A 4th-grade student's eyes widen in amazement as their cardboard and construction paper artwork comes to life. LED lights blink, digital speakers play sound, and arms move back and forth. The student's artwork is created using robotics and coding skills they acquired during a week-long "Artbotics" session at Georgia Tech this Summer.

Artbotics is just 1 of over 30 sessions developed for rising 4th-12th-grade students for CEISMC Summer PEAKS at Georgia Tech on-campus. Students participate in sessions that cover topics in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM).

Sirocus Barnes, Program Director for the Georgia Tech Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC), explains, "This summer we had another successful year of Summer PEAKS programs. Daily, we saw students excited about learning about various areas of STEM."

In another session, "Biology Bonanza" for 6th-9th-graders engaged scholars interested in studying life sciences by providing labs and hands-on experiments. Biology Bonanza tackled unique topics such as marine biology and modern biotechnology.

In one activity, students experiment with different soap brands to see which brand most effectively removes oil from coated feathers. As they observed, the students recorded the results on a notepad to share with their peers. Students asked the instructor questions and examine their unique findings.

"I believe this program is important because it gives students a chance to explore different areas of STEM in a fun and engaging way through our weekly programs," said Barnes.

In addition to the individual week-long workshops, sessions such as the Advanced App/ Games session provided students with the opportunity to continue to explore their interests. This session allowed students to collaborate with their peers to take the concepts they learned in a previous Mobile App/Games session to the next level.

“We worked hard to ensure the program’s success while learning in the process,” said Tabitha Lowe, Educational Outreach Coordinator at CEISMC. Lowe explains, "CEISMC Summer PEAKS allows the children to be innovators, inventors, engineers, scientists, and more. It also opens their eyes to possible future careers that they didn't even know existed."

By Shannon Malone - Georgia Tech CEISMC Communications