Engineers in training
Camp brings concepts to students from far east Yuma County
For the second summer, engineering has come to life for middle school students in Yuma County.
“The University of Arizona-Yuma has put together an amazing engineering camp for students going into the eighth grade,” said Shanna Johnson, superintendent of Mohawk Valley Schools.
The camp brings students from far east Yuma County schools so they can experience engineering concepts and teamwork, and this was the second year for bringing in students from the same schools, said Dr. Samuel Peffers, who heads up UAYuma’s Department of Systems and Industrial Engineering. Students come from Dateland, Tacna and Wellton.
This is actually the second year for the camp, Peffers said, which is funded through private donations from Southwest Gas Corporation and James Davey Engineering.
This summer, the camp, which is five hours a day Monday-through Friday, will have two sessions: one for 11 east county students this week, and another for 16 students from Gadsden, Somerton and San Luis next week. Students do two hours of work in the mornings, break an hour for lunch, and continue with another two hours in the afternoon.
The school districts provide the transportation and a teacher, Peffers said. The program is limited to 16 students as that is how many can fit in the engineering laboratory the program shares with Arizona Western College. Students apply to attend the camp through their schools and districts, and are selected based on teacher recommendations.
During camp, students do activities focused on “what engineering is and what engineers do, specifically how engineers solve complex problems and work together in teams,” Peffers said.
“Students have to work together in teams of two to eight on various projects that require them to plan a solution to a problem, implement the solution, and test to determine if the problem has been solved,” Peffers said.
Half of the projects are microcontroller-based embedded computer systems projects using the same materials and equipment as the university level class, he noted.
On Fridays, the students take field trips to visit engineering points of interest in and around Yuma. Students get to tour the water treatment facility, learn about bridge construction in steel and concrete at the Ocean-to-Ocean Bridge, and see a demonstration of agricultural engineering technology at the University of Arizona Agricultural Center, Peffers said.
Because they are so rural, Johnson said, students in east county have limited access to experiences that expose them to technology and engineering.
“I would (like) to recognize the UofA for their commitment to exposing disadvantaged students to college and career opportunities,” she said.