A group of teens stood around the base of a tree at Keystone College on Wednesday afternoon as a metal trap was picked up from its base.
As they watched, their classmates and team leaders pulled out a small stuffed mouse from the trap, and the students expressed delight.
The activity is one of many that students at the Scranton School District’s STEMM Academy are participating in as part of a camp at the campus this week.
The weeklong “Exploring the Environmental ‘Ologies’” camp allows the 26 young participants to explore scientific fields focused on animals and trees in an outdoor setting at the Environmental Education Institute on the Woodlands Campus at Keystone. It includes hands-on activities that teach students observation, data collection and analysis.
During Wednesday’s activity, students set up the traps, which were camouflaged at the base of the trees in front of Capwell Science Hall, and discussed setting them up. A few took notes about the fake mice inside them on whiteboards.
Kelley Stewart, director of the Woodland Campus and Environmental Education Institute, said the mice and traps allowed them to learn the scientific activities of population sampling, marking and recapturing, and figuring out population density. Stewart, who is assisted by three Keystone students studying wildlife biology, said they also discussed ethical treatment of animals.
The idea for the camp came about during a discussion in the spring between Scranton High School Principal John Coyle and Fran Langan, senior adviser to the college president, during a roundtable at the college. It is the first year the camp was organized for students in the academy.
Katona Miller, STEMM Academy program supervisor, said the students were excited about the camp when she informed them of it.
“There was definitely a lot of interest when I presented it to them,” she said. “I think they were just excited to do something outside of their normal classroom.”
Miller and Coyle said this week the camp gives students opportunities for enrichment outside the classroom. The district is providing transportation for the students.
Students attending the camp, some of whom had never been to the campus, said they enjoy being in nature, particularly hiking, and have learned new things.
“I like how we just go on hikes, go outside and how we’re trying to trap some animals,” said Carsen Miller, a rising freshman.
Cameron Lockhart, another rising freshman, said he didn’t know about mark and recapture or identifying animal footprints until he attended the camp.
Aryanee Sanchez and Airiany Tolentino, both of whom are entering their freshman year of high school, like the hands-on activities, which take them outside the classroom.
“I like how it’s more activities than it is genuine lesson,” Airiany said. “I don’t like sitting in the classroom for long hours, so the fact that we get to be outside more is really nice.”
The students said they plan to use what they learned at the camp during the school year, and a few said they are interested in attending next year if it is offered.
Stewart said although Keystone hosts nature camps for kids, this camp is the first to have students all from one school. She said she likes how engaged they are with the program and are experiencing new things. Stewart hopes they keep the engagement in science going.
“I hope that they come away with more of a curiosity for these topics,” Stewart said.
She and district leaders hope students learn about opportunities in scientific fields and apply what they have learned in the classroom. Coyle said he would like to make the camp available to students in the future.
“I would love to make it a part or an opportunity for our kids moving forward year after year,” he said.
Abigail Hayford, a graduate assistant in the Keystone College Environmental Education Institute, works with students in the Scranton School District STEMM Academy at the college Wednesday. The students are participating in a weeklong camp at the campus this week. The “Exploring the Environmental ‘Ologies’” camp allows the 26 young participants to explore scientific fields focused on animals and trees in an outdoor setting at the Environmental Education Institute on the Woodlands Campus at Keystone. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO
Scranton School District STEMM Academy student Natalie Villanueva, a sophomore, participates in the “Exploring the Environmental ‘Ologies’” camp at Keystone College. The camp allows the 26 young participants to explore scientific fields focused on animals and trees in an outdoor setting at the Environmental Education Institute on the Woodlands Campus at Keystone. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO