Arts and STEM come together at VGCC Science Camp for middle school students


Science Camp participants paint a depiction of a protozoan (a type of microorganism) on a parking lot on VGCC’s Main Campus. (VGCC photo)

Science Camp participants paint a depiction of a protozoan (a type of microorganism) on a parking lot on VGCC’s Main Campus. (VGCC photo)

Area middle school students recently had opportunities to practice their skills as both budding artists and scientists at Vance-Granville Community College’s sixth annual Science Camp.

The theme of this year’s camp, held in June on the college’s Main Campus in Vance County, was not just “STEM,” but “STEAM,” according to VGCC Science department chair Steve McGrady. “Adding an ‘A’ for ‘Arts’ to the common acronym STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is a way to emphasize that innovation, creative thinking, and design are central aspects of science-related endeavors,” McGrady said. “The camp was a great success. The campers clearly enjoyed our activities, which included building bird feeders, hunting for fossils, creating musical instruments, working with electronics, dissecting sharks, and more.”

A total of 36 students, including rising sixth, seventh and eighth graders from Vance, Granville, Franklin and Warren counties, completed the day camp.

Science Camp participant Zelton Thompson of Henderson views a protozoan (a type of microorganism) under a microscope. (VGCC photo)

Science Camp participant Zelton Thompson of Henderson views a protozoan (a type of microorganism) under a microscope. (VGCC photo)

The week was full of fun, hands-on activities designed to pique campers’ curiosity as they consider their future educational and career aspirations. Sessions were taught by VGCC instructors, including many from departments outside the natural sciences, from Carpentry to Electronics Engineering Technology. Under the direction of Pharmacy Technology faculty and students, the campers made salad dressing while practicing lab skills. Meanwhile, art instructor Isaac Talley showed students how to use science to create colorful paintings.

McGrady expressed his appreciation to the many faculty and staff members from across all of the college’s academic divisions, who volunteered their time and talents to make the camp a success.

Four volunteer counselors helped facilitate the camp, all of them students in the College Transfer program at VGCC: Robert Hudson Jr. of Halifax, Va., Francis Scotland and Alana Towles, both of Oxford, and Micah Roberts of Stem.

Several students who attended the camp in previous years also served as “counselors in training”: Roberto Chaves-Smith of Henderson Collegiate, Emani Foster of Henderson Collegiate, Austyn Abbott of Kerr-Vance Academy, Mar’kevious Cheatham of Mary Potter Middle School and Evelyn Hann of Oxford Preparatory School.