Rising seventh- through 10th-graders from Lilburn, Radloff and Osborne middle schools, and Meadowcreek and North Hall high schools have spent part of their summer at a STEM camp at Piedmont College.

The goal is to work collaboratively to determine how to create a sustainable colony on Mars.

The Piedmont College Woodrow Wilson Georgia Teaching Fellowship STEM Camp seeks to foster and enhance education in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

We seek to inspire the next generation of STEM leaders through learning experiences that promote inquiry and critical thinking, said Bill Nye, the camps director and a science department chair at Meadowcreek High. Moreover, we seek to provide high quality, rigorous and authentic opportunities which promote outstanding academic achievement for all students.

The camp aims to increase campers understanding of survival and sustainability on Mars within activities related to environmental science, biotechnology and engineering robotics.

We believe that through collaborative and well-coordinated efforts, students in secondary schools can find solutions to not only the problems of today, but of the future, Nye said. Students must be challenged to explore possibilities for existence beyond Earth. As Mars is the next most inhabitable planet in the solar system, the exploration of a sustainable life on Mars is warranted.

Nye added that students increased their understanding of biotechnology through DNA extraction and completing a genetic transformation lab by transferring a jellyfish gene into bacteria to witness bioluminescence. The campers applied engineering and coding skills to use a drone to explore a mock Mars landscape, and to program robots to explore regions of interest and extract needed resources. Their further exploration of alternative energy sources will apply their content to energy limitations on Earth as well as Mars.

The field of environmental science has also been explored as students work with simulated Martian soil to determine how to grow crops on Mars and create a sustainable colony. Further explorations into urban agriculture tie directly into the need for locally developed produce and community gardens at Meadowcreek cluster schools and across the community, Nye said.

The instructors for the Piedmont STEM Camp are Woodrow Wilson Fellows in a pre-service teacher graduate program at Piedmont College. These STEM-specialized educators have experience in STEM fields. Theyve been embedded for the past year in math and science courses as intern-partners with a certified teacher and will be experiencing their first year as a classroom teacher in just a few weeks.

This model allows new teachers to develop their craft prior to flying solo and consequently are immediate contributors to their respective departments and colleagues bringing new instructional techniques to the classroom with an emphasis on the application of learning to ensure students are college and career ready upon graduation, Nye said.

The final project for the Piedmont STEM campers was to create a plan for a sustainable Mars colony. Students will have the opportunity to submit their Mars colonization proposal to several NASA competitions including the NASA Ames Space Settlement Contest.

Keith Farner writes about education. Good News from Schools appears in the Sunday edition of the Daily Post.

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GOOD NEWS FROM SCHOOLS: Students attend STEM camp at Piedmont College - Gwinnettdailypost.com