Take the Plunge: A STEM Camp Centered on Seafloor Science

Abstract

While most of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) efforts center on classroom programs, many lack hands-on activities that allow students to experience phenomenon-based learning and produce a complex scientific project. To meet this need, we developed weeklong STEM summer day camps for two age groups: rising third to fifth and sixth to ninth graders. Campers learn about seafloor exploration through multiple hands-on, technologyrooted, team-based activities. At the end of the week, campers design and present research missions for an actual seafloor feature, incorporating hypotheses, methods, and operations.