp ended with a field trip to the Children’s Museum of Houston and a picnic in the school gym.  The students have positive feedback to share.  They stated their favorite parts are the roller coasters, the balloons, and anytime they were racing each other.  The Children’s Museum of Houston and Center Point Energy contributed to the educational project.  In the fall, Galena Park hopes to continue the partnership to inform and inspire more students through an after-school STEM/Robotics Club program.