A whole lot of learning and development was happening at BW over the summer, with much of it disguised as pure fun.
While most traditional Baldwin Wallace University undergraduate students were busy with summer jobs and internships, BW faculty and staff used their expertise to attract and engage students of all ages.
The BW Division of Community Learning (DCL) summer 2023 lineup included 80 offerings in the arts, athletics, recreation, literacy and language, and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). In total, 2,136 young people registered for summer programming, along with 457 educators involved in DCL-sponsored professional development.
Leveraging BW Resources
“As we build out our programming, we are maintaining longstanding and popular music, dance, theatre and fine art offerings through the Community Arts School, as well as athletics and recreation camps and professional development for educators,” said Adam Sheldon, assistant provost and executive director of BW DCL.
“A new emphasis for us this year and continuing into this fall is a focus on STEM, leveraging the outstanding faculty and other resources BW has in those disciplines.”
Creative Approaches
Each camp gave participants active, creative experiences.
Elementary schoolers developed and tested a heat shield in NASA Astro Camp, music educators engaged in several professional development opportunities to learn strategies they can take back to their classrooms, and STEM students figured out clues in a Knowlton Center escape room.
Dancers spent a week training to advance their technique and artistry, aspiring young baseball players got to play on BW’s Fischer Field while working on their offensive and defensive skills, and recreation campers kayaked on Coe Lake. All had fun and made new friends along the way.
From Barbie bungee to game theory, faculty leading first-time offerings in STEM even caught the attention of WKYC-TV’s “Growing in STEM” series, devoting an entire report on a creative approach to math camp, cleverly presented as “Game Theory.” You can watch a replay below.
Fun Fall Opportunities
Two STEM opportunities for elementary through middle schoolers are already on the DCL calendar for fall, including an October Halloween Math Bash and a December Holiday Math Camp.
To find out more about these programs and other opportunities, explore our entire library of programs.