Computer Science Summer Camps

07-05-2005

Campers had a blast at the 2005 Computer Science Summer Camps! Middle-school aged campers came from all over Indiana, locally from Lafayette/West Lafayette, and even from Georgia and California to get in on the CS action. Purdue Computer Science K-12 Outreach Coordinator, Mindy Hart saw return campers wanting more CS as well as newbies just waiting to design their first web page. No matter if they had been here before or were trying something new campers were eager for fun... programming... and lego robots.

Judith Lewandowski, Indiana University (South Bend) Assistant Professor of Instructional Technology, and Mindy Hart took campers on a 4-day adventure of computer applications and campus living. Guest speakers Carlos Arreola and Stephanie Herman from Raytheon talked to youth about careers available to computer science graduates. And the CS camp projects helped campers increase their problem-solving skills and realize the importance of math and science in preparing for a career in computer science.

Coupled with their computer science instruction, campers stayed in Cary Quadrangle Residence Hall suites and dined at the Ford Dining Court just like a real CS undergraduate. They had a great time during FUN NIGHT at Bruno's and their trip to the movie theatre to see Dreamwork's Madagascar. Campers also had an ice cream social during their stay at Purdue and a parent luncheon to wrap up the CS extravaganza.

The beginner camp ran from June 19-22 and had 30 campers. Camp started with a lab orientation, an internet scavenger hunt, and web site planning activities. The following day campers alternated between building their lego robots and building their web sites. Their second day also gave them the opportunity to tour the Virtual Reality Theatre at the Envision Center at Purdue. Day three of camp was "Giveaway Day" and allowed campers to refine their robots, and the final day of camp was the big Lego Robot Challenge.

The advance level camp was developed for students wishing to continue the pursuit of computer science knowledge. Campers should have attended a previous session of the Computer Science Camp or have some computer programming and Web page design experience. Advanced camp ran from June 22-25 and attracted 29 campers. They learned how to search for images and music clips on their first day of camp and also made a digital video about Purdue. On the second day, they learned some HTML and were introduced to object oriented programming through a program called ALICE. The third day of camp allowed time for robot refinement and a presentation by Andy Ziegler, a current undergraduate, about the Active Map project which uses RFID to give self-guided tours of venues. The final day of camp was reserved for their Aquabot Challenge.

The Department of Computer Science had a great time with all the campers and would like to thank them for spending time at Purdue. CS would also like to send a special thank you to Caterpillar, Guidant, Harris, Lockheed Martin, Motorola, Microsoft, and Raytheon for camp scholarship opportunities, giveaways and funding for camp.