{"id":11267,"date":"2024-08-15T09:26:59","date_gmt":"2024-08-15T14:26:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=11267"},"modified":"2024-08-15T09:26:59","modified_gmt":"2024-08-15T14:26:59","slug":"steam-camps-offer-nearly-275-area-middle-high-school-students-hands-on-preview-of-education-at-uw-stout","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/steam-camps-offer-nearly-275-area-middle-high-school-students-hands-on-preview-of-education-at-uw-stout\/","title":{"rendered":"STEAM camps offer nearly 275 area middle, high school students hands-on preview of education at UW-Stout"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>
Menomonie High School student Samantha Anderson drapes fabric on a 3D dress form in UW-Stout’s Maker’s Lab in the STEAM fashion camp<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They discover career paths in microbiology and genetics; develop innovative patterns in fashion design<\/h2>\n

For two weeks in June, 118 area high school students stepped into campus labs at UW-Stout and learned what it\u2019s like to be a student at\u00a0Wisconsin\u2019s Polytechnic University<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In hands-on learning experiences led by faculty, they discovered\u00a0career paths in science, technology, engineering, and art and design during UW-Stout\u2019s\u00a0Summer STEAM Experience<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The weeklong camps highlight the value of creativity and critical thinking in genetics; graphic design and printmaking; fashion; film making; metalwork; video game design and other disciplines.<\/p>\n

Students interested in the cellular makeup of the human body and the fashions that cover it\u00a0joined\u00a0Professor Mike Bessert<\/strong>\u00a0in a Jarvis Hall Science Wing biology lab and\u00a0Lecturer Sarah Eileen Smith<\/strong>\u00a0in the Maker’s Lab in Fryklund Hall.<\/p>\n

In Bessert\u2019s Microbiology: Genetics and DNA Analysis camp, 19 students used a diverse array of lab technology to gain skillsets they can apply in biochemistry, forensics or health fields.<\/p>\n

They collected DNA field specimens and used various techniques to copy and study DNA and discover how scientists solve problems within DNA.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis camp gives the students a taste of what it\u2019s like to be a biology student here at Stout,\u201d said\u00a0Bessert, program director of\u00a0P.S.M. conservation biology<\/a>. \u201cSimilar to the Molecular Cell Biology college course, the goal is for them to become familiar with some of the most prominently used DNA extraction and quantifying techniques used in the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the Fashion Drawing and Draping camp with Smith, interim program director of\u00a0fashion design and development<\/a>, 10 students brought their fashion designs to life.<\/p>\n

Their hands-on introduction to patternmaking included draping fabric on 3D dress forms and sketching professional fashion figures.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re all doing great,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThey\u2019re doing exactly what our first-year fashion students practice in the Pattern Development course in their first week at Stout.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly 115 students entering grades six to eight will join the Junior STEAM Experience this summer, a series of specialized camps with hands-on experiences in Chain Making, Fashion Design Drawing, Storytelling and Video Production. Thirty-eight students will participate in a new Video Game Design Week.<\/p>\n

Two steps closer to their careers in genetics and forensics
\nOn the third day of camp, after collecting samples of their own hair follicles, Bessert walked his students through a two-step polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, optimization technique \u2013 a gradient thermal cycle to find the perfect temperature to view the strongest signal of DNA markers, or alleles, in the human genome.<\/p>\n

They then used gel electrophoresis to visualize and analyze the DNA markers. At one end of the gel, an electric current is applied to pull DNA fragments through the gel. It is a technique the FBI uses to help identify people through genetic traits, Bessert said.<\/p>\n

STEAM camp, DNA track<\/h3>\n

Maura Bright, of Chippewa Falls, and Mila Mitchell, of Stanley-Boyd, analyze DNA markers using gel electrophoresis \/ UW-Stout
\nMaura Bright and Mila Mitchell took a time-lapse video on Mitchell\u2019s phone to capture the process and rewatch the dark bands slowly lengthen within the gel.<\/p>\n

