For the past two weeks, about 45 Athens-area high school students have learned about advanced mathematics and science, and possible careers in those fields, during a Summer Academy hosted by the University of Georgia’s department of mathematics and science education.The college-bound high school juniors and seniors from Athens, Watkinsville, Commerce, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and Franklin have engaged in topics not usually encountered in high school, such as electron microscopy, veterinary science and the mathematics of body mechanics. The free, three-week program held in UGA’s College of Education involved sessions each morning from July 6-24, allowed students access to tools, technologies and instructors usually reserved for university students.
The students have created museum-style exhibits on science and mathematics topics which they shared with 6-to-13-year-old children in the Athens community on July 22 at the Lyndon House Art Museum and the Boys and Girls Club of America on Fourth Street.
Exhibits included human evolution, educational simulated video games, an osmosis simulation and neuroscience. There was also origami and the mathematical reasoning behind it, Darwin's animals, marine biology and hydrology. All of the exhibits were hands-on and interactive so that the younger children can experience science, math and technology in various and inquisitive ways.
The STEM Summer Academy, funded by a state Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Initiative grant, was directed by Cory Buxton, an associate professor in elementary and social studies education, along with Joe Long, a faculty member in science education, and Doug Griffin, a doctoral student in mathematics education. Other faculty from the COE and the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences also worked with the students.
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