http://ozarkspub.vo.llnwd.net/o37/KSMU/audio/mp3/drury-continues-motivate-their-k-12-summer-programs_64704.mp3
Drury University has again opened its doors to over 200 gifted students as part of their Summerscape and Leadership Academy. The programs, which began July 14th, offer nearly two weeks of on-campus activities to keep kids interested over the summer. KSMU’s Amber Carr visited one of the classes to learn more.
Summerscape is for students currently enrolled in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. Through this program they are able to take fun and stimulating courses, otherwise not given during the regular school year, as well as be introduced to what life on a University campus is like.
“It’s awesome, I mean we got to hang around with friends, do what we like to do, build, make crazy things…it’s just been really fun,” explained Brown.
That’s 12-year-old Dylan Brown, one of the many participants this year. He’s just completed a class taught by Darlene Taylor, who has been assisting with the program for the past eight years.
“It’s just really exciting for me as a teacher. I always love when kids are doing hands-on projects and then they see something that they have created come to life and they get so excited. They jump up and down and yell and everything, and that’s fine because I’m doing it too,” Taylor says.
Taylor’s class consists of “Goldberg and his Crazy Contraptions," which allows students to build different machines that can be used for everyday occurrences like clicking a pen or smashing a bug. At the end of the course, all of the different contraptions are put together as one big device.
Supplies such as golf balls, mouse traps, balloons, boards, PVC pipes, and other household items are fair game when it comes to creating the perfect contraption.
14-year-old Savannah Goddard says everything in the class is built by hand.
“We just put it all together and so that was definitely an experience. It took a lot longer than I thought it would but we finally got it done and once you see yours up and working it’s just so exciting just…you just want to jump around for joy because it just works,” described Goddard.
Students are able to display their work at an open house for parents on July 25th at Drury’s Findlay Student Center.
For KSMU News, I’m Amber Carr.