Go Green is a two-week science summer camp that brings students into research labs to conduct sustainability-focused projects, program staff said.
The camp asks students to pick an investigable question with a sustainability theme and to run a research project from start to finish, organizers said; staff and teachers described hands-on lab work, robotics exercises and campus research visits as core elements.
Program staff said, "Go Green is a 2 week long science summer camp. It's built around the idea that we want students to do science. It is getting into the actual research labs, doing a research project from start to finish." The organizer added that "The students will see active research being done there, being introduced by the researchers themselves."
A student described their group project: "My group has been testing how if we change the angle of a solar panel, how could we get more energy. It's, like, really hands on and, like, the teachers are really nice." Students also reported lab tours and practical sessions: "We walked over to the ITC Building, and we learned how to make batteries, and we got to look around in all their labs and stuff," another student said.
Teachers and staff emphasized small-group instruction and equipment quality. One speaker said students "get a lot of individualized attention" and that the camp places participants "in science labs with really good quality equipment." A separate speaker described a robotics activity in which students programmed a robot to reach a finish line without crossing boundary lines. One student recalled a biology session on "the overuse of antibiotics" as a favorite module.
A teacher-style speaker framed the camp as a district partnership: "This partnership gives us so much strength within our district. A lot of these students that come here, this is their first time on a college campus... we want all of our students to know what's out there for them." Program staff also thanked unspecified "agencies that allow us to do this," saying continued support is important but not naming funding sources.
Organizers and teachers said the camp aims to spark long-term interest in STEM so students carry that engagement through high school and into college and careers. A program speaker closed on the impact for participants: "Just seeing how prideful they are and knowing that you helped them reach that and that now they have that knowledge that they can do this is just such a good feeling."