Project IndigiCHOICE campers have blast learning STEM

LUMBERTON – Robeson Community College opened its doors to hundreds of children and teenagers this week for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina’s Project IndigiCHOICE summer camp, which is funded through a grant funded by the Department of Education to American Indian students from Robeson, Hoke, Cumberland, and Scotland Counties.

Campers had many options to choose from for career exploration in STEM including Video Gaming, Camp Stem-tastic, Brick Flick Lego Mania Camp, Roaming Researches, Protecting the Only Land We know, Nature’s Hideaway, Don’t just Dream – Experience and Explore.

Various camps were available for elementary students all the way to high schoolers.

“Yes, I’m having fun,” stated Canyon Jones, a 11-year-old from Pembroke who was enrolled in the Brick Flick Lego Mania camp. “I’ve learned all about architecture engineering using free build and Bric-Q-Lego prime kits.”

Jones says he used the skills he learned to build a ski ring and the hydraulics for it as well.

“The Bric-Q-Lego Prime Kits provide different STEM activities dealing with motion,” stated Camp Instructor Jeremiah Chavis, who teaches 7th grade at Prospect Elementary. “There are seven activities inside of each box.”

As Jones and Chavis were flipping through an activity book showcasing the various structures that could be built with Legos, fellow camper Slade Malcolm jumped in to see what they were doing.

“Oh, I’ve had so much fun,” Malcolm said.

Malcolm is also 11 years old and from Pembroke.

“We went over Newton’s laws of motion,” Malcolm said. “Mr. J explained more about that and taught more about it than what I already knew.”

Across campus, Brynlee McNeill, age 10, was busy learning about mother nature in the “Protecting the Only Land We Know” summer camp.

“I’ve learned how to plant plants, and we did activities to learn about tornadoes and how to protect your house from a flood,” said McNeill, excited about all the things she had learned.

She continued in listing all the things she had experienced this week.

“We made lava lamps, we did an ocean in a bottle, we made a moon face and we did a scavenger hunt this morning,” McNeill said.

What’s a moon face you might ask?

“We cut the icing off Oreos and made moon faces,” McNeill said. “Moon faces help you if you go hunting.”

McNeill says they also got a chance to put water cycles in a bag, visit the Cultural Center in Maxton, and learn about the conservation of animals. And – they even got to learn how to build a solar oven.

“We made smores using the sunshine,” McNeill said with joyfulness. “They were so good.”

The kids will be headed to Myrtle Beach tomorrow to experience WonderWorks, a field trip to an upside-down house that is full of science, and is sure to be something they remember for a lifetime.

“We have had a good group of students this year,” said Camp Instructor Amber Maynor, who teaches 11th and 12th graders at Pernell Swett. “I have had some parents tell me their kids have never stayed in a camp, and that this is the first camp where they have stayed the whole time.”

In the Video Gaming Camp, students have ended the week a high note, with an overnight trip to NASA Langley after learning all about video games earlier in the week, getting to see the world through the lens of another realm.

Overall, camp instructors say this has been a great week, measured by the smiles of joy on the faces of many happy campers.