Area fourth- and fifth-graders were treated to hands-on explorations of science, water and electricity at the Umatilla Electric Cooperative’s series of Hydromania Summer Science Camps, held from June 19 through Aug. 4 at Armand Larive Middle School in Hermiston.
And with Amazon Web Services serving as the corporate sponsor, campers had access to its Think Big Space at the SAGE Center in Boardman.
“AWS is thrilled to support UEC’s Hydromania Summer Science Camp, complementing the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) programming that has been inspiring students for so many years,” said Sarah Georgiades, head of AWS InCommunities for the Americas. “We strongly believe in the power of education to unlock human potential, and summer is a critical time when we need to continue engaging students in fun, educational experiences that activate their spirit of innovation and creative thinking.”
According to UEC, support from AWS was integral in providing the necessary staff, busing, equipment and special STEM-related exploration kits for each student.
“Education and leadership opportunities allow young people to grow and be active in their communities,” UEC Public Relations Manager Weston Putman said. “UEC has made it a priority to offer opportunities for our youth to foster the skills needed to become the leaders of tomorrow.”
Campers also met Brooke Kaschmitter, STEAM education advisor for the Port of Morrow, who facilitated a tour of the Think Big Space for a lesson in robotic coding. This allowed students to learn to write basic code and “teach” a mini robot to follow a custom-designed route.
