Think STEM Camp philosophy

The focus of the STEM initiatives is to empower each student to effectively learn how to think and innovativly use the disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math along with other knowledge skills to rapidly and dramatically change America’s position of educational and technological positions on the world stage.

To regain our competitive advantage and place of true leadership thru the advancement of the ideals that America was created on. The camp is a focal point in that initiative and will employ the immersion approach to learning and internalizing these objectives. Every aspect of the camp curriculum will have identified supporting course studies from the STEM disciplines.

The core intent is to highlight how the comprehension of those studies will empower each participant’s capacity to efficiently utilize these applications being studied at the camp.

It is our desire that as part of the core curriculum and as a prerequisite to participate in the camp experience each student will identify and study the STEM disciplines in advance and take part in planning for the camp thru team participation using various tools such as blogs, computer aided design and other technology tools.

We would also encourage the introduction of an adult curriculum that could be pursued in each school district as adult studies or online as extension courses and open up the camp to include adults and parents. Parental participation would be encouraged and even mandated for small children. There would be different levels of camp experience based on groupings of age, comprehension skills and individual capacities to utilize the facilities in an efficient manner.


Core curriculum

1. Awareness and comprehension of natural energy systems and applications.

2. Natural building systems including true "green building" techniques using agricultural and earth based building components such as the Agriboard building systems and the zero energy building disciplines.

3. Study of agri and aqua cultures including but not limited to greenhouses, permaculture and forest gardens and soil botany, projects with water and wetlands and creation and studies of Living machine aquacultures for both waste water treatment and hydrological based studies in horticulture.

4. Studies of and implementation of systems that capture natural energies using magnetism, wind, solar, geo-thermal, bio-fuels and hydrogen. These systems are not limited to electrical generation. But include the manufacture of hydrogen, hydraulics, compressed air, thermal heating systems and other yet to be identified applications.

5. An important part of the curriculum is to include eventual mastery of the various 21st century technology tools at our disposal but so often found sitting on shelves, including but not limited to technical writing, mastery of audio-visual technologies, CAD-CAM tools, computer, teaching and communication skills.

6. Technology accelerators- study of and brainstorming of an understanding of how application of these technologies can first and foremost be used to enhance each participants life and also how these understandings could be advanced in society to solve some of the problems facing us such as technological competitiveness, homelessness, transportation issues, education, energy efficiency and global warming.

2nd Draft (off the top of my head)

The focus of the National Science Foundation's NSF ITEST STEM GRANT research initiative's award is to empower each student and participant to effectively learn and understand how to think creatively and innovativly using the disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) along with other converging knowledge-economy based skills, to rapidly and dramatically change America's Global Competitiveness position with regards to educational and technological positions on the world-stage.

To regain and sustain our competitive advantage and place of true-leadership through the advancement of the innovative ideals on which America has thrived as a nation.

The Regional Education STEM Center is a focal point in that initiative and will employ the immersive education approach to learning and internalizing these objectives. Every aspect of the center's curriculum and pedagogy will have research-based supporting course studies from the STEM disciplines (Ref: MIT Open-source High School coursework).

The core intent is to highlight how the comprehension of those studies will empower each participant's capacity to efficiently utilize the real-world sustainable energy applications being studied at the STEM Center.

It is our desire that as part of the core-curriculum and pedagogy and as a prerequisite to participate in the Regional Education STEM Center experience each student will identify and study the STEM disciplines of their choice, prior to taking part in the planning-elements for their STEM Center experience through team participation using various digital media and learning tools such as blogs, computer aided design (CAD) and other rich digital media technological tool-sets and advanced networked telecommunications.

As an NSF ITEST STEM GRANT requirement we w ill also simultaneously introduce an adult curriculum and pedagogy that will be collaboratively pursued and supported in each participating school district as an adult online extension studies course (s) for the extended learning communities of practice for parents and adults.

Parental participation will be mandatory and may also include younger children. There will be well designed age-appropriate levels of STEM Center experience's based on groupings of age, comprehension skills and individual capacities to utilize the facilities in an effective manner.

Core STEM Center curriculum and pedagogy (# 1. Place STEM Focused Elements HERE! SEE BELOW!)

1. Awareness and comprehension of natural energy systems and applications.

2. Natural building systems including true "green building" techniques using agricultural and earth based building components such as the Agriboard building systems and the zero energy building disciplines.

3. Study of agri and aqua cultures including but not limited to greenhouses, permaculture and forest gardens and soil botany, projects with water and wetlands and creation and studies of Living machine aquacultures for both waste water treatment and hydrological based studies in horticulture.

4. Studies of and implementation of systems that capture natural energies using magnetism, wind, solar, geo-thermal, bio-fuels and hydrogen. These systems are not limited to electrical generation. But include the manufacture of hydrogen, hydraulics, compressed air, thermal heating systems and other yet to be identified applications.

5. An important part of the curriculum is to include eventual mastery of the various 21st century technology tools at our disposal but so often found sitting on shelves, including but not limited to technical writing, mastery of audio-visual technologies, CAD-CAM tools, computer, teaching and communication skills. (SEE # 1 and the American Competitiveness Initiative which served as the clarion call for the NSF ITEST STEM Grant Initiative and the associated 40 Billion Dollars of initial FUNDING!)

6. Technology accelerators- study of and brainstorming of an understanding of how application of these technologies can first and foremost be used to enhance each participants life and also how these understandings could be advanced in society to solve some of the problems facing us such as technological competitiveness, homelessness, transportation issues, education, energy efficiency and global warming.