In another activity, Bessert and the students collected deer tick specimens from animals at the Dunn County Humane Society to see if the samples contained the borrelia bacteria that causes Lyme disease.<\/p>\n

Bright, a Chippewa Falls junior, wants to be a geneticist. She discovered the concept of genealogy when she was 12, when she compared her and her sister’s traits with their parents\u2019 and noticed the difference in the color of their eyes.<\/p>\n

Mitchell, a first year at Stanley-Boyd High School, became interested in forensic science watching TV with her mom and after completing a school project on genealogy.<\/p>\n

Alyxandria Lunemann, a Bloomer High School senior, has always loved science. She was looking into future careers in chemistry \u201cbut it didn\u2019t fit the description of what I had in mind,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Then when Lunemann talked with a professor who explained their research on the makeup of fruit flies and yeast and possible mutations in genes, she thought, \u201cThis is what I want to do. Mutational genetics is the study of the human genome and mutations within it, such as gigantism, dwarfism, albinism or sickle cell anemia,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel that Stout\u2019s STEAM camp is a good representation of what it will be like researching in a genetics lab. I\u2019m glad to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fashion inspiration through exploration<\/h3>\n

During an exploratory draping time, Smith encouraged her students to play with fabric to see how it laid over the dress forms, how it can be shaped, and to experiment creating pleats and ruffles. Her only parameter for them was that their dress must be sleeveless or strapless.<\/p>\n

While drawing their designs, Smith asked students to pay attention to and accentuate body shapes. They looked for inspiration in images in her slideshow presentations and on their phones, referring to current and classic fashion trends, movies, books, nature and even architecture.<\/p>\n

\u201cBe intentional with each aspect of your design, just as each aspect of architecture in a building or branch of a tree has its function,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Three of the students \u2013 Annella Wolbert, Samantha Anderson and Addison Bauste \u2013 will be first-year students this fall at Menomonie High School. They joined the fashion camp because they are inspired by the creative of clothing. This was their first time draping and drawing fashions.<\/p>\n

While draping the 3D forms, Wolbert\u2019s inspiration was to go with the flow and see where the fabric led her. Anderson\u2019s design was inspired by Taylor Swift\u2019s Grammy outfit \u2013 a corset gown with a high leg slit and train.<\/p>\n

Bauste\u2019s sketches, including a blue and pink gown with a heavy shoulder ruffle, were inspired by \u201cThe Summer I Turned Pretty\u201d book series and a mix and match of outfits she saw online.<\/p>\n

Wolbert and Anderson have sewed before, creating pillowcase dresses with their Girl Scouts troop for Little Dresses for Africa. They are working toward earning their Silver Award with their troop and have made 50 dresses in the last two years.<\/p>\n

Students showcased their designs on the final day of camp and shared in ideas.<\/p>\n

UW-Stout\u2019s STEAM camps, which attract students from around Wisconsin, are sponsored by the Menomonie and Chippewa Falls school districts, Parker, OEM Fabricators and Delta Fastener in partnership with Continuing Education and Conferences, a unit of Educational Pathways and Outreach.<\/p>\n

UW-Stout Athletics is offering multiple summer youth sports camps led by university coaches, staff and student athletes. Camps include basketball, football, gymnastics, soccer, softball, track, volleyball and dance.<\/p>\n

Stout Adventures\u2019 Youth Climbing League offers introductory activities, designed to empower kids ages 6 to 12. Experienced instructors lead activities for all skill levels.<\/p>\n

\n

Written by Abbey Goers<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/www.uwstout.edu\/about-us\/news-center\/steam-camps-offer-nearly-275-area-middle-high-school-students-hands-preview-education-uw-stout<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They discover career paths in microbiology and genetics; develop innovative patterns in fashion design For two weeks in June, 118 area high school students stepped into campus labs at UW-Stout and learned what it\u2019s like to be a student at\u00a0Wisconsin\u2019s Polytechnic University. In hands-on learning experiences led by faculty, they discovered\u00a0career paths in science, technology, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":11270,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[90],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-11267","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-stout"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/11267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11267"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=11267"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=11267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}