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June 1, 2006

Students to participate in ULM Explorers' Camps

This summer, students from grades 8-10 will participate in explorations combining science, math and technology at the ULM Explorers' Camps.

Two one-week residential camps are scheduled for June 11 ­ 17 and June 18 - 24. The camps, located on ULM's campus, will host 50 students per week. The camps are offered at no cost to students who live in a designated LAGEAR UP parish.

Funding, provided by a LaSIP/LAGEAR UP grant totaling $74,999, allows ULM to provide these interactive camps for a second year.

The camp will develop and promote career and educational aspirations through leadership training, personal exploration, focused tutoring assistance, and introduction to areas of study available at ULM and other Louisiana universities, said Kim Taylor, the ULM camp project director and an instructor of computer science at the university.

"The ULM Explorers' Camp will raise awareness of the need for early academic and financial preparation in order to enroll in college," she said.

Students will participate in four half-day explorations:

• Biology: (Hoo's Eating Hoo?), in which they study the predator/prey relationship by dissecting owl pellets and constructing food chains.
  
  Dr. Kim Tolson, associate professor of biology, leads the session.
  
  
  
• Computer Science (What's Technology Got to Do with It?), in which they will learn to research, analyze data and present results using technology.
  
  Dr. Jose Cordova, associate professor of computer science, leads this section.
  
  
  
• Geosciences (Dude, Where's My Car?), in which Global Positional Systems (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) will be investigated and will include the use of hand-held GPS devices.
  
  Lisa Martin, a teacher from Franklin Parish, leads the session.
  
  
  
• Toxicology (What's Lurking in My Drinking Water?), in which they will discover the field of aquatic toxicology.
  
  Dr. Kevin Baer, department head of toxicology, leads this exploration.
  

In addition to their daily lessons, students will apply what they learn during a field trip to the Black Bayou National Wildlife Refuge.

April Picard, a ULM instructor of mathematics, will also conduct focused tutoring with the students based on their performance on a pre-ACT test.

Participating students are eligible to be junior counselors when they reach 11th-grade and can be paid counselors when they graduate. One ULM graduate assistant provides leadership training exercises. Ten ULM undergraduates serve as Big Brothers/Big Sisters and supervise the students when they are not with faculty.

The students also have Explorers Clubs in their schools that are tied in with the camp. They must perform community service activities. Visit www.lagearup.org for more information.

Louisiana Tech does the statewide management for the program. Visit www.latech.edu/lagearup for more information.

LAGEAR UP parishes are shown on both.

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