Entertaining but Lacking Individual Guidance
Our daughter had a decent experience at STEM camp. Many of the challenges she found were slightly not up to par with a higher level of learning so she was disappointed in some aspects. Even at age 12 she was one of the youngest pupils there and still not challenged up to her abilities. She was expecting a more scholarly environment and more guidance from the teachers in attendance- specifically when it came to dissection. She wanted to learn the parts of the lung she was dissecting and really get into the science of it but at the end of it all most of the kids just chopped up the lungs with a scalpel and they went along with their day. She learned almost nothing in the dissection experiment and it was quite disheartening for her to see that happen. The robot she was given that she thought she was going to bring home was broken the entire time and a replacement one that actually worked was not offered as she was told there was no budget at the Camp for any kind of replacement. She did enjoy making new friends and also loved being on the Vanderbilt campus; In those regards it was a very good experience for her to see what life could be like in the future for her in a university setting. She also was quite surprised at the Christian based music and themes that went on daily. It didn't bother her because she is tolerant of other religions but she didn't think it was appropriate given the experience was supposed to be scientific and mathematically based which in her mind supersede religiosity. We will more than likely consider other paths for deeper educational stimulation next summer but as a family we are happy she was given the opportunity to have the experience.