Coasting into Space
In Summer 2019, ADP MaST Academy Scholars and other Secondary Education scholars collaborated with Insights El Paso Science Center, Ysleta ISD, and UTEP's GEAR UP program to write lesson plans, train fellow teachers and tutors, and organize materials for a two-week summer camp that was presented at 11 YISD middle schools, serving more than 200 students!
The camp's uniting theme was Coasting into Space and was divided into 2 separate, one-week curriculums: Amusement Park and Space Exploration. It also provided students with the rare opportunity to teach the same lessons to a new set of students the second week of camp, allowing them to reflect and make adjustments.
During the Space Exploration week, students engaged in lessons where they:
- Determined which planet was the best to crash land on!
- Explored how zero gravity will affect a human's body systems
- Learned how to write simple code and program a survival game
- Built, launched, and calculated the height of a rocket using trigonometry
The Amusement Park curriculum challenged students to use math and science to:
- Create blueprints for a theme park
- Design, test, and build roller coasters
- Use circuits to create eye-catching signs
- Calculate the probability of winning a carnival game
Students were taken on field trips to Insights El Paso Science Center DinoTracks site, War Eagles Museum, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and to participate in a hands-on challenge hosted by UTEP's Tech-E program.
MaST would like to thank ADP; Insights El Paso Science Center; and Ysleta ISD and UTEP GEAR UP for providing funding, teachers, and tutors; as well as MaST Mentor Teachers Sam Tellez and Dani Pena for guiding the students through writing the curriculum. MaST would also like to thank the mentor teachers who assisted and gave valuable feedback throughout the camp: Nancy Valenzuela, Veronica Moore, Alexandra Falcon-Soriano, Valerie Alvarez, Blanca Rey-Hernandez, Rebecca Ortiz, Claudia Torres-Rincon, Stephanie Estrada, Kayla Paralles, Alejandro Vasquez, Alejandra Lugo, Agatha Orona, Christina Garcia, Ruben Ramos, Claudia Gomez, David Gasca, and Jessica Polanco.
Click HERE to access Coasting into Space Summer Camp 2019 curriculum.