InnoWorks plans summer camp

After a successful first year of scientific exploration at the InnoWorks summer camp, the Hopkins InnoWorks chapter is looking forward to hosting their second summer camp in August. InnoWorks holds a free summer camp, which focuses on introducing middle and high school students to the fields of science and engineering through an innovative, hands-on approach to learning.
The InnoWorks program is designed and run entirely by college volunteers for students from underprivileged backgrounds, who would otherwise lack the opportunity to learn from a more experimental approach in their typical academic environments. It seeks to build relationships between younger students and college students, who function as both mentors and staff members.
"Our vision is for InnoWorks to provide exciting educational opportunities for all students," Lucia Tellez, the PR Officer for InnoWorks, wrote in an email to The News-Letter. "We intend to maintain relationships with InnoWorkers for life, inviting them to join as junior and then full mentors. If our mission is achieved, InnoWorks communities everywhere will be self-perpetuating, with each generation nurturing the next, connected by a common goal to improve society."
After discovering InnoWorks through her sister's volleyball coach, Tellez spent her entire freshman year working with the University of Maryland College Park InnoWorks chapter.
"I loved it so much that the next year I decided to start a chapter here at Hopkins," Tellez wrote.
With the help of some friends, Tellez was able to spearhead the InnoWorks chapter on campus.
"We encountered some rough patches, but the program was able to take place last summer, and [we are] excited and prepared for the camp this summer," Tellez wrote.
The InnoWorks camp required a year of planning. The club has been working throughout this past year to raise money for books, transportation, program materials, food and awards. InnoWorks held events throughout the year to recruit mentors and potential campers. The club also has to plan the camp's daily activities.
"Specific activities are chosen for each day so that the kids can get the most for the time they have in the camp," Tellez wrote.
These activities are planned to help promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. Each summer the InnoWorks club bases the camp around a main workshop theme. Last year, the InnoWorks workshop theme was Eureka.
A typical day at the InnoWorks summer camp consists of two different activities and a mission. Popular activities from last summer included constructing a Rube Goldberg machine, a complicated and overly engineered machine used to perform simple tasks, as well as making soap and building boats and windmills.
"We try to make the different science fields the kids encounter vary to show them that there is more to one science and try to capture their interest," Tellez wrote.
The InnoWork mentors use competitions to motivate the campers. For each activity, students are placed into teams, which compete to see who can build the best design or attain the fastest time. The winning team for each activity is given points that go toward an overall award at the end of the camp.
"It is very helpful in keeping the kids motivated with a lot of the projects," Tellez wrote.
The InnoWorks summer camp is attended by around 28 students broken into four groups of people. The first group consists of middle school students who hope to learn about science in a new and innovative way. The second and third groups are comprised of junior and regular mentors. Junior mentors are high school students, who have typically attended the camp in previous years. They assist the regular mentors in keeping the activity groups focused. The regular mentors serve as problem solving guides. The fourth group is composed of the staff, which ensures that activities are properly coordinated and set up.
The recruitment process for the camp takes place throughout the year. Emily Hsiao, one of the Directors of the Hopkins InnoWorks chapter, contacts the liaison for Baltimore schools, as well as emailing the schools herself to inform them of the program.
In addition, InnoWorks visits different schools in Baltimore and puts on presentations for students. These presentations provide an overview of the InnoWorks program, as well as providing students with a glimpse of potential activities.
The Hopkins InnoWorks chapter recruits mentors and staff members by hosting information sessions, in which they explain the program more thoroughly.
"We also tell them it is a program that helps [mentors and staff] develop as leaders, teachers and communicators," Tellez wrote.
As the Hopkins InnoWorks chapter becomes more developed, Tellez hopes to increase the club's presence on campus.
"We definitely plan on becoming more known and hosting more events that can help not only fundraise but help get our name out there to students," Tellez wrote.
The Hopkins InnoWorks chapter looks forward to this upcoming summer, as the camp proved successful last year.
"Everyone made wonderful memories and some of the students are planning to come back," Tellez wrote. "One of them was actually an eighth grader last year and wants to come back this year as a junior mentor."
This year, the Hopkins InnoWorks chapter is co-directed by Omar Hadzipazic and Maher Khalil. The camp will take place from Aug. 6-10 in the Great Hall on the Hopkins Homewood campus.