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1401 S US 421
Westville, IN 46391
Phone: 219-785-5200
Area youth will visit Purdue University North Central during the week of Aug. 4 to participate in "Youth Arts Odyssey: Sculpture and STEM" that is part of the STEM Summer Camp @ PNC, 2011.
The camp began June 27 with students coming to the PNC campus each week day to take part in a series of age-appropriate learning activities, emphasizing the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines with PNC faculty, staff and local professionals as their instructors. The subject matter changed weekly as they learned about biology; engineering; trees, plants and ecosystems; physics, butterflies, and now, engineering and its relationship to art.
The "Youth Arts Odyssey: Sculpture and STEM" week-long segment is made possible by a grant from the Indiana Arts Commission Regional Initiative Grant administered through South Shore Arts. The camp participants are six to 12 years old and are part of the summer programs offered by the La Porte County Coalition of Youth Serving Agencies (YSA) including Imagination Station, Boys and Girls Club, Michigan City Parks and Recreation, Safe Harbor, Barker Woods and North Central Community Action Agencies in Michigan City.
"Youth Arts Odyssey: Sculpture and STEM" will help students make connections to STEM through art activities. Led by Judy Jacobi, assistant vice chancellor of Marketing and Campus Relations and Michelle Wiser, artist, the young people will have the unique opportunity to learn on a university campus and study in a university classroom.
During the week, the students will explore connections between arts and sciences and gain a better understanding of STEM fields and career possibilities. Their activities will including viewing the diverse sculptural pieces on campus and answering the question "How do they do that?" by learning the processes artists use to create sculpture. Student teams will create their own 3-D sculpture and teams will evaluate each others' "sculptures" using critical thinking to rate each project's stability, organization, construction and appearance.
Enrollment for this camp session is closed. Further information can be obtained by contacting Liz Bernel, PNC coordinator of Special Events and Marketing at 219.785.5200 ext. 5719 or ebernel@pnc.edu.