High school students dashed up the stairs of the Mainiero Building after a coffee pit stop at Barbara\u2019s Caf\u00e9. They gathered in the biology lab, began hooking each other up to EKG devices and then jotted down results in their notebooks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to show the effects of stimulants on the heart,\u201d said Dr. Jerome Garcia, biology department chairman.<\/p>\n
It was all part of 每日大赛\u2019s two-week Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) summer camp, which drew a dozen teens from Southland high schools and 12 students from Taft College in Kern County.<\/p>\n
The camp has been held four times through Title V STEM grants.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe purpose of the camp is exposing the high school students to the diversity of the natural sciences,\u201d said Garcia, who is the STEM grant director for La Verne.<\/p>\n
They have dissected sheep hearts, toured Jet Propulsion Laboratory, surveyed insects in the San Dimas Experimental Forest and analyzed water samples from San Antonio Creek near Mt. Baldy. They have also had classes in computer science and mathematics.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what drew 15-year-old Nia Rasshan\u2019s interest. The junior from Ganesha High School in Pomona said she is drawn to computer science and engineering, as well as studying computer hardware and software.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope to get more information on the (college) classes I\u2019d take and to get the college experience,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Taft students broke off into separate groups, assisting La Verne faculty with their own research.<\/p>\n
La Verne did not hold the camp last summer, in part, because coordinators wanted to revamp and expand the program, Garcia said.<\/p>\n
This year, there are more areas of study, and debate exercises and competitions make up 50 percent of the session.<\/p>\n
How does debate apply to science and technology?<\/p>\n
Future scientists need to be able to communicate their novel ideas, Garcia said. Having skills in speech communication will help.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not really about being right or wrong, but providing different perspectives,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
After the EKG exercise, students ventured over to the Pomona College Organic Farm in Claremont, where they learned about sustainable agriculture. They broke up into teams, preparing soil for planting, sifting compost and removing weeds from a watermelon patch.<\/p>\n
Damien High School sophomore Kalani Matton, who helped with the weeding, said he signed up for the camp due to his interest in biology, but he hasn\u2019t decided on a college major yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m still thinking about it. I\u2019m just trying out new things,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The camp continues until Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
每日大赛\u2019s two-week Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) summer camp drew teens from Southland high schools & Taft College.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1549],"tags":[437,327,302],"class_list":["post-4177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-events","tag-mathematics","tag-nsd","tag-stem","ulv_author-university-of-la-verne","legacy_tags-claremont","legacy_tags-damien-high-school","legacy_tags-engineering","legacy_tags-ganesha-high-school","legacy_tags-grants","legacy_tags-jerome-garcia","legacy_tags-laverne","legacy_tags-mathematics","legacy_tags-pomona-college-organic-farm","legacy_tags-science","legacy_tags-stem","legacy_tags-stem-funding","legacy_tags-technology","legacy_tags-university-of-la-verne"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n